Riveted ball joint replacement

[jpreglow]

So, as some of you may know, the ball joints on the 2011 Aveo5 and some other models are attached to the control arm by rivets. I just finished replacing mine at home and I found a process that made an extremely difficult job a little bit easier. No photos unfortunately, but it still might help someone out.

First off...if you can, get ahold of a big floor jack. I didn't have enough clearance with my regular jack, and getting the whole side of the car up was a big help. Standard safety procedures of course.

A good drill with good metal drilling bits was a huge boon. Start small in the center and don't up to the 3/4 diameter bit so you don't widen the holes on the control arm.

Once enough mass is gone from the center, a cold chisel and hammer will take the bottom head off. Air hammer would be great here, but most of us don't have a heavy duty one available. It will take some time, but for the at-home mechanic, they do well.

Once the bottom head is off, use the hammer and chisel on the top head to lift them out. It's a lot easier since there's not enough clearance to get the force you need to punch them up from the bottom.

Take off the 3/4 nut holding the ball joint to the wheel spindle. A buddy of mine showed me how to slip a box wrench into and open head wrench to get more leverage. Put the box wrench onto the open head wrench and spin it around until the shaft of the box wrench is parallel to the shaft of the open head wrench...instant breaker bar.

Forget the ball joint tool they sell...just hit the spindle with a hammer and the ball joint will drop right out.

Slide the ball joint out and replace with the bolted ball joint replacement.

Some will say that replacing the whole control arm is easier, and if you can get the bolts off, go for it, but those ball joints can be riveted in too...so I think this is better in the long run. Not all of us have torches to get those loose.

Oh, and when you buy your next car...have them throw it on the lift and take a look at EVERYTHING! Knowing what I know now, I would have told the dealer that I'll buy the car only if they replace these mind-blowingly stupid engineering blunders with something I can deal with on my own.

Hope it helps! Good luck!