Broken Ball Joint

From to time I have read of people breaking their ball joints, and quite a few times the car is a Crown Victoria.

I used to think they must have been doing some dukes of hazzard stunt driving or something. But then my mothers broke as she putted across a parking lot.

She left a message on my machine. "The car broke. Okay bye".

The last time I drove it I thought some felt a bit weird. But a visual inspection didn't reveal anything.

Here is the stud as it snapped off. The tire went up into the fenderwell until the tie-rod hit the swaybar. Fortunately the fender is so big no bodywork was damaged.

Here's the top half of the stud. That slight sliver of metal was the only fresh cut visible. The rest of the break was rusty and greasy, and since this happened in January, it must have been like that for months. Amazing it held together.

One side of the threads had a flat spot as if there was a side thrust pushing on it.

I smashed the bottom half of the break hammering the ball joint out.

I've noticed that the Crown Vic spindle has the balljoints oriented at an angle to the ground. Does this make the ball stud snap? Or did it keep it from falling out afterwards? Or both.

One interesting thing is that Mustang and Crown Vics of the same era use the same ball joints. The square body and Fox have the same replacement part number in several website stores and brands.

Aero CV and newer Mustangs also use the same BJ.

So are the parts too small for a CV?

Here's my homemade press. The last time I did balljoints I rented the big C clamp thing from a store across town and still wrenched my back because the screw jack had to be turned close to the ground.

So last summer, after reading a few web pages on presses I made this from square tubing and scraps. It's adjustable for height and can press on or off with adapters.

The jack was thrown out by a neighbor just as I was thinking about this project. It was very rusty but one day in the deruster bath and it was 99.9% clean. Don't know the size but I'd say about 10 tons.

You may notice the blue piece is bent at the bottom. The ball joint went in so easy I kept pumping until it started to spread out.

It is so much easier than the C clamp or hammering it in. Perhaps a smaller one would work just as well.

There just happened to be a used Mustang ball joint in the garage so it was used.

I have been collecting front end stuff from a 2000 to make a complete swap and overhaul, so just did a quick fix here.

	From to time I have read of people breaking their ball joints, and quite a few times the car is a Crown Victoria. I used to think they must have been doing some dukes of hazzard stunt driving or something. But then my mothers broke as she putted across a parking lot. She left a message on my machine. "The car broke. Okay bye". The last time I drove it I thought some felt a bit weird. But a visual inspection didn't reveal anything. Here is the stud as it snapped off. The tire went up into the fenderwell until the tie-rod hit the swaybar. Fortunately the fender is so big no bodywork was damaged.
Here's the top half of the stud. That slight sliver of metal was the only fresh cut visible. The rest of the break was rusty and greasy, and since this happened in January, it must have been like that for months. Amazing it held together. One side of the threads had a flat spot as if there was a side thrust pushing on it. I smashed the bottom half of the break hammering the ball joint out.
	I've noticed that the Crown Vic spindle has the balljoints oriented at an angle to the ground. Does this make the ball stud snap? Or did it keep it from falling out afterwards? Or both. One interesting thing is that Mustang and Crown Vics of the same era use the same ball joints. The square body and Fox have the same replacement part number in several website stores and brands. Aero CV and newer Mustangs also use the same BJ. So are the parts too small for a CV?
Here's my homemade press. The last time I did balljoints I rented the big C clamp thing from a store across town and still wrenched my back because the screw jack had to be turned close to the ground. So last summer, after reading a few web pages on presses I made this from square tubing and scraps. It's adjustable for height and can press on or off with adapters. The jack was thrown out by a neighbor just as I was thinking about this project. It was very rusty but one day in the deruster bath and it was 99.9% clean. Don't know the size but I'd say about 10 tons. You may notice the blue piece is bent at the bottom. The ball joint went in so easy I kept pumping until it started to spread out. It is so much easier than the C clamp or hammering it in. Perhaps a smaller one would work just as well.
	There just happened to be a used Mustang ball joint in the garage so it was used. I have been collecting front end stuff from a 2000 to make a complete swap and overhaul, so just did a quick fix here.