Hi All,

I have replaced bottom and top balljoints on my car and was wondering if the workshop manual is correct re the torque settings of the 3 bolts/nuts holding the ball joints on the suspension arms?

I read that they should be 60-80 lb/inch, seems a pretty high setting, does anyone have any thoughts on this please?

thanks Graeme

Double checked with my mechanic and he said the book is right, you'd want to do at least that.

Muscle up. Vince

You have discovered one of the idiosyncrasies of many of the factory service manuals. The ball joints, as assembled by the factory, are typically fastened to the control arms with rivets. When a replacement ball joint is installed it is necessary to use nuts/bolts in lieu of rivets. The factory manuals refer you to a torque specification chart that does not list a torque value for that fastener. The spec you refer to is for the large castle nut that attaches the ball joint stud to the spindle ("60-80 foot pounds"), not the smaller retaining bolts. After some research, I found a 1957 Ford manual which gives the replacement ball joint retaining bolt torque as "28-45 foot pounds". If the upper ball joint incorporates a rubber bumper, tighten the stud on that to 20-35 foot pounds.

Fantastic, thanks very much for the replies, I ended up torquing the bolts to about 20lbft.

Now on to the next fun times, assembling the rest of the front end.

cheers graeme