Upper ball joint hole is too big

R

RubiconMan

Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2017
Messages
43
Location
Peoria, AZ, United States
I ordered new ball joints (Spicer 706944X). I removed everything except the steering knuckle. I used a pickle fork to remove the steering knuckle. When I used the pickle fork on the upper ball joint, the steering knuckle came loose but to my surprise, the upper ball joint came right off. It turns out the upper hole in the inner C is now too large for the ball joint. Has anyone else had this problem? The bottom ball joint is still in the inner C and will need to be pressed out. I am hoping the upper spicer ball joint will fit. If not, what are my options?

Appreciate any and all comments.
 
Peen the bore with a center punch in a crosshatch pattern then apply loctite 680 retaining compound. The 680 will work up to a .015 gap.

Notes:
LOCTITE® 680™ Retaining Compound is a high strength, high viscosity room temperature curing adhesive used to join fitted cylindrical parts. It fixtures in 10 minutes and provides a shear strength of 4,000 psi. Capable of filling diametral gaps up to 0.015 in. (0.38 mm).
For Metal Parts
Loose Fitting / Slip Fit
 
Last edited:
I would measure the bore and the new Spicer ball joint, but yours may be a candidate for a set of aftermarket ball joints that are splined.
 
I ran into this problem when I swapped axles over the summer. I did not try the dimpling trick on my Spicers, ultimately decided to gamble on a cheaper brand someone was selling locally that somehow luckily happened to press in the bore snugly . Wasn't happy about it but that was the situation at the time. I'm locked into oversized now unfortunately unless I swap the axle again. See if you can measure like suggested above for sure and determine what kinda gap you're working with. The Spicers dropped right in on their own
 
I used the dimpling technique with the Loctite. It worked great. If the time comes that the lowers are worn out again, I may not change the uppers.
 
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