how to replace a ball joint

hi, i have a 94 plymouth voyager and i want to change the lower ball joint.
i went to canadiantire and but them and they let me borrow the fork to
replace the balljoints. Is that all i need to take off the balljoint and
install back in. Can i just hammer the balljoint back into the hole or
can't.

In article
outautos.com>,
"mike113" > wrote:

> hi, i have a 94 plymouth voyager and i want to change the lower ball joint.
> i went to canadiantire and but them and they let me borrow the fork to
> replace the balljoints. Is that all i need to take off the balljoint and
> install back in. Can i just hammer the balljoint back into the hole or
> can't.

No, don't hammer on the ball joint.

You need a ball joint press, it looks like a C-clamp on steroids
and has various sized receiving cups.
Why they gave you a pickle fork is beyond me since there is no
taper involved where the ball joint stud passes thru the steering
knuckle.
Also, be advised; some of these OEM ball joints have a spot weld
across the junction with the lower control arm, the spot weld
needs to be cut (a hack saw is fine) before you attempt to press
the old ball joint out.

"aarcuda69062" > wrote in message
...
> In article
> outautos.com>,
> "mike113" > wrote:
>
>> hi, i have a 94 plymouth voyager and i want to change the lower ball
>> joint.
>> i went to canadiantire and but them and they let me borrow the fork to
>> replace the balljoints. Is that all i need to take off the balljoint and
>> install back in. Can i just hammer the balljoint back into the hole or
>> can't.
>
> No, don't hammer on the ball joint.
>
> You need a ball joint press, it looks like a C-clamp on steroids
> and has various sized receiving cups.
> Why they gave you a pickle fork is beyond me

Because it's Canadian Tire and they have no clue what they're doing? When I
first started reading the OPs article I was worried he was going to say he
had his vehicle serviced at CT.