lower ball joint disaster, Spring question, help please?

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1407614077

So the kid calls me from work and says the truck tire is going out at the bottom... takes pics on his cell & tries to fix it enough to make it home. He did. And these are the pics.

So the question I have is... drumroll... is it possible to replace this without removing the SPRING?
The book says remove the Spring , but that means getting a spring compressor and flirting with serious injury, so asking if it's possible to do it w/out that dangerous part.

Thanks so much in advance! Already got the part ordered & will be a 'fun' way to spend the weekend. Have a way to do the press fit (or so the bf says) with access to a machine shop something-or-another, but it's really the spring I'm worried about.

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*should say upper ball joint, but replacing both at the same time, because that makes sense I hope.

[Fordubishi]

no big deal, jack the truck up and place a jack stand under the lower control arm, lower the jack to place weight on the jack stand.Remove the ball joint nuts then use a Big freaking hammer (BFH) on the spindle where the ball joint is to free it up. Remove the snap ring on the lower ball joint then use the BFH to smack out the ball joint. Next take a propane torch and heat the lower control arm around the lower ball joint hole. throw the ball joint in the freezer for half an hour or so to get it real cold. rent a ball joint press from your local parts store and use it to install the ball joint. The upper one you can remove the 2 bolts holding the A arm and remove it. same heating and cooling process on the upper but if you look close the upper will have a small dot on the arm and the ball joint will have a small dot on it as well. line those up and press in the new ball joint.

If you cant get a press then you can use a piece of 4x4 under the lower ball joint using your jack to press the ball joint into the arm then smacking the control arm around the ball joint to get it to seat, Lifting the truck slightly off the jack stand will help force the ball joint up into the arm as well.

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Whew! All that sounds a heck of a lot easier than playing russian roulette with a spring ~ THANK YOU!!! :))