Lend a tool program

That's a front wheel spindle on my new to me $450 van. The van is a 1991 GMC Vandura 3500 series 1 ton van. When I bought the van, I could tell from the steering there was an issue in the front end, so I wasn't surprised when the inspection turned up a loose ball joint. I have done plenty of tie rod ends over the years, but this was the first time I tackled a ball joint.

It wasn't easy.

The ball joint allows the steering knuckle to be attached to the upper and lower control arms and allows that whole assembly to flex while keeping the tire in a vertical position. That allows the tire to follow the road surface with some independence from the vehicle body.

The ball joint is connected to the steering knuckle by a tapered rod. Time and function tend to lock the tapered rod in it's socket and it takes a fair amount of force to get them apart. The bottom of the ball joint is a press fit into the lower control arm.

I had to buy a ball joint separator, but I did manage to get the tapered end of the ball joint out of the steering knuckle. But in doing so, I buggered the threads for the nut on top. That meant I could not reassemble the joint and move the van. And this became a problem because I couldn't get the press fit end out of the lower control arm. I use a trick using the a jack and the weight of the van to separate tie rod ends, but that wouldn't work in this situation. I worked on it off and on for three days but was unable to get the ball joint off the lower control arm. This was a big problem because in order to get the van to a mechanic to have the job completed would now require a tow truck. So on top of wasting my own time, paying to get the job done, paying for the tow, the mechanic might have given me a hard time about using the part I had bought ($70). Mechanics make part of their living on the market on parts and the labor rate for installing customer provided parts is usually punitive. I fretted about this all weekend, but after one last attempt on Monday morning to get it done, I was convinced I couldn't do it and I called the mechanic to make arrangements. But they were not open, I always forget they are closed Mondays. With the extra night to think about it, I decided to try getting a ball joint press through one of these lone a tool programs several of the national chain auto parts stores provide.

I called around and Advanced Auto Parts and Auto Zone both have this program. Auto Zone was the only one with the tool I needed available, though. The way Auto Zone's program works is you can come in and buy the tool, use it and bring it back for a refund of the purchase price. And they didn't even give me a hard time about not buying a ball joint. I took the tool home, used it and brought back a week later and they politely credited my account. There were no fees and no hassles. I was really impressed that they are willing to accept such an expensive tool back like this.

Not everything went perfectly, though. The press is a large arbor and a threaded rod like a big C clamp. There are various cups and adapters to make get allow the clearance to push the ball joint out. Unfortunately, the arbor was not wide enough to get the ball joint of my 1 ton van into it. I had to Jerry rig it a little and I wasn't able to use a straight line push. But I eventually found a way to do it. Pushing the new ball joint in had similar challenges, but I managed it.

So, I am giving Auto Zone a plug here for providing the lend a tool program. It saved me a lot of money getting the van towed to a mechanic to have the job finished. I was a lot happier with myself after getting it all back together than I was when I was contemplating getting the van towed. I still have more work to do on the van but it has already pulled home more $ in composted manure than I paid for it.