I changed out the front thrust arm bushings, and ball joints today, so I figured I'd make a DIY for it. I'd been experiencing a clicking up front under change in fore-aft loading (braking, acceleration, direction), and with the subframe bolts tight, figured I'd change out the thrust arm bushings and ball joints. My car has 152k miles of upstate NY winters, so either way, a parts refresh wouldn't hurt. (*full disclosure: the replacement parts did nothing to stop the clicking, but I found the driver's side outer CV boot torn, so I have a new axle shaft on order; I'll replace the transverse control arms at the same time (I've had a spare set collecting dust on the shelf for 5 years).
Tools needed:
-ratchet, breaker bar, torque wrench
-22mm socket
-21 mm socket (13/16" works fine)
-21mm wrench (13/16" wrench works fine)
-T40 Torx socket
-E12 socket
-BFH (I use a 3 lb lump hammer)
-pickle fork
-chisel
-long punch
-sawzall (or hacksaw)
1) Raise front of vehicle, support on jack stands. I used the jack pad under the engine and then put the stands under the subframe, inline with the transverse control arm attachment points. Remove wheels and engine shield. Spray PB Blaster into the ball joint bore in the bottom of the steering knuckle now.
2) Locate the thrust arm; it runs fore-aft from the steering knuckle forward to the subframe. Before working on it, remove the two 8mm screws and the upper 10mm nut that hold the plastic lower shield in place; you'll need it free in order to wrestle the bushing's bolt out. The bolt and nut are 21mm (13/16") and the lock nut that holds the arm to the ball joint is 22mm. Brake torque on the TA nut/bolt; I had to shock the wrench with the lump hammer to break it free. Remove the nut but leave the bolt in place.
3) Next, move to the ball joint. I used a pneumatic impact gun to shock the 22mm ball joint nut loose and remove it. If you don't have one, you'll need to use a 22mm box wrench on the nut and the T40 socket to hold the ball joint stud in order to remove the lock-nut. Remove the nut. Using the pickle fork* and the BFH, separate the arm from the ball joint. (If you are saving the ball joint, use a ball joint press instead; the pickle fork will destroy the ball joint). Swing down the arm, and remove the bolt. My socket shown below looks in rough shape, because I modified it years ago by grinding flats on opposite sides in order to hold it with an open end wrench to do the above job, as I don't have a 22mm box wrench. T40 fits inside the 3/8" square drive hole.
4) Using the E12 socket, remove the 2 bolts per ball joint that hold them. Now be prepared for a long time of beating metal. Alternating between hammering a chisel between the ball joint and the steering knuckle from the bottom, and hammering a long punch onto the top of the ball joint through the ball joint bore from above (where you sprayed the rust penetrant earlier), keep working until the ball joint gets freed
5) I'm cheap, so I chose to save something like $150 by just replacing the bushings. THE BUSHINGS MUST BE CLOCKED IN THE ARMS A SPECIFIC WAY. Mark the arm and bushing with a sharpie and then transcribe the mark to the new bushing. If you forget to do this, notice that the bolt carrier is shaped like a triangle, with a key way at the apex. The triangle aligns with the direction of the thrust arm, with the keyway pointing away from the thrust arm.
I unfortunately didn't have an adapter perfectly the same diameter as the bushing to press it out of the arm, so I went old-school and dirty:
-using the press and a socket, I pressed the rubber bushing out of its sleeve (a bunch of fluid came out in the process).
-Using a piece of heavy duty square stock, I then pressed the sleeve down flush to the thrust arm.
-I then secured the arm in a vice, and CAREFULLY cut the bushing sleeve with a sawzall (a hacksaw blade would work too, and be safer) lengthwise all the way through, stopping before cutting into the thrust arm. Then using a chisel, I folded the sleeve so it would fall out. On the second one, I used the chisel and a hammer to drive the sleeve out without folding it, as I'd realized it would work great to remove bushings in the future without going through the above steps. The new bushing easily pressed in (after a coating of grease on the sleeve), as it is wider than the thrust arm, so no adapter needed. Triple check the bushing's clocking.
6) Installation is the reverse of the removal.
Tips:
DO NOT FULLY TIGHTEN THE BUSHING BOLT/NUT UNTIL THE VEHICLE IS ON THE GROUND. I jacked it up high enough to put 6x6 cribbing beneath the tires so that I could get both suspension compression, as well as space beneath the car to swing the wrench.
-Clean out the ball joint bores with a wire brush and sandpaper before installing the new joints.
-I used Motorcraft nickel antisieze lathered liberally all over the ball joint cap and stud prior to installation.
