Ball joints and bushings

[bigrondownhiller]

Has anyone changed out their ball joints and front control arm bushings? Did you take them to a machine shop to press them out? Anyone use any of the ball joint/bushing removal tools? Just wondering how much of a pain in the butt it will be to do.

[pajeff02]

Would you like to purchase my control arms and just bolt them onto your car?

I have always pressed ball joints and bushings. I even made up some special tools to keep the control arms from collapsing. Honestly, destructive removal is sometimes the easiest way to do it. Burn the bushing out with a torch and then cut through the shell with a hacksaw or Sawzall (carefully!). Then collapse the shell with pliers and it falls right out. You can also lube up the new bushings and install them with the blunt end of an air chisel (again, carefully!).