Spinning Ball Joint

[Pat]

I've recently replaced my steering tie rod end ball joints and during reassembly they seem to spin before I get to the recommended 65ft/lb torque setting. A fellow in my car club suggested spraying a little paint on the taper and that would "stick it" allowing the full torque. Another suggested a large clamp on the end of the taper below the nut. I'm not thrilled with the idea of anything getting in the taper and the clamp idea doesn't allow enough room for a wrench.
Any suggestions?

 

[Terry Oxandale]

I'm sure you've checked the threads, and the taper surfaces to ensure no burrs or damage. I have found that some ball-joint threads can be "tight" in that perhaps the machining of them is less than ideal, and the threads are not perfect. I've found running a die over the threads will will loosen them up for a more normal thread engagement. In regards to the paint on the taper, I don't know that that's a problem. It won't affect the strength of the assembly, but have no idea how easily it would break away for disassembly.

 

[Julian]

Clean up and thoroughly degrease the hub and a little rub with a bit of emery paper doesn't hurt.

If the joint is facing up you can usually get away using a jack to put some pressure on the tie rod to force it to bite in the taper under the weight of the car. Downward facing I'd use a ball joint removal tool (clamp U style) in reverse with a large washer to avoid the screw biting into the tie rod casing.

 

[Bill Kearley]

Clean things up with a tap and die, should work. Prob just burrs on the nut or around the cotter pin hole.

 

[Pat]

Thanks for the help. Another suggestion from another forum was to take a regular (non-locking) nut and use that to pull the shaft into the taper and then wrap the joint with a ratchet cargo strap and back out the nut and apply the locknut.

 

[Terry Oxandale]

I'm always concerned about the disassembly as well. I use the nut to protect the threads during removal (if I know that I'm reusing the ball joint). If the nut is not free-spinning, you'll have similar frustrations upon removal (spinning shaft once the shaft is broken loose from the hole), so my advice is to ensure it is somewhat free-spinning (a castle nut should be) before setting with the install.