Suspension Tear Down: Step 10 – Unbolting the Lower Ball Joint and Shock. [Project Miata: Suspension Tear Down]

By
charlie
– February 8, 2012
Suspension Tear Down: Step 10 - Unbolting the Lower Ball Joint and Shock.

Only Three bolts left before the lower control arm will swing free on the alignment bolts. Start by pulling the long bolt on the lower ball joint. In our case we found after we removed the nut, that the shaft of the bolt was seized tight to the lower ball joint it’s self. It took some gentle persuasion with a breaker bar and a whole lot of Liquid Wrench to get it to break free. Once you have the bolt turning. Put your impact gun on the bolt and spin it for about 2 minutes. This will break loose all the corrosion and you should be able to safely drive it out with a hammer without mushrooming the threads of the bolt.

Once that’s done unbolt the shock which will give you access to the short bolt holding the tail of the lower ball joint to the control arm.

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About charlie

So in case you haven’t figured it out yet, my name is Charlie Brumfield, and I co-host the Burnout Radio Podcast with Nick Malone. I also Co-Host and write articles for Car Care 101. My ride is the the now infamous Project Miata. I’m also the web guy, the photographer, videographer, editor, writter, audiophile, and graphics monkey for all things Burnout Radio and Car Care 101. I like pie.