[1969CATALINA]

I NEED TO REPLACE THE LOWER BALL JOINTS ON MY 69 CATALINA 400/TH400 DRUM BRAKES.

I NEVER DONE SUCH A THING--CAN ANYONE PROVIDE ME WITH INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO DO THIS & WHAT TOOLS I WILL NEED-- I COULD ALSO USE A MANUFACTURER & PART# FOR LOWER BALL JOINTS

[1969CATALINA]

I NEED TO REPLACE THE LOWER BALL JOINTS ON MY 69 CATALINA 400/TH400 DRUM BRAKES.

I NEVER DONE SUCH A THING--CAN ANYONE PROVIDE ME WITH INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO DO THIS & WHAT TOOLS I WILL NEED-- I COULD ALSO USE A MANUFACTURER & PART# FOR LOWER BALL JOINTS

[Bull]

Oh, man, I am in the middle of a suspension rebuild on my '78 Lemans. The biggest danger here is in the fact that those coil springs contain enough stored energy to literally decapitate you, so in my opinion a quality coil spring compressor is a must. You can rent them for free at AutoZone, or buy cheap ones on Ebay, but I value my head and life, so I shelled out about $80 for one at NAPA. You will also need a pickle fork to separate the balljoint, or a ball joint/tie rod puller (the fork will most likely destroy the rubber boot, the puller will not).

Let me respond to this one again later. There are some old threads on this site that I found very useful, and I will try and find them for you. Maybe others will respond in the meantime.

[Bill Eveland]

69Cat, you will ned a ball joint press, it looks like a big c-clamp.
As long as you have the car on jackstands and the lower control arm supported , the spring won't come out, the shock and sway bar link keep the control arm from swinging down and letting the shock out.
First , remove the cotter pins for the outer tie rod and upper/lower bj's, it's important to get these out on the parts you will be reusing to be able to get the cotter pin back in.
I don't use a pickle fork either on parts I i'm not replacing during service, the fork tears the boot , I use a bfh and hit the side of the spindle enough to knock it loose.
Start with the upper bj( after the lower control arm is supported) and remove the cotter pin/nut, kcock the basll joint loose, this will relieve all the extra tension from the spring so it's important to have the control arm supported well. The upper arm shold pop up slightly.
If you don't want to disturb your brakes, its important during getting the lower ball joint loose the same was as the upper or fork if needed to have something next to the lower control arm to support the spindle with the brake hose attached. And some wire to tie it up for extra support. You can run some wire thru the upper bj hole in the spindle and attach to frame. The lower bj will need to be pressed out and in will the c-clamp. You will need at least 16" between the lower arm and floor to get the clamp in under the arm to use. Higher I'f you want to get an airgun on it.
You will need the big cup on the bottom and the clamp with the threaded rod on towards the floor . The open end of the clamp goes on top the bj stod and tighten till the bj pops out.
To install with the clamp, there will be another adapter that fits on the end of the screw thats flat, that goes on the bottom of lower ball joint, above the arm the big cup with the flat washer that goes with it on top of it. the screw end on the bottom side of the control arm and press in fully.
As fas as the bj's check here at Py , if not I like to put Moog in, I think carquest front end parts are moog , napa is ok too.
Hope you got all that, good luck , Bill

[Bull]

Ok, glad a more seasoned mechanic responded

I found two links that might interest you. One thread is about balljoint removal only, and the other is about removing coil springs, with some good pics of how to use the spring compressor in a slightly different way than normal. Works well, I think.

http://forums.performanceyears.com/g...8468#519108468

http://forums.performanceyears.com/g...11&m=284105788

[1969CATALINA]

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE INFO GUYS--I APPRECIATE IT--
AFTER READING ALL THE INFO, I THINK I'LL MAYBE HAVE A PROFESSIONAL DO IT-- I FOUND A MECHANIC IN ENFIELD, CT. WHO SAID HE'D DO IT FOR $35 EACH SIDE-- PARTS NOT INCLUDED--- SEEMS THE $100 OR SO I'LL SPEND FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT FOR ME MAY BE SAFER.

[Bull]

That sounds like a pretty good price. Midas was going to charge me $90 to do one side. Plus, he'll probably have it all done in a matter of hours, whereas you might spend an couple days the first time around. You have a garage to work on your car in, or do you have to work on it in the street?

