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Installed the driver's side today as it was the bad one. The passenger's side is still tight, so I may hold off on it. Anyhow, it took about 40 minutes to do the whole job. Basically, you'll need a small mouth pickle fork ( tie rod separator), a ball joint press ( borrowed form Autozone with $99 deposit), a 22mm combination wrench, large snap ring pliers and a BFH ( Big Fucking Hammer). Remove the wheel. place the jack under the lower control arm, but leave 1/2 in clearance. Now, remove the cotter pin. using the 22mm, loosen, but DO NOT REMOVE the retaining nut on the ball joint stud. Put the pickle fork in between the spindle and the upper arm. Smack it hard with the hammer and it will eventually pop loose. now, jack the Lower arm upwards with the hydraulic jack to remove tension from the nut and make it easier to remove. Remove the nut. now, lower the lack and let the spindle fall out of the shaft. Now, remove the snap ring.Next, use the ball joint press to remove the joint by placing the large cup around the top of the ball joint, and setting it up to press it up and out. Then you are going to want to set it up with the cup on the bottom and the forcing screw acting on the top of the joint with the top plate there to spread the load and press it in. You want to push it in squarely and not cocked as it won't go in right. Once it is pressed in flat, take the tool off and install the snap ring. Now you can install the nut and cotter pin and you're done.
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1998 Nissan Frontier XE/2wd/5spd 1 owner, 264k miles
1985 Olds Cutlass, 350 Chevy, owned for 14 years
WANTED: 1968-1973 Datsun 510 or 1991-1994 Sentra SE-R
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