Upper ball joint replacement on 93 Eurovan?

[my_vw_sucks]

Well it looks like I'm purchasing the Sealey style tool. The pos HF balljoint tool actually bent installing the first of the two upper ball joints. D'oh!!!!!

[Jonwid]

Well at least you can use the down time to keep soaking the last ball joint in PB Blaster.

That last 3/16" when installing the new joints takes a surprising amount of pressure to fully seat.

I stopped, took it back out, and lubed up the joint and socket with heavy grease. That finally helped the joint to seat all the way.

[my_vw_sucks]

That's exactly where I'm at; about 2-3/16" to go. So close yet so far

[Jonwid]

For anyone else wondering about this job, I offer another observation:

You don't really have to brace up the upper arms with a wedge or anything. You are best served instead by backing off the tension completely on the torsion bars. The threaded down-rod bracket and the 27mm nut for the torsion bar is located behind the rear end of the fuel tank.

If you want to have the van back to the same front ride height, then you will want to measure the length of the threaded rod's end to the bottom of the nut so that when you go to put the nut back in place, you'll know where the nut needs to be.

Otherwise, if you want to get rid of that goofy looking front end rake on your 01-03 van, you can just screw the 27mm nut up higher on the threaded rod and level out your van.

[d-9]

This is a pretty straightforward job with the sealey style tool, it took quite a lot of force on a 2' bar to crack the balljoint, so I would expect to break a regular puller or clamp before the balljoint shifted.

I wasn't overly happy about paying for the special tool to do one job, but once I had it all apart it really looked like it was that or take the whole lot apart and use a hydraulic press. Once the tool arrived it felt like I was getting value for money from my kit, theres a LOT of metal there.

[my_vw_sucks]

It's all about having the right tool for the job! Sealey tool FTW!!!! Installed like butter. Here's the link again if anyone needs one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017F4NS8E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 HF tool is tempting but don't waste your time.

[Jonwid]

[Masta Shake]

Just did mine today with the "23 piece kit" from Autozone and the 2 arm separator.

https://www.autozone.com/loan-a-tools/ball-joint-a...449947_0_0

The only issue I'm having is the spindle of the upper ball joint is turning as I tighten the 24mm nut putting the steering knuckle back in. A regular 7mm allen is too long to fit in between the space.

My plan is to cut down a 7mm so it'll fit. I'm sure zie Germans make a tool for this....
_________________
As a good friend told me when I got the Syncro: "Welcome to the an intense love/hate relationship".

[Tvättbjörn]

[quote="Jonwid"]Well at least you can use the down time to keep soaking the last ball joint in PB Blaster.

That last 3/16" when installing the new joints takes a surprising amount of pressure to fully seat.

I stopped, took it back out, and lubed up the joint and socket with heavy grease. That finally helped the joint to seat all the way.[/quote

Just an update for the people who still have to do it,

but sometimes the new ball joint press-in portion is larger than the original VW version. I am talking about the first 1/4 inch smooth part. I have seen 1.5mm larger diameter compared to original VW. I only buy original VW or at least measure the new ones you have and compare to whatever was removed. If the first part is not going into the control arm , you are in trouble already.