Bottom ball joint/ lower arm on a 1 litre Ford Fiesta (2012-2016) How to replace

[@alanp9740]

Thanks for the vid. Just done this job, control arm bolts are @£4.10 each from Ford and Ebay does the pinch bolt and nut for @£5.50 for anyone who is interested.

[@paulkidger]

My wife's Fiesta had an intermittent knock and failed its MOT due to ball joint. This did not show when I jacked the car and 'wiggled' the wheel. The MOT man agreed it was difficult to detect and only showed on the MOT Wheel Wiggler. Removal was a slog and needed some brute force; something that goes against the grain. I did notice grease from the ball joint on an otherwise dry arm; maybe indicative of the failure. Fitting the new was straightforward but getting the ball joint into the hub was a fiddle. It finally just slid in. Thanks for the video. Great to be forewarned about the fiddling needed to remove and replace the arm from to the body. Thanks also in the responses about info on tightening whilst under load.

[@GreenCrayons]

Thanks for the upload! Just finished the job about an hour ago. I had to "gently persuade" the old ball joint to finally accept freedom. I did this by hammering in the chisel and leaving it there to keep the ears slightly ajar. Thanks again!

[@mrter2011]

thank you. i use ford fiesta 1.4 mt from thailand and replace ball joint . example it so good

[@IanLanc]

Best video yet. Thanks.

[@ALLTHINGSJIM]

Thanks for the kind comment 👍

[@IanLanc]

@@ALLTHINGSJIM I've looked at several Ford Fiesta wishbone removal & refit video's, your video is the most accurate.

[@thefatdago]

Thank you sir........top notch video.........Now I can fix my granddaughters car......I added you to my favorites........Again, Thanks, The old Dago

[@brianiswrong]

Thankyou for the video,straight to the point .

[@ALLTHINGSJIM]

Thanks for watching and commenting! 👍

[@Rsenior1981]

I can’t believe the ball joint is that easy to remove. I’ll have to try it for sure, but just cant believe it. Lol

[@Rsenior1981]

Yep, it didn't work. Trying to let it sit for a while with penetrant.

[@ALLTHINGSJIM]

@@Rsenior1981 , open the gap up slightly with a chizel get a big bar and get someone to lever down on it while pushing the hub inwards towards the engine then smack the lower arm with a big old hammer and it should pop out after a few good wacks if its really stubborn 👍

[@Rsenior1981]

Hey! Thanks for the reply. Sitting overnight with penetrant worked. I did open the gap, but I was afraid to open it too much. Either way, I got it. Thanks.

[@bradsg3465]

Brilliant video, thank you!

[@brianraymen3085]

Very good video i need both mine doing 2013 fiesta have been told the garage needs car all day ? what for i dont know i would do my self but do not have jacks and even worse i have very bad arthritis in my lower back and find it very difficult to bend over for any length of time, can you tell me how long this would take to do and estimate cost please.

[@ALLTHINGSJIM]

Thanks, its very hard to give an estimate as depending on garage/ area you live the prices will differ... a main dealer will obviously charge you ALOT more to do it too, the job wouldnt take them all day, they just want your car all day so theres no rush to do them, a good mechanic would get both lower arms replaced in 40mins provided theres no problems... id say a main dealers probably going to charge you close to £400-£500 for both, a decent back street garage probably half of that, after market lower arms arnt that expensive to be honest , hope that helps👍

[@brianraymen3085]

@@ALLTHINGSJIM thanks jim i had both rear sus, bushes done at a ford garage mot advisory that was £300 a mate did say i should have looked around 1st im still waiting on a quote if i dont get one mon, i will be moving on but many thanks for your feed back, im from near sleaford in Linc,s

[@angeldiaz8187]

Muy bueno👍, Ford Ecosport 2014 es el mismo procedimiento?

[@saulgoodman7495]

3:32 unless i've have interpreted the tech data wrong. The torque for rear bolt is 103nm and front is 65nm whereas here you have done it the other way? 52nm for pinch bolt is correct

[@chrisdavies8066]

I fitted the first two bolts but the bushing doesn’t line up to pop back in as easy as yours. Any reason why

[@marcelh2341]

I think it's better to fasten the bolts when it's under load? If you fasten the bolts all the way with no load, the rubber is constantly stretched when load is applied.

