The most convenient way for me to replace a ball joint is "Module Replacement". So, that would be the whole Knuckle since I cannot have any down time. So I got 2 knuckles from a salvage yard and replaced not only the Ball joint, but also the bearing too since I have 86k miles on the car and I don't want to get back in there. Once I swap the Knuckles, I plan on replacing the ball joint and bearing in the knuckle that is still on my car, and then sell it as 1 unit. It would make it really convenient for someone if they were interested in buying it and doing the same thing I did.

 

Can anyone provide any advice? DId I mess up something? I have way to much negative camber on the drivers side. But I have not done the passenger side yet. Only the drivers side. But I changed the spring.
Setup:
Right side: TypeS spring, + Koni on bottom perch + new OEM upper control arm
Left side: Eibach spring + koni on middle perch + new OEM upper control arm.

The TypeS spring is longer by about 2" but I put the Koni on the bottom perch.. plus I think the typeS spring has more travel, and it collapses more than the eibach.
I didn't have that much negative camber before, So, why do I have so much now?
I drove the car around the apartment complex , over speed bumps, and I did not hear any weird sounds so it makes me think I did it right.

 

I just removed one side of the sway bar in case 1 side was pushing against the other and it didnt help. Now I am afraid to do the other side. Something is not right. The ball joint does look a little cocked over like slanted..... but why?

 

I would double check that the control arms and the steering knuckles are 100% compatible with your year and model TL. My brother once replaced a steering knuckle on his Dodge Magnum with one from a Chrysler 300C which looked identical and he was told would be compatible but he had the same issue as you except his steering knuckle was actually making contact with the shock during suspension travel.

How do your compliance bushings on the lower control arms look? Sometimes when you replace suspension parts the new items are able to transfer forces and loads to the remaining suspension parts more efficiently and accelerate their wear if they are already on the way out.

 

Ya something is not the same with the knuckle. , because I just removed the new knuckle and put the old one back on and loaded the suspension with a jack and it straightened right up. So i do t know if it is the ball joiibt or the knuckle. But my problem with using the old knuckle now is that the ball joibt nut threads were damaged in the removal process.. so now I don't have anything to put back on the car. I just tried knocking out the ball joint on the original arm and it's not coming budging. I thought I had it all planned out. Now I'm stranded. I hate that. Work tomorrow. Just goes to show, a guy needs to horses if one gets sick. Haha. An old guy told me that once..

the compliance bushings only have 2 riny rips. And i have not even drivem the car except in my apt complex doing 2 mph

 

Oh I just knocked out the ball joint in my original knuckle. I have an extra pair of ball joints that is a different brand than the blue mevotech. So, I'm going to press in that other ball joint and give it a shot and see know the camber looks after this..

 

Partial Success. I installed a 2nd set of ball joints that I bought (besides the mevotechs) and I pressed it into my original factory knuckle, and remounted Everything! And I could tell immediately that the camber was Corrected. So, there must be something wrong with the other Knuckle, or the mevotech ball joint. I only had 2 mevotech ball joints and 2 others that I was going to install in my original set and sell it. Looks like I wont be doing that! The other 2 ball joints were from ebay, like no name I guess.. And they are even taller than the mevotechs. The mevotechs might work ok with the correct knuckle installed, like my original knuckle, BUT 1 thing about these other ball joints from ebay, they are taller than the mevotech's and the AXLE was bumping it as I was tightening it.. I knew something was not right because the nut wouldn't go on as easily. And it got tight too soon. Here is the mark on top the ball joint, from the axel. Way too tall! you Must get a low profile Ball joint! Learn from my mistakes...

 

Good catch

 

