Having issues installing ball joint on dana 44 axle

[BRUISER]

I have a ford Dana 44 axle.

I have installed the new ball joints into the "C" and put the "c" back onto the axle, but the lower ball joint will not get all the way tight. it has the oval shaped nuts and when I tighten them down so the top of the nut gets equal to top of the ball joint thread the ball joint starts to spin and I can not get it to tighten any more.

it still has 3 more threads left to get all the way tight

any suggestions on how to the ball joint to stop spinning so I can tighten the nut?

thanks in advance

 

[BRUISER]

pic of what I am talking about

as you can see there is a slot of top of joint , but I can not get anything to hold it.
I tried screw drives, brake tools, and I even made a tool with no luck.

 

[Hurdt299]

I just put ball joints in a Ford 44HD and it had a threaded insert in the C on the axle tube that had to be adjusted to make the ball joint tight. The new ball joint came with new inserts. I ordered a tool that has four prongs on it to remove the insert.

Here's a good writeup on how to install:

http://www.partsmike.com/tech-help/d44-knuckle-inst/

 

[lbyota85]

Just put a block of wood right under the joint and let the weight of the vehicle on it and the pressure will seat the shank of the joint into the tapered hole so you can tighten the nut.

 

[Jeff B]

Just put a block of wood right under the joint and let the weight of the vehicle on it and the pressure will seat the shank of the joint into the tapered hole so you can tighten the nut.

x2 or a bottle jack under the lower ball joint

 

[BRUISER]

Just put a block of wood right under the joint and let the weight of the vehicle on it and the pressure will seat the shank of the joint into the tapered hole so you can tighten the nut.

tried that with no luck I even hit from bottom up with Big Hammer and still no luck.. damn thing keeps rotating

 

[boogercj7]

Do like solar suggested. It works, plus you get the ball joints adjusted properly!!

 

[BRUISER]

I just put ball joints in a Ford 44HD and it had a threaded insert in the C on the axle tube that had to be adjusted to make the ball joint tight. The new ball joint came with new inserts. I ordered a tool that has four prongs on it to remove the insert.

Here's a good writeup on how to install:
http://www.partsmike.com/tech-help/d44-knuckle-inst/

so where did you get tool?

 

[Archdukeferdinand]

tried that with no luck I even hit from bottom up with Big Hammer and still no luck.. damn thing keeps rotating

Like Jeff B says, bottle jack under lower joint.

Then with vehicles weight on it hit down on the C with a mini sledge.

 

[Hurdt299]

so where did you get tool?

I got the tool from Sky Mfg where I had my knuckle machined for high steer. You can do a google search for them. Chase at ECGS probably has them.

 

[kearnsncsu]

i just installed ball joinsts on my D44. you can buy the spanner socket needed from napa. thats where i got mine and it was like $25. You deffinitely need to get the socket to set the preload on the thread in bushing for the upper ball joint. The upper ball joint will not seat properly if you dont torque down the bushing. I know, i ruined a ball joint by not doing so. You also need the socket to remove the old bushing as this may be the cause to why your lower ball joint isnt seating. If the bushing for the upper ball joint is threaded in to far it is likely causing the upper to seat before the C moves up far enough to seat the bottom joint. Hope this helps.

 

[BRUISER]

Well I got the tool suggested above and that did the trick.. the threaded insert was down to far and once i got it correct I could tighten everything up correctly

thanks for help guys