V70 T5, 2001, replacing front lower ball joints, 195K miles

[Jake of Sigourney]

Needed to replace both front lower ball joints, and found a pair cheap on e-Bay. Replaced each side in my home garage in less than two hours per side using home made joint removal tool and a driver made with 2 in. electrical conduit, Start by removing wheel, brakes and disc, sheet metal mud shroud, and the ball joint mounting bolts that screw into the bottom of the steering knuckle. Then I used a large sharpened screwdriver pounded in from each mounting tab until the ball joint male component popped out of the female knuckle recess. Then, I removed the two strut bolts that hold the knuckle, and could then push the knuckle aside and rotated 90 degrees to expose its lower surface. The ball joint was then removed from the control arm using a Torx drive in the end of the bolt.

After cleaning metal shards from the knuckle and lubricating with WD40, the new joint can be inserted. First, align the proper rotational orientation using the new mounting bolts, but only finger tightened. The bolts never can be used to advance the joint into its recess, lest you strip the aluminum threads in the knuckle, and besides the mounting tabs are not co-aligned with the center axis of the male component. Instead, I used a scrap piece of 2 inch electrical metal conduit, about 8 inches long and cut at about 2 degrees or so "off" from square at the "business end" to allow focused driving force (by rotating as needed) on any "high side" as the male component advanced into the knuckle. The pipe fits nicely around the rubber boots, and engages only on the metal flange.I vigorously tapped using the side of the 3 pound hammer head onto the pipe. Once "home" the pitch increased, and the gap totally closed between the joint flange and the bottom of the knuckle. Then, the mounting bolts were tightened (use loctite if you like). The attached pictures are in reverse sequence, but you get the idea

Move the knuckle adequate to insert the ball joint bolt into the control arm. If you inadvertently had pulled out the half shaft and disengaged the CV joint, then make sure you don't have the boot twisted when re-inserted. Tighten the lower cone nut, again with loctite if desired, while holding secure with a Torx drive while tightening with a box wrench.

While you may find a way to replace the ball joint without loosening the strut (such as if you had a pair of spring compressors), I found it much easier to do it this way, and it allowed me to rotate the knuckle and drive in the new joint from a horizontal aspect rather then straight upward.