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Am I Doing Something Wrong? LCA Balljoint Issue... #1726843 01/11/15 01:45 AM 01/11/15 01:45 AM
Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 12,375 SoCal MuuMuu101 OP I got lucky at Woodward!
MuuMuu101 OP I got lucky at Woodward! Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 12,375 SoCal	So, I have brand new MOOG LCA ball joints I was in the process of installing on my Dart with 73+ disc brake spindles. Now I'm having a couple issues... First off, the nut that ties the ball joint to the LCA spindle is a PIA to get to and I'm only able to "tighten" the nut 1/8 to 1/4 turn at a time. My second issue is that the threaded member (or bolt) is spinning within the ball joint. Am I supposed to have a wrench somewhere to stop the threaded portion from spinning or do I have a faulty part?

Re: Am I Doing Something Wrong? LCA Balljoint Issue... [Re: MuuMuu101] #1726844 01/11/15 02:05 AM 01/11/15 02:05 AM
Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 12,375 SoCal MuuMuu101 OP I got lucky at Woodward!
MuuMuu101 OP I got lucky at Woodward! Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 12,375 SoCal	Picture of said nut... The whole nut and bolt just spin as one piece. 8392114-LCANUT.jpg (286 downloads)

Re: Am I Doing Something Wrong? LCA Balljoint Issue... [Re: MuuMuu101] #1726845 01/11/15 02:06 AM 01/11/15 02:06 AM
Joined: Dec 2007 Posts: 18,157 Mass DAYCLONA I Live Here
DAYCLONA I Live Here Joined: Dec 2007 Posts: 18,157 Mass	You didn't grease the ball joint before assy did you? In any case, just give the lower control arm a rap with a hammer to force it down slightly to wedge the taper, put a few washers under the nut, eventually eliminating them as you tighten the nut several times and removing a few washers each time untill the taper establishes a tight enough fit for you to fully draw it into the LCA ball joint tapered bore

Re: Am I Doing Something Wrong? LCA Balljoint Issue... [Re: DAYCLONA] #1726846 01/11/15 02:09 AM 01/11/15 02:09 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 32,909 Grand Prairie,Texas stumpy I Win
stumpy I Win Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 32,909 Grand Prairie,Texas	It looks to me like the nut is cross threaded. You should be able to run that nut down by hand a lot further then that.

Re: Am I Doing Something Wrong? LCA Balljoint Issue... [Re: DAYCLONA] #1726847 01/11/15 02:09 AM 01/11/15 02:09 AM
Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 12,375 SoCal MuuMuu101 OP I got lucky at Woodward!
MuuMuu101 OP I got lucky at Woodward! Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 12,375 SoCal	Quote: You didn't grease the ball joint before assy did you? I did not... Should I have done that? Or did I screw it up?

Re: Am I Doing Something Wrong? LCA Balljoint Issue... [Re: MuuMuu101] #1726848 01/11/15 02:12 AM 01/11/15 02:12 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 32,909 Grand Prairie,Texas stumpy I Win
stumpy I Win Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 32,909 Grand Prairie,Texas	When you get the nut on straight you can smack the A arm down onto the stud a little and that should help.

Re: Am I Doing Something Wrong? LCA Balljoint Issue... [Re: stumpy] #1726849 01/11/15 02:12 AM 01/11/15 02:12 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 4,323 NY NY 3 340duster340 master
340duster340 master 3 Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 4,323 NY NY	Quote: It looks to me like the nut is cross threaded. You should be able to run that nut down by hand a lot further then that. 1966 Dart GT ...down to only 1 mopar for the first time in 15 years!

Re: Am I Doing Something Wrong? LCA Balljoint Issue... [Re: stumpy] #1726850 01/11/15 02:12 AM 01/11/15 02:12 AM
Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 12,375 SoCal MuuMuu101 OP I got lucky at Woodward!
MuuMuu101 OP I got lucky at Woodward! Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 12,375 SoCal	Quote: It looks to me like the nut is cross threaded. You should be able to run that nut down by hand a lot further then that. I can't tighten it or loosen it by hand...

Re: Am I Doing Something Wrong? LCA Balljoint Issue... [Re: MuuMuu101] #1726851 01/11/15 02:13 AM 01/11/15 02:13 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 32,909 Grand Prairie,Texas stumpy I Win
stumpy I Win Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 32,909 Grand Prairie,Texas	Like I said it looks cross threaded. Drive the A arm down on the stud and try to take the nut back off.

Re: Am I Doing Something Wrong? LCA Balljoint Issue... [Re: MuuMuu101] #1726852 01/11/15 02:16 AM 01/11/15 02:16 AM
Joined: Dec 2007 Posts: 18,157 Mass DAYCLONA I Live Here
DAYCLONA I Live Here Joined: Dec 2007 Posts: 18,157 Mass	Quote: Quote: You didn't grease the ball joint before assy did you? I did not... Should I have done that? Or did I screw it up? Just checking as some individuals "pre grease" the ball joint before install thinking they're ahead of the gane, only causing it to spin while tightening...

Re: Am I Doing Something Wrong? LCA Balljoint Issue... [Re: stumpy] #1726853 01/11/15 02:20 AM 01/11/15 02:20 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 8,478 Candler,NC / Myrtle Beach, SC J JDMopar master
JDMopar master J Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 8,478 Candler,NC / Myrtle Beach, SC	I usually leave the upper ball joint loose until I get the lower one tight. You have to push it up in the lower control arm to get the taper to bite a little so the ball joint stud doesn't spin. If you leave the top loose, you can tilt the spindle enough to get a socket on it instead of a wrench. You'll get it. None of us knew how to do it the first time. At least you're trying and learning.