I went forward with my Factory knuckles, and it works perfect. No camber issues. I even installed a new Sankei 555 Ball joint and new bearings, new hub and splash guard (both not really needed), TypeS springs, new upper control arm, and I had to install a new ABS speed sensor because it broke trying to remove it. It was rusted in the knuckle. So, the drivers side is done, now i just have to do the passenger side. The reason why I did all this is because I had/have bad ball joints. And I really dont want to get back in there and redo bearings in 20k miles, so, I just did it all! The only thing I did not do is the front compliance bushing. And I bought the bushing, but I didnt swap it out. It only has a small tare but I dont think any material has rubbed away causing a lot of play. So, I just left it. Also, the Type-S springs are going to work out great. I bought the Type-S springs for an automatic. But if you look at the attached JPG, you will that the 2005 TL is the heaviest of them all, except for the Type-S Automatic transmission. The 2005 is even heavier than the Type-S Manual. So, I moved the perch on the koni's from the middle to the bottom. I went for a drive, with Eibach on 1 side and Type-S on the other side, and measured the height, and both side are exactly 25 3/4". So far that is exactly what I was going for..I don't know how much it will change when I do the passenger side, but I think it will be modest if anything. I think the ride will be better with the Type-S springs. The eibachs, on the front, only go down so far and then it sort of bounces on larger bumps. There is less spring action with the eibachs. So I'm really glad it is sitting right.. Maybe saturday I will do the passenger side. I know it will go a lot smoother.. But I need a break. haha The reason I bought the other knuckles were to shorten the installation time since you see I had so much to do. But now, since I have to re-use my factory knuckles, then I have to literally press out the ball joint, pres out the hub, press out the bearing, then press In all the new parts.. And THEN remove the spring assembly and swap out the spring.. I have a separate compressor for springs.. its the manual kind.. but it take a long time to do all this. Everything has to be just right. So I have to schedule a wide space to do this.. Like maybe 2 days. I prefer to not work on a car longer than 4 hours at a time. So I can break up this work between friday night and Saturday morning.. This is my daily driver. And I have a job, so its a feat to get it down with no down time. Especially when the salvage yard did not give me the right knuckle. That, or something was wrong with the mevotech ball joints.. I am leaning more toward the knuckle being wrong because the video shows how close it was at the top near the spring. And the spring had nothing to do with the issue. Because I got it installed now.. and all is perfect. I have everything installed just like it was when the camber was a problem... but now I am using my factory knuckles with a Sankei 555 ball joint and it's perfect..

 

correction.. the 2005 automatic is not the heaviest automatic. I rechecked the list. But my goal was to match the weight best with either the automatic typeS or the manual. And I went with the automatic. Plus they were only like $50 each for the springs only.

 

Good job Chad

 

Thanks. I'm going to follow up with a final video, tips and tricks and tools that will help in the process. I still have to do the passenger side tonight and tomorrow morning..but it should go much faster.

 

I finished the passenger side and the car steers like new. I didn't realize how bad it gets over the years until you replace worn ball joints; The steering wheel is dead on straight. I also put the Type-S springs on the car and firmed up the koni's by 1/4 turn, lowered the perch, and it rides much better too. Not to mention the rattle I fixed coming from the rear, it literally drives and handles a lot better and quieter. And I still have rear excessive toe out. When I fix that maybe it will be like a vette. haha Anyway, besides needing a stand alone 12 ton press (not 6 ton), as well as a C-clamp type portable press, these are items that will help the job go faster and smoother.

Portable 13" Internal / External Retaining Clips Snap Ring Circlip Pliers Set
Portable 13" Internal / External Retaining Clips Snap Ring Circlip Pliers Set | eBay
(they look overkill, but the smaller "handsize" snap ring pliers are NOT big enough. wont work)

3/4 in. Ball Joint Separator
3/4" Forged Ball Joint Separator
(This ball joint separator is a must have. Especially for the ball joint and to keep that "sleeve" in the lower control arm. This separator can be used on upper control arm, and tie rod end too. You gotta have this. By the way, this separator was just TINSY bit too narrow for the lower ball joint, so I just barely nicked out a little lip on the inside of the separate with a grinder and it fit around the ball joint. Important note: do not just half way install this Separator because if you intend on reusing that thing that you press out, it might damage the end of the threads. If it is not straight and flat at the bottom when you tighten it down, it can bend the tie rod end or just damage the threads. In either case, it will render that part useless because you can't get the NUT on it.. So be careful on parts that you want to re-install.

TEKTON 2905 3/8-Inch Drive Manual Hand Impact Driver Set, 7-Piece (I bought mine from (O'reilly's or Autozone)

(This Tektron Screw remover is used for removing those Hub retaining screws. Just give it a hard whack and the nut is free. It takes a little bit to figure out how it works, but it works. The splash guard also has screws holding it on. So you can use it on that too. I never used Tektron, I got mine at O'reilly's or Autozone, but as you can see in the picture it looks very close to it).

 

Take it to a mechanic..

 

This 555 ball joint comes with a snap ring to install on the bottom. Most do not have that. Also, this 555 ball joint had the boot retaining clip nicely tucked away so it does not interfere with pressing it into the knuckle. Mevotechs are inferior like that. And there was another cheap ball joint that I bought too. Both were like that. And one was so tall that I could not install the AXLE without hitting it. As shown above. But you will need a 24mm socket to tighten the nut down on this 555..

 

Sankei 555 ball joints holding up okay?