[@ALLTHINGSJIM]

Your right yes its best to jack the arm up into its normal loaded position before tightening the bolts , I believe ive explained this in a previous comment and also shown it in a different video 👍

[@toyotoe3732]

Thank you.

[@toyotoe3732]

Hi Jim. Appreciate if you could provide some info / link / dimensions of good chisel for opening ball joint gap?

[@antoquill]

Really helpful, thanks mate

[@ibo1137]

Perfect guide thanks bro. Btw, does the new control come with all new bushing and bearing and stuff included?

[@ALLTHINGSJIM]

Thanks! Yes the arm comes with all bushes, it doesnt come with new bolts though so if you want them you have to buy those seperate 👍

[@ibo1137]

@@ALLTHINGSJIM Okay. I guess you get them from the FORD dealer, right?

[@memamomum]

Great video. Been meaning to replace both front arms on my Fiesta but I don't have replacement bolts / nut. Where would one purchase a set?

[@ALLTHINGSJIM]

Thanks, the bolts/ nuts are OEM only I think so youd have to go dealer to buy the bolts but I dobt think they are much 👍

[@PhilipMaguire-nv5fj]

Heat plate?

[@markh5433]

Would a worn track control arm cause the steering to pull? And also scrub the inside edge of the N/S trye off? I had the tracking checked and it was fine

[@ALLTHINGSJIM]

Any number of things can cause the steering to pull, worn joints, bent components, uneven tyre pressures etc... all of which should be checked before doing tracking, id suggest first going to a different reputable garage to get them to do a free health check and tracking... youll probably find the first people to check it probably didnt do it properly 👍

[@markh5433]

@@ALLTHINGSJIM new track control arms fitted, not really worn to be fair, Two new front tyres fitted,tracking re checked, found to be 3dgrs toeing out. Drives all Bonny now👍

[@noxious89123]

You seem to have mashed together the names of some parts. Did you mean track rod, track rod end, or control arm? They are three different parts. If there is play in either the track rod end, either of the bushings in the control arm or in the ball joint, then you could end up with uneven tyre wear, a knocking noise and poor steering control as the wheel at that corner of the car will be able to "wander" a little from its intended direction.

[@markh5433]

@@noxious89123 put new track control arms(Bottom Wishbones) on , tracked the steering up, now all ok

[@yeshanpancheradhasaomig2594]

Very good,

[@iggymitchell6608]

Hey fella, another question, can I ask what had failed on the arm, the bushes or ball joint? If the ball joint only could you do a vid showing how to remove and replace the ball joint?

[@noxious89123]

The ball joint is riveted to the arm, and is not designed to be a separately replaceable part. However, there are aftermarket parts suppliers that sell replacement ball joint kits. For those, you would need to remove the lower arm and then drill out the three rivets that are holding the ball joint to the end of the control arm. The replacement ball joint kit will come with a new balljoint, and three bolts and three nuts to secure it to the old control arm. However, a whole new control arm can be bought for around £50, and for the amount of work involved, it makes more sense to just replace the whole control arm. That way you don't have to repeat the job when one of the bushings fails (because you've got new ones, yay) and you also don't have to dick about drilling out rivets to replace the ball joint as a separate part.

[@masterfoodrecipes3963]

Hello, great video. What's the bolt size removing the ball joint ?

[@corbynhuskey6354]

15mm

[@8788luigi]

I just replaced the stab link a and bushing, the power steering did not work after.

[@noxious89123]

Unrelated.

[@iggymitchell6608]

Hi, when complete would you recommend tracking? thanks and great comment, really helpful

[@ALLTHINGSJIM]

Thanks, and no I wouldnt bother unless you were getting tyre wear before or your steering is randomly out after

[@iggymitchell6608]

@@ALLTHINGSJIM cheers fella, I have been quotes £158 to replace the whole arm (as in your vid) I can buy the arm myself for £34, so gona do it myself, thank you so much for doing this vid.