Re: Am I Doing Something Wrong? LCA Balljoint Issue... [Re: JDMopar] #1726854 01/11/15 02:25 AM 01/11/15 02:25 AM
Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 12,375 SoCal MuuMuu101 OP I got lucky at Woodward!
MuuMuu101 OP I got lucky at Woodward! Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 12,375 SoCal	I'll try it out right now, if not tomorrow. And I was expecting having the entire suspension done and torqued today. I love how this crap always happens to me.

Re: Am I Doing Something Wrong? LCA Balljoint Issue... [Re: JDMopar] #1726855 01/11/15 02:35 AM 01/11/15 02:35 AM
Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 12,375 SoCal MuuMuu101 OP I got lucky at Woodward!
MuuMuu101 OP I got lucky at Woodward! Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 12,375 SoCal	So let me get this straight, you guys want me to remove the UCA ball joint from the spindle so that I can realign the LCA ball joint so the taper "bites" and I can remove the nut?

Re: Am I Doing Something Wrong? LCA Balljoint Issue... [Re: MuuMuu101] #1726856 01/11/15 02:42 AM 01/11/15 02:42 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 15,976 Chilliwack B.C. Canada R RUNCHARGER I Live Here
RUNCHARGER I Live Here R Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 15,976 Chilliwack B.C. Canada	You can try clamping the taper into the lca to stop it from spinning or sometimes put side pressure on it (or a combo). I would spin the nut off and inspect the stud and nut threads before doing anything else though, they are damaged and it doesn't take much to cause a problem. Sheldon

Re: Am I Doing Something Wrong? LCA Balljoint Issue... [Re: MuuMuu101] #1726857 01/11/15 02:51 AM 01/11/15 02:51 AM
Joined: Jun 2005 Posts: 6,257 gulfport, ms, west mi rowin4 master
rowin4 master Joined: Jun 2005 Posts: 6,257 gulfport, ms, west mi	I think if you loosen, not take off the ball joint from the spindle it would give you enough room to get a socket on the ball joint stud nut. You have pressure from the jack pushing the stud in. As stated above, the nut should turn on easily by hand, if not you either cross threaded the nut or the threads are jammed up so the nut will not thread on. Take the nut off, take a look and proceed to reassemble correctly . it's ok to butt heads, just don't do it with a butthead

Re: Am I Doing Something Wrong? LCA Balljoint Issue... [Re: rowin4] #1726858 01/11/15 03:15 AM 01/11/15 03:15 AM
Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 12,375 SoCal MuuMuu101 OP I got lucky at Woodward!
MuuMuu101 OP I got lucky at Woodward! Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 12,375 SoCal	So, with the T-bars installed, I jacked up the LCA balljoint and it seated itself in. I was then able to back off the nut with a wrench. However, I don't think the nut is the issue. The threads look good or at least better than the ball joint's. 8392161-Threads2.jpg (161 downloads)

Re: Am I Doing Something Wrong? LCA Balljoint Issue... [Re: MuuMuu101] #1726859 01/11/15 03:16 AM 01/11/15 03:16 AM
Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 12,375 SoCal MuuMuu101 OP I got lucky at Woodward!
MuuMuu101 OP I got lucky at Woodward! Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 12,375 SoCal	It seems like the threads are flattened where the holes are for the cotter pins (hard to see in the picture). I'll ask my friend if he can bring a die next weekend. 8392162-Threads1.jpg (213 downloads)

Re: Am I Doing Something Wrong? LCA Balljoint Issue... [Re: MuuMuu101] #1726860 01/11/15 03:32 AM 01/11/15 03:32 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 27,451 So Cal autoxcuda Too Many Posts
autoxcuda Too Many Posts Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 27,451 So Cal	Quote: It seems like the threads are flattened where the holes are for the cotter pins (hard to see in the picture). I'll ask my friend if he can bring a die next weekend. How about getting a small brush (old toothbrush) and clean the dirt out of the threads. Gotta be careful not to knick the threads while installing ball joints though the taper hole.

Re: Am I Doing Something Wrong? LCA Balljoint Issue... [Re: autoxcuda] #1726861 01/11/15 03:39 AM 01/11/15 03:39 AM
Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 18,678 Fresno, CA Jim_Lusk I Live Here
Jim_Lusk I Live Here Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 18,678 Fresno, CA	Either the picture is weird or the stud is bad. Look and make sure the threads are straight (I don't think they are). What brand are the joints?

Re: Am I Doing Something Wrong? LCA Balljoint Issue... [Re: Jim_Lusk] #1726862 01/11/15 04:02 AM 01/11/15 04:02 AM
Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 12,375 SoCal MuuMuu101 OP I got lucky at Woodward!
MuuMuu101 OP I got lucky at Woodward! Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 12,375 SoCal	Quote: Either the picture is weird or the stud is bad. Look and make sure the threads are straight (I don't think they are). What brand are the joints? These are MOOG ball joints. The picture may be a little weird as it was taken in a poorly lit garage (I only have 2-4 lightbulbs on) and a camera phone with flash. But to the right of the stud, it looks weird due to the hole for the cotter pin. From my visual inspection about an hour or so ago, the threads looked like they were flattened around the area of the cotter pin.

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