Lower Ball Joint replacement and Crank Pully Removal---2000 Xterra

[xterrible]

I think my lower ball joints are shot. I bought replacements but see no instructions for removal and installation. Any one ever sone this? any one have any advice?

Also, I am doing the timing belt and I am having a little trouble pulling the crank pully. is it standard thread or reverse? just a pain to get off? Car is in gear and i am getting alot of rotation. any help would be awesome.

[Desert Rat]

It's gonna be real hard to do with the a-arm still on the truck, so you're going to have to remove torsion bars to get them off first. Mark with a paint pen where the splines are on the Tbars in relation to the anchors so there's no guess work when putting it all back together and make sure the Tbars are splined all the way in. I can't emphasize how important that is. With the truck on jackstands and wieght off the suspension, you'll take the preload off the rear anchor first - the anchor bolt s in the crossmember. Remove that bolt all together and then loosen the nuts on the front anchor so it wiggles and you should be able to wiggle the torsion bars out.

Beyond that, you'll see how it goes together. You'll need to separate the LBJ from the spindle. Do do this, remove the nut and get our your BFH and hit the spindle right where the balljoint goes through. Hit it HARD a few times until it pops loose. Now remove the two bolts holding the lower control arm in place. I've seen these bolts rust into the sleeves on a lot of trucks, and if this is the case on yours, be preapared for a fight to remove the thing, and there's a good chance you'll trash the bolts in the process.

Look for cracks around where the balljoint is pressed in and around your shock mount, as the D22 Lower control arms are notorious for that. If there's cracks around the balljoint, you need new arms. OEM ones will already have a new balljoint pressed in. Cracks around the shock mount can be fixed with a welder.

The old LBJs will need to be pressed out and the new ones pressed in. Look at Reverend D's post about replacing the uppers on his truck - special tools make this job easier / possible.

[xterrible]

awesome, thanks alot. I have replaced the old uppers already...but with new arms and ball joints...that is my lift. that being said, i am familiar with the front end of this thing. She is down for a while any way, so i have the time. New lower arms are expensive though, so i hope the BJ's are not craked and require replacing the arms. do i have to get it realigned after? if i mark it, it should be ok, right?

[xterrible]

...also, is there bushing or any other servicing that needs to be done to the arms while i have them off?

[Desert Rat]

Just depends on the condition of the bushing. If the bolts are siezed in the sleeve like I'd mentioned, chances are you're going to trash those on the way out. Then the case for a new set of arms gets stronger.