HELP 2003 ball joint replacement

[Matt2333]

Hi. I am Matt, I am 25 and trying my best to learn.
Currently, I am in the process of replacing all the ball joints in my 2003 2.3 L 2wd XL.
This is the first time I have attempted to do something like this without help from someone else. I had lots of problems thru out the way, but was able to tackle them. But this problem I ran into today while trying to finish the job has me baffled and thinking I did something wrong. I cannot get the upper ball joint to seat correctly into the steering knuckle.
The hole where the ball joint is suppose to go is nice and clean and free of rust. But this is the issue I’m having, shown in the pic. I have tried pounding it in, but I don’t want to force it And damage the ball joint. Please suggest what I should do! I am very frustrated and need to have it back on the road. ( after a professional alignment of course)

 

[Dirtman]

You need to jack the lower control arm up so the upper ball joint will line up with the knuckle better.

 

[Matt2333]

I tried that, do I have to jack it up more?

 

[Dirtman]

It's not lined up in the pics, you need to play with it until its dead on and then jack it up until it slides it. It takes some finesse moving the knuckle and ball joint while jacking it up.

There is a chance you got the wrong upper control arms as well... did you make sure they match the old ones?

 

[Matt2333]

Yes they lined up pretty well, there was also a left and right side, I made sure they were placed in the right spot. I’m going to go back out to the barn and try again I’ll get back to you. Thanks for the suggestion

 

[Matt2333]

It worked. I jacked it up a lot higher than the driver side, but it worked! Thank you!!!

 

[Uncle Gump]

Another thing to remember... suspension components should be torqued with the weight of the vehicle on the suspension.

The control arm bushings are designed to twist in both directions. If you tighten the control arm down in the wrong position... you will most likely ruin the bushing when the suspension starts to work. It can also bind and make it seem as if the ride height was increased or decreased depending on where you tightened it up at.

If you did tighten them up with no weight on the suspension... just loosen the control arm bolts... put the weight on the suspension and bounce it a bit. Then tighten the bolts.