imjohnphan

hey there guys, I just wanted to know if you need to do an alignment after replacing your ball joints? Because I know you need to if you replace the tie rods but I am unsure of if you need to when you just replace the ball joints. Thanks

narfy

no.. balljoints are in a set position and are not adjustable... however, if someone has previously aligned your car with bad balljoints, and you notice some tugging or other alignment issues, it wouldn't hurt to go get an alignment... but in 99% of balljoint replacements, no. you do not need an alignment

imjohnphan

when they were replacing them, they were like taking a sledge hammer to the old ball joint and some rod that was connecting to the ball joint. made me feel really uneasy. but now it is replaced and they did it for just 90 bucks both sides. I had the parts on hand though.

narfy

hammering on the balljoint to separate it from the knuckle is a NORMAL method of removal... that rod connecting to teh balljoint was either your lower control arm, or part of teh balljoint itself...

me, personally, i try to use a puller whenever possible... put 500ish pounds of tension on the balljoint (with the nut untreaded so it's flush with the top of the balljoint) and then strike the knucke around the balljoint with a BIG hammer (48oz ball peen is what i try to use) then usually just pops out and i get in with the rest of it...

if i'm 100% sure i'm not re-using the balljoint, then i'll hammer a balljoint fork in to separate it...

imjohnphan

thanks for the info ... atleast now i feel better about it because it looked like it wasnt too good for the car. but atleast now i know its normal to do that. thank you

David1969

Where did you get the ball joints replaced at John?

imjohnphan

Oh I went to some body shop that one of my dads friends knows, I live in Houston, TX. Its called TNY Body Shop and its on the corner of Hollister and Emnora. Its probably really far from where you live but I'm not sure how much it typically runs but it was about 2 hours labor. I forgot to say but I bought the parts and had them put it in. The parts for me was about $130 shipped from one of the ClubLexus vendors. The dude there said he could've gotten it for about $40 each but I doubt they would be genuine Lexus parts.