Hey guys, so i did a lot of research about if i can replace ball joints on my 1-Gen G35 sedan. About %90 of guys said they did replaced balljoints on their cars even gave me the link were i could buy balljoint and i did. This morning i went to PepBoys got all the tools i needed to get the job done, got to the point to take all ball joint off NOPE... couldn't do it. From the bottom it looks like i can take it off but from the top it looked like the ball joint was part of the knuckle. Guys were saying taking ball joint off was easy, i couldn't do it. So the question is: Is it possible to replace ball joints on the G35 sedan? (production date 07/2002)
I know if i go to to the shop they will tell me, in order to replace ball joints on my car i need to get new AC, new this, new that and my girl must be there at all times just in case.
So if you %100 sure that it can be done or not i want to hear from you. If you done it yourself do you have pictures?
Pictures of the ball joint and a tool i rent from PepBoys

http://s70.photobucket.com/albums/i9...o21/Balljoint/

Thank you

 

yes, they can be replaced

 

I have never done it myself but I am pretty sure (from looking at your pictures) that the ball joints are pressed in I would try to unpress them out from the bottom with that rental tool but be gentle. they are probably stuck pretty good and will need some time sitting with penetrating oil on them to get them to move out from where they are. the tool you rented has sleeves that will sit on the top of your arm that the ball joint is in and the bigger opening on the tool will fit onto the sleeve that will let the ball joint come out. then you will put the threaded part of the tool into the bottom and feed it till you get it touching the bottom of the ball joint. then you will need to get a wrench on it and start working on it, unless you have a impact wrench then it will only take about 10 seconds.
and when you put the new ones in they should go most of the way back in by themselves, but they will need to be pressed in with the tool you rented which should take some figuring out but should be prett easy.
Like I said I have never done it myself on my car, but I think that should do the trick for ya.
I hope that it works for you!!
best of luck man.

 

Thanks guys.
therealnismoboy: the thing is, I've been using that tool tool to replace most of the bushings on the car and theres some that would go out easy and some that would give up a fight but i could see that the part was moving, this ball joint sits there rock solid. First thing i did before i tried to take it out, i used anti rust spray to make sure ball joint get out easy. As much as i tried to be very gentle with it I only damage it more and more i tried to get it out. According to SDGenius above, it's possible to replace them and i don't want to question him because he does have sick looking G35
Dang it, i don't want to damage it, i guess i have to take it to the shop.
One more thing, i bought cheap ball joints of ebay. My car is lowered and someone told me that i should use Megan ball joints, they go for about $200 and designed to handle dropped cars, does it make sense? i don't see the difference.

 

You have to press the old joints out and press the new ones in. Here's a great post from the thread you posted in over in the suspension section. And yes the Megan "roll center adjusters" will help because they change the steering angle back to where it should be on lowered cars.

 

Blue Dream: Thanks for the help, pictures above just what i needed.
In the Ball joint press tool box, theres 3 rings all different sizes, i used the biggest one it was really hard to keep it in the same position while tightening press tool. On the pictures above it look like the guy used middle or second biggest ring, or am i wrong?
After replacing lover ball joints and i already replaced upper ball joints, will i need to do alignment?
I dropped the car without alignment and replaced upper ball joints at the same time, car still holding straight line and my tires don't show any uneven wear.
You said (And yes the Megan "roll center adjusters" will help because they change the steering angle back to where it should be on lowered cars.)
I agree with you but, my car sits on 19" wheels. You think it might compensate the steering angle?

 

Yes, you should get an alignment. You can do the "poor mans alignment" for a short time if you really can't afford one. But changing anything in the front suspension really does need some alignment.

Some tricks to get stuck bolts and anything out other than WD-40 or PB blaster: Use heat. Heat the ball joint itself and then use the heated ball joint to melt paraffin wax (candle wax) on it. The heated balljoint will "pull" the wax into any gaps. The expanding and contracting will help break some rust bonds as well. Also, soaking in diet coke helps break up rust. If you don't have a propane torch already, get one. They are dirt cheap and come in handy a lot. If you can spend the extra to get a Mapp gas torch, they are awesome. Of course, not as good as oxy/acetylene, but they work well still.

