how hard is it to put a new ball joint on? my ball joint broke while i was driving, its a 1990 cutlass supreme, 2 dr 223,897 miles on it, 3.1 v6

Which ball joint? I'm guessing steering knuckle or something.

Which ball joint? I'm guessing steering knuckle or something.

the bottom part of the control arm, theres a bold thats stuck on the rim

the bottom part of the control arm, theres a bold thats stuck on the rim

Some you can replace just the joint, but others you have to replace the whole control arm.

Get out your pickle fork...

It's a pretty straight-forward task, and shouldn't take long.

Get out your pickle fork...

It's a pretty straight-forward task, and shouldn't take long.

Yep. As long as you have a separator fork to get the old one out its a simple fix. If you dont have the tool check autozone. they rent out tools for jobs like this. IIRC the cutlass had a riveted on ball joint that you had to drill out the 3 rivets holding it on and then the old one came off without the need of a fork. The new one would have 3 studs on it that fit through the old rivet holes and are held down with nuts.

If you have the riveted type all you may need is a drill and a wrench if your lucky.

you might want to read up on the process before you do it, or at least get a spring compressor before you have it blow up in your face.

you might want to read up on the process before you do it, or at least get a spring compressor before you have it blow up in your face.

Why do you need a spring compressor to replace a ball joint?