[@hammy434]

Hi, I took my fiesta in for a service a few months ago, they said “your lower arm is leaking grease only slightly” for my front 2 wheels. It says on the service report “Both front lower arm ball joints starting to leak grease”. I’m not sure how concerned I should be but like the cars only 5 years old and only done 22K miles and I drive it pretty carefully :/ I know nothing about cars mechanically but is it normal for this to happen this soon? Thanks.

[@cleanlinesautomotive9826]

It's a fiesta, they are renowned for crap ball joints, I've replaced a set of control arms on one today, they've already been changed once before, Your lucky they've lasted you 5 years, they are made of chocolate...

[@marceldutu9865]

Hello! Thank you for the video. Would you use thread lock (the blue stuff) on any of these bolts? Thanks!

[@ALLTHINGSJIM]

Yeah you can do, new bolts would come with it on so go for it 👍

[@m-p-s-80]

Does a faulty ball joint cause the car to lean to one side heavily?

[@ALLTHINGSJIM]

No, have you checked your springs?

[@wellwh0]

These fail all the time on mk7 Fiesta 😢

[@ridgid859]

Have you done this on a fiesta ST? I'm running into clearance issues with the brake rotors.

[@RSBritain]

Late reply but the control arms on a Fiesta ST are similar but are more rigid, so technically not the same :)

[@ridgid859]

@@RSBritain it's all good! I figured out what was going on. I had dislodged my cv axle a bit and was running into issues removing the knuckle, and lining up the ball joint. I had to remove the cv axle, where I determined the seals were badly leaking. I patched it up took it to Ford under warranty.

[@RSBritain]

@@ridgid859 good to hear :)

[@ravdobrzynski]

3:59 103NM + 180' ???

[@Gorek]

As I remember from the chemistry classes, it is not recommended to use the copper in contact with aluminium, including the copper grease

[@ALLTHINGSJIM]

Well you dont have to if you dont mind the bolts getting seized and having a hard time smashing them out in the future and these are all steel and iron i believe 👍

[@Gorek]

ALL THINGS JIM But you have shown greasing of the hub in the place where it contacts with aluminium rim and that can cause a problems. It is good to use some copper grease on the bolt/nut thread, because they are both made from steel. If you will have the aluminium suspension parts (like in some VW), and you will have the copper grease on the aluminium thread - it will cause a problem.

[@ALLTHINGSJIM]

You mean when I put the wheel back on I take it, if I dont put it on over time the ford alloys weld themselves to the hub and then people wouldnt be too happy about having to struggle and try hammer there wheels off on the side of the road if they got a puncture. Im not saying your wrong btw and im sure there are other grease available youd think is more suitable but in the 15+ years ive been doing it ive never had or seen a problem, and thats what most garages just supply you to use, and ive worked on all makes of car pretty much at some point. Thanks for your input though 👍

[@wellwh0]

@@Gorek Why wouuld it cause problems? I always put little of copper grease on hub… That is actually as I was told how it is supposed to be done by pro, before grease it is good to clean hub with wire brush. Also torque wheels to specs, 110NM for Fiesta to prevent seizing wheel on hub. Many tire shops don’t do any of that; removing wheel later on road for expample is nightmare.

[@noxious89123]

The copper isn't really in contact with any aluminium, because the copper particles are slathered in grease! Also, alloy wheels are not bare aluminium. They are painted, and also any exposed aluminium will form a protective coating of aluminium oxide. Iron (the brake disc) and alumnium (the wheel) are dissimilar metals anyway, so without the copper grease you will get corrosion between the two. This can often be bad enough to "weld" the wheel to the hub, and make removal difficult. In summary, USE COPPER GREASE.

[@memphis_sean8169]

ummm so not a video on replacing tbe ball joint but the whole control arm assembly 😂

[@julianp4787]

Great vid but ditch the music ...... I came on here to learn mechanics not to dance and tap my feet. Talk us through the process instead of of battering us with inane useless music, which serves nothing but looking for the volume button