Replace a ball joint the easy way on a Toyota Camry | without a ball joint separator tool.

Hey guys in this video I will show you how to separate a lower ball joint on a Toyota Camry from the knuckle without taking the knuckle off the car and without using a ball joint separator. This technique will work with almost any ball joint and outer tie rods. Thanks for watching. Also this was a 2018 car with about 10k miles so it didn’t take much striking force but an older vehicle might require more hits and harder hits but it will still work. Thanks again.

[@kkampy4052]

My daughters 87 Camry uses the same ball joint assy. I am going to be replacing them soon because the boots are shot, joints are still good.

[@stevec4209]

Lol. Let see how you do it on the original ball joint thats been in there for 10 years. Of course the new part that was just put in will pop right out!

[@themodernmechanic428]

You’re right, it does get more difficult the longer it’s been there but I’ve always had success with this method no matter the year or mileage. It might just take a few more hits but it always comes out.

[@HM-ke1qm]

Mine's been on there for over 20 years. Try mine.

[@nazarkareem83]

Exactly. I have 2015 Camry tried so bad to release but I couldn’t. I will take it to the mechanic 😂

[@happyrockAg]

Great job! This is exactly how I was taught and have been doing it this way my whole life, never had any issue. In fact this is also how I would remove an outer tie rod if its going to be reused. My father always said buy tools that will make you money not waste your money

[@youngrasta612]

What's a father?

[@Dexion845]

Nice video, my issue was the cotter pin was nice and stuck too far into the castle nut in order to pull it back out... Thanks to good old Northeastern rust. Which I guess is a safe method. I had to get some cutters from harbor freight and cut them so a socket could fit over the castle nut. Disconnect the Axle, and the Strut-2-Knuckle bolts/nuts and this job is super easy with a nice impact and a swivel joint. putting in a new ball joint actually stopped my wandering steering action on the Highway and straightened my alignment all on its own.

[@themodernmechanic428]

Ball joints are definitely an important part of your suspension alignment. Very important to replace before they break and cause major damage or an accident if it happens while driving. Besides the cotter pin issue I agree this is an easy job.

[@GomJabbar11]

Just did a 2002 camry, original ball joint. Thanks

[@caciocavalloster]

This saved me!!! Thanks worked like you described!!

[@videopipeline6419]

re: "it’s definitely easier than what the manual says to do and that is to remove the axle from the knuckle. Which is unnecessary worK" Sure, when you're removing the *brand new* high--crown castle nut on a *brand new ball joint.* The original rusted in-place low-crown castle nut will probably require an impact wrench, or else it rounds off and you'll end up cutting it off, either of which requires knuckle removal. Some other Toyotas don't have enough clearance between the castle nut & the CV axle stub to fit a box end wrench.

[@brendandemjanec5737]

Yeah I had to cut the nuts off and Facts you cant get a socket or box end on the replacement nut even with the axle out. Open ended wrench

[@Captobvious23]

I know this is old but you can definitely use a ball joint separator at least on a 2019 Avalon

[@danieltalavera9847]

Gonna try this on my New Yaris 2005, hope it works. Thanks, good vid.

[@I-sed-no]

For anyone stuck on this, the ball joint separator I bought from harbor freight ($20) fit in there just fine and was the only thing I could use to get it freed up and removed. Everything else I tried (including what this video is showing) didn't work for me. There's no amount of beating on the knuckle housing that would have worked. When the separator finally broke it free it sounded like something snapped. Very loud bang because the joint was so bound up. The people who are skeptical about this working know why. Some joints don't come apart this easily

[@kkampy4052]

Since you are replacing the ball joint, you could put a heat wrench on the knuckle to expand it a bit.

[@HandyHudsonite]

Great tip! That looks really easy.

[@themodernmechanic428]

Thank you, it’s definitely easier than what the manual says to do and that is to remove the axle from the knuckle. Which is unnecessary work.

[@Mohammed-vs4fm]

Lol I wish it was so easy in Canada. The rust we get here.. in this situation I had to straight cut the bolt by the CV axle. And hammer it down to remove... A ball joint remover usually don't fit because of the CV axle. It's a nightmare up here..

[@peakperformancetrain]

I hope that magic works on a 1995 Avalon on jack stands and also replacing the cv axle and lower control arm.

[@JustLikeGreta]

hahahahah

[@mariolibertad9972]

Good luck with that

[@noyourawsome2lol979]

You can do it might take you a whole day but it can be done

[@FEETLE]

yeah that technique is for 2018 there's less clearance where the castle nut is located

[@sufian2209]

Thank you so much. That was really helpful.

[@jamespinckard4210]

There's always an easier way. Thanks..........