[1969CATALINA]

I DONT HAVE A GARAGE-- I DO ALL MY WORK IN THE STREET-- HOURS IS CERTAINLY MUCH BETTER THAN DAYS-- MY PONTIAC IS NOW MY DAILY DRIVER FOR THE SUMMER

[1969CATALINA]

THIS HAS BECOME THE QUEST FOR THE HOLY GRAIL?? I CANT BELIEVE I CANT FIND THIS PART--CHECKED NAPA,MOOG, TRW, ENERGY SUSPENSION, PERF YEARS, ADVANCE AUTO, AUTOZONE--NOBODY STOCKS LOWER BALLJOINTS OR KNOW'S WHERE TO GET THEM?? I AM SCREWED!!

[1969CATALINA]

PY TO THE RESCUE--THEY HAVE THEM

[Bull]

Did you use NAPAs online catalog, or talk to a guy in person? I have found that thier online search feature is far from perfect, and does not show items that they carry. I would be/am very surprised that they do not have this part.

Don't fret, I seem to have found them for you. Below is a link to the relevant page from the Kanter online catalog. Kanter specializes in a lot of stuff for old cars. They appear to have both upper and lower ball joints for the '69 Cat (fullsize) and all the other suspension parts, too. Here's the link:

http://www.kanter.com/p60-pos.html

Let me know how it works out for you!

[Bull]

Damn, beat me to the punch!

[1969CATALINA]

WHADDYA MEAN?? DAVE--YOU KNOW ANY PLACE LOCAL TO US THAT WOULD HAVE IT IN STOCK OR BE ABLE TO HAVE IT FOR ME BY FRIDAY NIGHT OR SAT MORNING??

[1969CATALINA]

THANKS FOR THE KANTERS LINK--SHOULDA THOUGHT OF THAT MYSELF--I HAVE TONS OF THEIR CATALOGS AT HOME-- PY IS CHEAPER-- NAPA ONLINE SEARCH ONLY-- GONNA CHECK IN PERSON TONIGHT W/NAPA-- NO CREDIT CARDS--GOTTA FIND FOR CASH OR C.O.D--- GETTING CLOSER--JUST WANT TO HAVE INSTALLED BY SAT MORN---

WILL PROBABLY BE AT CRUISE FRIDAY NIGHT--

[Bull]

I'd definitely call NAPA and ask in person. I'm almost certain they'd have it. They've never let me down, even when I need stuff for a real unpopular car, like my '78 mercury Monarch. The store I go to in Belchertown never needs more than a day to get a part in for me.

What I meant by the "beat me to the punch" line was that you had found it at PY before I posted my Kanters link.

What cruise you going to on Friday? I don't think I can even get my GTO out of my barn yet, since the ground from the barn to my driveway is still soft and muddy. I got stuck like you wouldn't believe last fall!

[1970cat]

65-70 use the same ball joints. tough items to find. the lower ball joints from kanter will be fine, but don't bother with the uppers. they are not right. if you do a search on it, you will find a thread on this subject.

[1969CATALINA]

FRIDAY NIGHT CRUISE IN AGAWAM-- GONNA DROP BY & SEE IF IT STARTS THIS FRIDAY OR NEXT WEEK?? CANT DO LUDLOW THIS SUMMER--THEY CHANGED MY WORK SCHEDULE-- I WORK TUESDAY NIGHTS TIL 8PM--SO I'LL BE CHECKING CRUISES OUT ON MONDAYS, WEDNESDAYS, FRIDAYS & WEEKENDS-- BIG SHOW & SWAPMEET IN GREENFIELD MAY 15TH-- I PLAN GOING PARTS SHOPPING THIS ONE--

[Bull]

There's another thread about shows in the area, and apparently there is a Pontiac/Buick show in Nashua NH on the 22nd of May. I'm thinking about going...you?

[1969CATALINA]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Pontiac/Buick show in Nashua NH on the 22nd of May. I'm thinking about going...you? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
GOOD IDEA-- WHERE IN NASHUA? I THINK I'D LIKE TO GO--

[Bull]

The 13th Annual Tulley Buick-Pontiac-GMC Show will be held May 22,2005 at the Anheuser-Busch Brewery Daniel Webster Highway Merrimack, NH. Set up at 8:00 am till Noon.

Hey, did you find those ball joints at NAPA today?