Im replacing the lower ball joint on my 67 drum brake camaro. Ive got both ball joints undone but I cant get the spindle/drum assembly off of the lca. I know people do it all the time without removing the drum brake plate as Ive seen lots of pictures with the whole assembly set aside. I dont have the shock removed or the sway bar disconnected. I didnt want the spring launching across the driveway. Do I have to disconnect them in order to get the lca to lower enough to give me the angle to remove the drum/spindle assembly? I dont want to remove the lca either so dont suggest it. LOL. Any help on this? Thanks. :thumbsup:
Front spindle removal help.
carbuff67rs
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Im replacing the lower ball joint on my 67 drum brake camaro. Ive got both ball joints undone but I cant get the spindle/drum assembly off of the lca. I know people do it all the time without removing the drum brake plate as Ive seen lots of pictures with the whole assembly set aside. I dont have the shock removed or the sway bar disconnected. I didnt want the spring launching across the driveway. Do I have to disconnect them in order to get the lca to lower enough to give me the angle to remove the drum/spindle assembly? I dont want to remove the lca either so dont suggest it. LOL. Any help on this? Thanks. :thumbsup:
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Ok, I now have shock removed and sway bar disconnected and still cant tilt the spindle enough to get it past the lca. The brake backing plate is in the way. If O lower the lca any more its gonna rip my brake line off and send the spring flying. Any suggestions? I did not think this would be an issue. Should I disconnect the tie rod end? Im stuck.
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I have done the LBJ many times without further disassembly. Turn the wheel on the side you are working on to make the tie rod long. (rt side turn wheel left) I think as you lift and turn the wheel back to straight you will get it to come apart.
Jeff
Jeff
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Be very careful with the shock removed there is no longer anything to keep the spring from coming out. I forgot to mention that the lower controlarm must be supported as you lif the spindle off as if the weight was on the wheels. Not hanging like you just jacked it up.
Jeff
Jeff
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Yes, I have the cars frame up on blocks and a jack under the lca to control its movement. Im sticking a metal rod through the shock hole to keep the spring from coming out. Rebar comes in handy sometimes. I will give it a try. Thanks.
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George...if you have the rivets removed from the lower ball joint and the ball joint nut removed, you could try smacking the ball joint at the spindle connection with a pickle fork, it may pop loose. If not, try a brass drift pin and hammer down on the threaded portion of the BJ and you should be able to drive it out through the lower control arm and remove the spindle. You DO NOT need to remove any more spring compression to do this. Too dangerous...:noway:
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I actually have the lower ball joint separated from the spindle. It is pressed into the lca, its the upper that is riveted. The problem is that when I go to lift the spindle off of the ball joint the lca hits the bottom lip of the brake backplate and no angle that I can find will let it get past this point. It is not even really close. Ive jammed the pickle fork under it to try and pry it past that point but its still a no go. If I loosen the 2 bottom bolts holding the backing plate to the spindle, do you think I will be able to pry or flex it enough to let the lca get by? I m really annoyed about this. Disc brakes would not have this problem.
George, Remove the outer tie rod end from the steering arm. That may give you a bit more angle. If that doesn't do it, remove the upper ball joint from the spindle. Push the upper control arm up to get it out of the way. Then you should be able to muscle the spindle off the lower ball joint. It's not unusual to need to pry the backing plate from the lower control arm lip.
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The upper control arm is independent of spring compression, so no worries with that. Try jacking the uca as high as you can and block it, grind off the rivet heads, and try the same procedure for removal as the bottom BJ? To get the clearance, you'll need to get the upper BJ out.
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I'm rebuilding my suspension, just went through this. I disconnected the sway bar end link from the LCA, separated the tie rod from the steering arm, also separated the upper ball joint too, then shoved the upper control arm up. Then there is room for the spinlde and drum brake assembly to come out. I wasn't worried about the spring coming out. It didn't go anywhere, even when both ball joints were separated.
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Well I got it off. Hurray. I was able to unbolt the 2 bottom bolts that hold the tie rod arm to the spindle. This enabled me to pry the backing plate away from the spindle a bit and it popped off right in my hands. Then I had the old joint pressed out, and the new one pressed in, in 10 minutes. Easy peasy. Im kinda worried about this grease boot though It does not cover the whole joint like the old one did. It seems like its gonna get crushed flat when I re install the spindle. It only covers the upper taper of the joint and does not press on or snap on. Is this normal? Its an ac delco joint. If I try to get it to press on a bit Im afraid I will cut it.
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Thats what I thought but it has a metal ring inside the rubber to limit its diameter. I reinstalled the spindle and it seems acceptable. It will probably balloon out with grease. It seems ok.
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Well. Its all done and I appreciate all the help. I think the car will pass inspection now. I can pull back and forth on the wheel with no movement at all. It previously went clunk, clunk back and forth on the bottom. I think I may have trashed the brake hose though as the brakes were pulling badly on the shakedown ride. Add that job to the list. LOL.
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