Hey guys, kael here. I am replacing my ball joints this afternoon and I cannot for the life of me find out if the ball joints need to be pressed in on a 94 4runner 4WD. I've got the pickle fork to get them out but the write up I found doesn't specify how the new ones go in. Which could've meant they just go in and are torqued down with the castle nut, but I dont know. Any help, or recommendations would be much appreciated.

Cheers
Kael Klein

 

They don't need to be pressed in. Just troque the 4 bolts to spec and your done.

 

yep no pressing needed. There a PITA to get out though. A pitman arm puller works great for the lowers depending on how long they've been in for.

 

Thanks for the reply!

 

Only replacing the upper ball joints, the reason being, during my attempted spacer install I sheared one of the bolts off(SO rusty). I'll get some fresh units in there and be good for a long time! One more question if you guys don't mind: the ball joints I bought(OE I believe) have studs in them. How might I go about removing these to make room for the long spacer bolts to go in? Or is my noob "driveway mechanic-ness" showing through here haha.
Thanks for the help fellas, yotatech is the bees knees

 

hammer the studs out - just be careful not to hit the boot and you'll be ok with a regular hammer or whatever you've got. watch it with the 4 mounting bolts to attach BJ+spacer to a-arm - since they're most likely not grade 8 you gotta watch for stripping the threads and not over torque them. steering knuckle gets torqued to the BJs like normal. No special tools needed for this job.

 

Thanks! Exactly what I wanted to hear