Lagoo
New Member
Is that all I need to change upper one? Remove castellated nut ,cotter pin,unthread ball joint with 2 9/64" socket replace ? Thank you
Thank youBe prepared to spend a lot of time and energy separating the upper ball joint from the spindle. That may take a lot of heat and many a hit to the spindle with a big hammer. Once it was all free I was very surprised at how difficult it was to turn the ball joint to unthread it. It took the longest breaker bar any of my friends owned and a jack handle extension with all of my body pushing or pulling the whole way out.
But, if I did it, anybody can!
FWIW, I've used a pickling fork for years for separating suspension parts.Be prepared to spend a lot of time and energy separating the upper ball joint from the spindle.
Don't buy a "cheap" one. I had a choice of a $16 or $28 Pitman arm puller. I decided to save money. When it bent while not removing the arm, I went back and bought the other one. Good things come in higher priced packages.
The store did refund my 16 bucks too, for which I was appreciative.
I do believe the ball joints for A and B bodies are smaller than for a C. If you were thinking all large Mopars I would agree.That size applies to Mopar ball joints from 1958 through 1989 - basically, all of the Mopar rear drive cars built for 30+years. I believe half-ton pickups use that same size, as well.
That size applies to Mopar ball joints from 1958 through 1989 - basically, all of the Mopar rear drive cars built for 30+years. I believe half-ton pickups use that same size, as well.
I do believe the ball joints for A and B bodies are smaller than for a C. If you were thinking all large Mopars I would agree.
I found there was a tad too much slop with the 2-1/8th socket for my comfort when dealing with that nut that required 3 men and a boy to break loose. I highly recommend going that 0.08333333333 inch.C-Body uses the largest 2 1/8 or 2 9/64"
I typically work alone, same idea, one strap to hold the socket down, the other to keep the bar in place, then a couple good hits with a 10# sledge and it was loose.trick I've learned doing ball joints is to have a helper push down on the socket to keep it seated and square on the ball joint, otherwise it tends to twist and slip and eventually round out the sides on the Ball joint. And use a good dose of heat on the threads, and then a quality breaker bar with probably a 4' cheater pipe. I've had ones so stubborn I had to break out my grandfathers old 1950's Craftsman 3/4" drive ratchet and a 8' cheater. ;)
I ordered it. Thanks!Ebay is your friend. I bought a Sunex socket and used my impact to remove it. Worked like a champ. Mine was the 1 59/64" though for my 66.
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Hi John,There are 3 ball joint sockets that were used in the 60/70's.
There's some caveats here, but this is close.
Pre-73 A-Body uses a 1 13/16 socket. I've also seen these sockets listed as 1.809", which is an RCH under 1 13/16" Later A bodies (I think) may use the B-body size, but I've heard it both ways.
B-Body uses a 1 7/8 or 1 59/64" socket. Both work... just some socket companies added an extra 1/64" (or .015") to the socket size. I've had people tell me they've used a B-Body socket with no problem on an early A Body, but it's sloppy and you need to be a little careful.
C-Body uses the largest 2 1/8 or 2 9/64" socket. Again, that extra 1/64" on some sockets.
I wonder if they used a larger socket on the later cars.Hi John,
I bought the Sunex 2 9/64 socket. It's way too big for the upper ball joints on my 1971 Fury. Also, too big for the Moog K772 replacement ball joints that I bought. My 1971 ball joints measure a little less than 2". Do you think Mopar downsized C-Body ball joint head size to match B-Body so that 1 59/64 would work?
Thanks, Ben
1971 Fury control arm
View attachment 583432
I wonder if they used a larger socket on the later cars.
The socket I had for my C-bodies grew legs and walked off some years ago, so I can't measure it. I keep thinking it wasn't the same one as the B-Body but that socket also walked off at the same time. It's a long story... All I have now is a couple early A body sockets.