-I torqued the ball joint bolts (replacements were T40 IIRC) to 45 ft-lbs
-I torqued the lock nut to 50 ft-lbs
-The best I could find for the specs on the bushing nut/bolt is 50 lb-fts +90* torque angle, which implies the bolts are stretch and one time use. I didn't have replacements, so I simply tightened the nuts until the torque felt about the same as that needed to remove them. As I have to get back under there for the axle and transverse arms, I'll most likely replace the bolts with grade 8 at that time.
Tools needed:
-ratchet, breaker bar, torque wrench
-22mm socket
-21 mm socket (13/16" works fine)
-21mm wrench (13/16" wrench works fine)
-T40 Torx socket
-E12 socket
-BFH (I use a 3 lb lump hammer)
-pickle fork
-chisel
-long punch
-sawzall (or hacksaw)
1) Raise front of vehicle, support on jack stands. I used the jack pad under the engine and then put the stands under the subframe, inline with the transverse control arm attachment points. Remove wheels and engine shield. Spray PB Blaster into the ball joint bore in the bottom of the steering knuckle now.
2) Locate the thrust arm; it runs fore-aft from the steering knuckle forward to the subframe. Before working on it, remove the two 8mm screws and the upper 10mm nut that hold the plastic lower shield in place; you'll need it free in order to wrestle the bushing's bolt out. The bolt and nut are 21mm (13/16") and the lock nut that holds the arm to the ball joint is 22mm. Brake torque on the TA nut/bolt; I had to shock the wrench with the lump hammer to break it free. Remove the nut but leave the bolt in place.
3) Next, move to the ball joint. I used a pneumatic impact gun to shock the 22mm ball joint nut loose and remove it. If you don't have one, you'll need to use a 22mm box wrench on the nut and the T40 socket to hold the ball joint stud in order to remove the lock-nut. Remove the nut. Using the pickle fork* and the BFH, separate the arm from the ball joint. (If you are saving the ball joint, use a ball joint press instead; the pickle fork will destroy the ball joint). Swing down the arm, and remove the bolt. My socket shown below looks in rough shape, because I modified it years ago by grinding flats on opposite sides in order to hold it with an open end wrench to do the above job, as I don't have a 22mm box wrench. T40 fits inside the 3/8" square drive hole.
4) Using the E12 socket, remove the 2 bolts per ball joint that hold them. Now be prepared for a long time of beating metal. Alternating between hammering a chisel between the ball joint and the steering knuckle from the bottom, and hammering a long punch onto the top of the ball joint through the ball joint bore from above (where you sprayed the rust penetrant earlier), keep working until the ball joint gets freed
5) I'm cheap, so I chose to save something like $150 by just replacing the bushings. THE BUSHINGS MUST BE CLOCKED IN THE ARMS A SPECIFIC WAY. Mark the arm and bushing with a sharpie and then transcribe the mark to the new bushing. If you forget to do this, notice that the bolt carrier is shaped like a triangle, with a key way at the apex. The triangle aligns with the direction of the thrust arm, with the keyway pointing away from the thrust arm.
I unfortunately didn't have an adapter perfectly the same diameter as the bushing to press it out of the arm, so I went old-school and dirty:
-using the press and a socket, I pressed the rubber bushing out of its sleeve (a bunch of fluid came out in the process).
-Using a piece of heavy duty square stock, I then pressed the sleeve down flush to the thrust arm.
-I then secured the arm in a vice, and CAREFULLY cut the bushing sleeve with a sawzall (a hacksaw blade would work too, and be safer) lengthwise all the way through, stopping before cutting into the thrust arm. Then using a chisel, I folded the sleeve so it would fall out. On the second one, I used the chisel and a hammer to drive the sleeve out without folding it, as I'd realized it would work great to remove bushings in the future without going through the above steps. The new bushing easily pressed in (after a coating of grease on the sleeve), as it is wider than the thrust arm, so no adapter needed. Triple check the bushing's clocking.
6) Installation is the reverse of the removal.
Tips:
DO NOT FULLY TIGHTEN THE BUSHING BOLT/NUT UNTIL THE VEHICLE IS ON THE GROUND. I jacked it up high enough to put 6x6 cribbing beneath the tires so that I could get both suspension compression, as well as space beneath the car to swing the wrench.
-Clean out the ball joint bores with a wire brush and sandpaper before installing the new joints.
-I used Motorcraft nickel antisieze lathered liberally all over the ball joint cap and stud prior to installation.
-I torqued the ball joint bolts (replacements were T40 IIRC) to 45 ft-lbs
-I torqued the lock nut to 50 ft-lbs
-The best I could find for the specs on the bushing nut/bolt is 50 lb-fts +90* torque angle, which implies the bolts are stretch and one time use. I didn't have replacements, so I simply tightened the nuts until the torque felt about the same as that needed to remove them. As I have to get back under there for the axle and transverse arms, I'll most likely replace the bolts with grade 8 at that time.