The biggest problem is getting the old one out. Where there is room for two very large hammers the usual way to break the taper on blall joints is to bang the steering arm on each side of the ball joint simultaneously very, very hard indeed simultaneously with a hammer in each hand. This makes the hole go oval for a microsecond and out pops the ball joint. Trouble is, I don't see anyway of getting the necessary hardware into positon without serious risk of damaging something on the way. My recommendation is to buy a top quality joint breaking tool. It's like a reverse pair of scissors which goes between the ball joint and the steering arm at one end; at the other end there is a large bolt which jacks the scissors to open up when you screw the bolt down. In theory it will pop the ball joint out of the tapered hole. The rest of the job is relatively simple, but you will need a pair of spring compressors to compress the McPherson strut spring a long way to enable the joint to come apart. When you undo the track rod end, just break the nut a little and then leave it strictly where it is. Undo the ball joint from the trackrod end after you have removed it from the steering arm. When you put the new ball joint on screw it up to the track rod locknut and then tighten the nut to the ball joint. this will be good enough to get the car to the local tyre place for a tracking check. Don't drive any further than that to avoid damaging your tyres. good luck
Steve Jones
steve jones, January 2013
