Come along with me in this video as replacing a ball joint on this 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan takes an unexpected turn and making this simple job drag out a bit....
Remember this video is for entertainment purposes only, all procedures shown are completely wrong and should not be followed in any way, please refer to shop service manual for the proper repair procedure.
Remember this video is for entertainment purposes only, all procedures shown are completely wrong and should not be followed in any way, please refer to shop service manual for the proper repair procedure.
Safety glasses
The biggest difference is you have a shop with all the tools you could need, as well as a vehicle lift on a solid level floor. I'm running with a Walmart floor jack, bricks, Grandpa's tools, on a sloped gravel driveway. We are not the same.
Retitle this video, “ why to move south”.
thank you for the vid
Grind down a wrench so it fits up on the nut without taking that off .. damn northern rust
Did I hear him say the van is 3 years old… and needs a ball joint already … pffff
Rip Billy Mays (Kaboom)
Hit it with your purse!
Amazing, the snapping sound every time the axle spline moved through the rust.
Yup
I see some stupid mechanics on YouTube but this takes the cake. I mean you're messing around with the axle the whole time when all you had to do was put a ratcheting wrench on the nut and get so far and pickle fork it .you drop it down and you take the nut completely off. it's a simple job you made it into a hard job. it's hard to watch low IQ people
Put some elbow grease behind that thing son never had a ball joint tie rod and anything not come off from a little heat
Just zip zip zip lol
Is the book time in upstate NY the same as California?
NY State: DON'T YOU DARE VENT A TINY BIT OF GAS FUMES INTO THE AIR!!(purge system)
Also NY State: feel free to have a wreck and kill people.
Eric, thank you for taking the time and publishing your work. Dave from Windsor Ontario
Brian laundry
I just bought a 2011 DGC in NEOhio…..so scary…and the JEEP hat is so fresh 🙂
I like the part where you say, "Shouldn't be too big a job." at the beginning. That looked like a TON of work!
This is a guy that has all of the equipment and tools available and it's giving him hell, now imagine a guy on his garage with the bare minimum 😳 hell no!
3 years old??? I also think that Axle spline was a little over sized or the hub inner spline undersized.
You good man an honest mechanic God will give you many blessings
Good video! I would've tried a little differently:
1. Unspin the balljoint nut as high as you can
2. separate the balljoint from the hub
3. Pull down the balljoint boot, grab the balljoint shaft with vicegrips, so the shaft doesnt spin
4. undo the nut rest of the way.
to install:
1. put a new balljoint in the hub, put the nut on,
2. push the balljoint up with a jack, so the shaft doesnt spin, tighten the nut.
If any of these steps are impossible to do, then yes, only option is to remove the axle.
It is hard work 💪💯💥💥✌️
🙈🤯‼️‼️
You could have saved so much time and energy by inching down the ball joint while giving space for the bolt. DOH!!
🤓 that's all I've got to say
You suck man! I’m won’t bother watching part 2 and I hope you did that job for free and gave a warranty to cover any future problems you caused. If you can do it, anyone can do it. Definitely some truth there.
Yeah today I just did the same thing only I pulled the damn CV joint out after luckily I was able to unbolt the lower ball joint with a skinny wrench took everything into the shop and used everything this little 20 ton arbor press had and I just managed to pop it free of course the bearing is no good anymore all needs to be replaced but I saved the housing. Can’t even imagine it’s like it’s fucking welded.
This spline joint should of had Never Seez applied to it in the factory, but that would make it too easy to work on later. OK. I was taught the front end business when I was 17 and I loved the work. I was taught by two of the best front end guys on the planet. One thing they taught me was how to use heat as a tool. These sprays are great for what they can do, but they are not going to penetrate a joint like this in less than a hundred years. I would have pulled the caliper, { 5 minutes} and remover the rotor. Get a heat tip going on a torch and heat the hub evenly around as to prevent warping. Get it hot but not cherry color. Then perform the hub pulling tool and sledge hammer procedure as he shows and repeat when needed. Once it breaks loose and the axle shaft moves in, spray that are on the inside and then again on the outside. Tighten the axle shaft back up and repeat until the spray oil can pen the inside of the shaft. I guarantee there will be no damage to the hub and axle shaft bearing, IF you keep as much heat as possible off the shaft. However, if the bearing on the axle shaft gets too hot and cooks, might want to replace it. This method will decrease the work time by at least 1/2 and maybe more. Make sure to have a fire extinguisher handy while using the torch.
Might as well finish poping the axle put antises on it then put it back together
Just put brakes on a neighbors 2010 caravan, I noticed the drivers side lower ball joint is bad. I do have a 20 ton press and have done enough wheel bearings to know I don't want to do any more. Your video is awesome. Being in upstate NY I fight rust every job. i'm supposed to be retired, just helping out the neighbors, they think everything should cost $50. After seeing this i'm sending them to a garage, then they'll appreciate those $100 complete brake jobs a bit more. I was wondering how to get that nut to clear.. That axle spline sometimes comes right out, then there's the other times. i'b buy you a beer if I could. Cheers!
All that work would be crazy not to change that bearing now
Ever break a bone and you can hear it happen. Not good. But in this situation, that break under pressure is a good thing. Sweet sound. Eye, face and even chest protection might be in order, though.
these older videos are nice to watch every so often
Just did brakes on my 2012 caravan and noticed something alittle weird. On my passenger side the axle nut was clean looked great and I even noticed my axle was alittle clunky so big thought for me was doesn’t look like it will give me to hard of a time. But I got to the driver side and pulled off the wheel and there is so much rust build up the end of the axle threads looks like a tapered end of round stock all the way to the back of the axle nut. Do all of these generation caravans have this problem with the driver side axle corrosion and rust??
Damn those neck veins popped with every hammer hit lol, nothing wins against Eric. Mr.O will get the job done no matter what.
Pay now or pay me later? I have changed a few hundred wheel bearings, axles and don't really recall having this much trouble getting them back together, like you have displayed here, is it possible you may have damaged something, or not lined it up properly?
“We’ll that was easy “ lol story of my life!
I'm so glad I don't live in a rust state. At the same time your videos have helped me as a mechanic of 28 years ( southern California) learn techniques on how to deal with rust and broken bots/studs.
I totally feel your pain and frustration. Can you imagine doing this without air tools and a lift, using loaner tools from local auto supply — like I do in my driveway here in Ohio. So painful, it's funny as I break one thing then the next to fix a minor issue. I once ruined an engine block on a dodge caravan when I broke off the ear tab that the thermostat housing bolted to in the back of the engine against the firewall (inaccessible). I love your vids. Thanks for sharing and keep it up
Auto repair has to be the worst industry. Both mechanic and customer walk away feeling screwed most of the time -.- people think mechanics are evil magicians that are out to get you.
There was a rabbit, a white rabbit.
-Alice
Could you have removed the lock nut by holding the stud with vice grips ?
Holy heck. I see why most mechanics would slap a sticker on it and call it good
Sometimes I can free the corrosion by heating it up hot… Heat it up with a torch
Caca
I was just wondering if when you put that puller on the hub, if you tightened the lug nuts all the way so the puller was against the hub? If so, then the puller would have no space to go when you smashed it with the sledge hammer.
Eric, Thank you for the video, I were able to replace the ball joints successfully after watching your video.
It is great to see that there are no editing to all your videos out there. You have just got me subscribed to your channel.
My 2010 town and country did the same thing. 30 minutes of beating it with a sledgehammer got it loose, then 20 minutes fixing the threads with a chaser. Just the driver side tho, the passenger side came right off.