changing bll joints

[tiparosa]

Changing my upper and lower ball joints and lower bushings on my 62 Dynamic. Supplier did not have upper bushings, may just leave the old ones in place as they look solid. I am replacing stock springs and shocks as well. Can anyone direct me to good instructions for this on a 62 Olds? I dont have a shop manual for this car. If I have a shop do this how much is a fair price for the labor?

thanks,
T

[Oldsfan]

I don't know what a fair price is, but I did all that last year and it was alot of work. My lower bushings were NOS and they didn't last long at all. I should've known better - old rubber. So I had to do them a second time. New lower and upper bushings are available from Kanter in New Jersey. I would do the uppers while you have everything apart.

Ball joints need to be drilled out, and that is a job, too. Replacements will bolt in.

If doing this yourself, first you'll need to get the spindles loose. Don't remove ball joint nuts, just loosen them. Let the springs help bust the spindles loose. Then the shocks need to come out so you can get a spring compressor in there. Once the springs are compressed, you can remove the spindles and drop the lower control arms to get the springs out. Then upper and lower arms can be removed. Reverse for assembly.

Paul

[tiparosa]

Paul,

Did you lug the bushings with anything or put them in dry? How did you remove the old bushings? I have NOS, you have me a little concerned about using them.

T

[Oldsfan]

I put them in dry. They don't need to be lubed. Removal and installation of bushings requires a press. Old ones need pressed out, new ones need pressed in. Careful you don't bend the arms. The new ones will only press in so far, the rest will be taken up once the arms are installed and the bushing bolts are tightened up. Don't tighten the bushing bolts with the car raised and the suspenstion hanging. You need all the weight on the suspension before you tighten the bolts. But you can't get under the car to get at the bolts when it's on the ground. I put ramps under the front tires so I had weight on it and could still reach the bolts.

I strongly recommend that you not use those NOS bushings. I used NOS because I bought a bunch of NOS steering linkage parts from a guy and he also happened to have the bushings. Big mistake. They were chewed up within 250 miles. I bought new bushings from Kanter in NJ and they have been in there for 2 years and are fine.

Also, you'll want to have the front end aligned after you have the control arms and fresh bushings put back on. When you remove the upper arms, try to keep track of where the alignment shims are and put them back. That'll get you close until you can have it aligned.

Paul

[tiparosa]

Paul,

I broke down and am having a local shop do the work. I hope they dont screw it up. I am using NOS for the lower bushings but I may buy new ones as they have not completed the job yet.

thanks,
T