[@MrPromerican]

Wow… nice one . Thanka

[@Speeddemon3]

Thats Brilliant!!

[@BigFiveJack]

Outstanding!

[@andygray563]

The Australian 2005 model has a large dust shield surrounding the axel/wheel bearing that is super close to the lower ball joint castle nut. You can barely get the nut loosened with an open ended spanner but now i am stuck knowing if i can 'torque' it back up sufficiently or even how to measure that i have. I'd prefer not having to do the full knuckle disassembly and prising out the dust shield, just to get a socket and torque wrench on it. Do you have any recommendations or tricks to retorque that nut? Googling says torque to 90 ft-lbs, which i think is 122Nm, which I am guessing is high for an open ended spanner.

[@juanrivas5250]

Lo más importante sería ver cómo se soporta o apoya el motor para que no trasmita la carga a la horquilla mientras se realiza el cambio de la rótula. Lo demás es casi predecible.

[@ahmadrezayi9219]

Thanks for sharing

[@davidr.f6242]

Nice tip but when I read your description I was shocked to see on a 2018 10000 miles that must be a defect from Factory or they're running that car pretty hard.

[@themodernmechanic428]

It was actually damaged from being in an accident.

[@jay-yv7rv]

clean underneath 🥸

[@americanmambi]

Thanks man!!

[@dancewithml]

Stubborn thing doesn't wanna let go.

[@themanimal01]

Just throwing this question out there for general knowledge as a non mechanic. Is this the same deal for a 2018 highlander. And do lower ball joints not last more than 50,000 miles ?

[@themodernmechanic428]

Should be the same for the highlander and the lifespan of the ball joint is greatly affected by the road conditions you daily drive. It's possible for them to go bad at 50k yet they can also last 200k

[@JP-hx3ri]

how miles did the Camry have?

[@mrninesixteenth3106]

Hey Guys, how do you tighten the castle nut to 90ft lbs with the axle still in? Or is it expected to use German Torque? You know, Guten Tight!

[@themodernmechanic428]

If you really want to torque it you can use a torque adapter but. German Torque should suffice. Plus there's a cotter pin on there. It ain't going anywhere.

[@parkhurstjohn7923]

Looks clean

[@noproblemhouston.]

Do you know if it's the same for the 2014 Camry?

[@themodernmechanic428]

Yes it is

[@noproblemhouston.]

Thank you, I really appreciate it!

[@noyourawsome2lol979]

What size wrench did you use ?

[@captainstress]

How do you torque the new castle nut to the correct torque spec then without clearance?

[@themodernmechanic428]

With a torque adapter. It's like a wrench that adapts to your torque wrench.

[@brendandemjanec5737]

@@themodernmechanic428 A little fun tip for anyone doing this and using a MOOG replacement ball joint. The replacement castle nut doesn't have a flange, so its quite large. 26mm to be exact which is a difficult wrench to find in a day if you don't have it. If you are in a pinch, you can get a standard 1 inch wrench and take a file to one of the flats, you only need to take off like 10 thousandths of an inch. Torqueing it is tricky as well since its such a large size, you run into more clearance issues against the knuckle.

[@4audio]

i cant believe that place where ball joint extracted very week, compared, to my camry 3.5 2007 ,toyota toyota where you going ,like all other new cars :(

[@briannakrzyzewski7717]

What do you do if you accidentally break the knuckle off and you’re left with the ball and no way of getting it out lol. Please help

[@bendempster9769]

That's when you buy a new knuckle 😂😂😂

[@waqaradurrani]

Why was the ball joint bad on basically a brand new car?

[@themodernmechanic428]

Got in an accident and got hit on the wheel. Bent the ball joint slightly but enough to cause alignment issues

[@noelbanda6276]

How to fix now

[@jrm255]

Not hard to remove a new ball joint.

[@nazarkareem83]

Why mine stuck!!!!

[@roz4747]

What’s the hammer called,”?

[@HM-ke1qm]

Hammer.

[@captainstress]

Ball peen dead blow hammer

[@roz4747]

@@HM-ke1qm mc?

[@offgridcarnivore]

Let me see you do that on one that isn't new lol

[@themodernmechanic428]

I do it all the time, but I also don't live in the rust belt 😁. I'm in California

[@tenzackyogi1742]

Brand new car's ball joint is easy to get out.

[@themodernmechanic428]

Yes agree, but I’ve used the same technique on 10 year old cars. It takes more hits with the hammer but it always works. It also helps that I live in California where the weather doesn’t beat up the cars as much.

[@LondonHasFallin]

10k miles.....😑

[@karlmurphy402]

Bullshit , not that simple rusted in place , but picked bar works best