 

Great info superman22x:
The problem with alignment is that i can't find a place who would align lowered cars in my area. The AWE-Tuning shop near me do alignment on dropped european cars, i call them and left VM that i have dropped G35 and that i'm looking to get an alignment done. They never called me back.
If i see lowered g35 or Z on the streets I will chase them, pull them over and dement for the information where they have their car aligned

 

Oh yeah, that can be an issue sometimes. Find a performance/speed shop in the area and ask them. They will probably be able to point you in the right direction. You might be best off just showing up, it's harder to say no that way. The poor man's alignment can get you somewhat to the point. There might still be some vibrations or something while driving. Basically, you wrap a string around the car and take measurements. Setting the toe in is important for tire life. Adding negative camber is all up to you if you want better handling while sacrificing tire life... It can all be done with the string trick.

 

Yea i remember my dad was telling me about that alignment but i will try to find a tuning shop to be sure i have proper alignment. Next month i'll be driving to Canada'r Eh, from Philly so it's a little over 1000 miles both ways and if i have bad alignment i don't want to look for set of tires asking and dealing with mounties. Today i received high quality ball joint boot, i will either replace originals all set it on top of it for better protection.
Here's the question tho, a lot of guys who replaced or looking to replace their ball joints had knocking or squeaking noises. My joints have absolutely no noise, the reason i want to replace them is because rubber boot was torn and the grease came out, when i took everything apart balljoints piston was moving freely it's almost felt loose I could move it with one finger in any direction. Does that mean ball joint definitely headed south?

 

I didn't know this earlier, but these cars have no camber/caster adjustment. So all you really have to worry about is toe-in. Unless you have adjustable A-arms?

I'm not sure if the ball joint is headed south, but if it was run long without grease, then most likely yes.

 

Ok so after doing a lot of research on how to replace my ball joints i got all the tools i needed for the job. My second attempt to get them out failed, i used torch and deep rust penetration as seen on the pictures bellow. As i was trying to replace ball joints on over a 100-F whether, not able of gutting ball joints out made my body temperature over a 1000-F because i was pissed off. And that is very bad for us russians because we melt and getting sun burn at as low as 45F
I realized that my anger can only damage other parts than ball joint I decided to install High Quality Boot's I ordered earlier of a website -> http://www.spohn.net/?keywords=ball+...earch&x=31&y=6
These are American Made ball joint boot's with thicker rubber and i really hope long lasting life. On the pictures bellow you'll see these boot's side by side with the ball joint boot i purchased of ebay (day and night in quality vise difference) On my first attempt to get boll joint out i ripped off old g35's boot off and temporary replaced it with boot i purchased of ebay, 4 days later it cracked (see pictures bellow) My recommendation if you are going to order ball joints from ebay make sure you get higher quality ball joint boot's, I know those cheap ball joints won't last long but it will give you assurance that you did everything to protect them from dirt and dust.
My solution for now: My ball joints didn't made any noise but just torn apart boot moved me to do all this work. I added more grease to old ball joints and installed high quality American Made boot till i find the shop i can trust to replace ball joints for me.
I just wanna thank everyone who spent their time replying to my questions who tried to help me out.
I hope all this work and comments above will help somebody in the future to decide wether they want to try replacing all joints themselves or go to the shop.
Link with pictures, most of the pictures have description.
http://s70.photobucket.com/albums/i9...cement%20Fail/

Sorry for the pictures not being in a good quality and for my broken english ;D

 

No need to restate.

 

I've replaced ball joints on 4wd trucks without a press. You don't NEED a press, it just takes a lot of elbow grease without one.

Advance Auto lends presses out for free.

 

Just an update: I end up taking my car to my Mechanic to replace the ball joints. I dropped $140 for both sides which I think is not bad.
With new joints I noticed every time it rains my left ball joint makes noise on bumps and whenever I turn steering wheel, very annoying. My advice, don't by cheap ball joints of ebay, it will cost you more $$$ in a long run.