Ball joint torque??

[crawlin68]

I am in the middle of putting my full width 3/4 ton heavy duty HP D44 back together and have a question about the ball joints. I've read that you should torque the lower ball joint nut to 80 ft/lbs. and the top ball joint castle nut to 100 ft/lbs. but what I'm not sure about is the upper ball joint adjusting sleeve. Does anyone know what I should torque this to?

[kwspony]

did you ever find out what the torque specs were? I just did mine last summer. I was thinking the inner sleve on the upper joint was 40lbs and both nuts were 80lbs.

[crawlin68]

did you ever find out what the torque specs were? I just did mine last summer. I was thinking the inner sleve on the upper joint was 40lbs and both nuts were 80lbs.

No as a matter of fact. I'm still trying to find this out. I keep getting different answers. I read that 40 ft/lbs too, so I put 40 ft/lbs of torque on them and couldn't even turn the knuckle at all. That must be way too tight. I guess that I need to get a pull scale and just torque them until I get between 15 and 20 lbs of pull to turn the knuckle. That's assuming that 15 to 20 lbs of pull that I read is correct too.

[kwspony]

I'll check my manual and see what it says.

This is what my manual says. Tighten the inner sleeve on the upper joint to 40lbs. Tighten the upper and lower nuts to 100lbs. The force needed to turn the knuckle should not exceed 26lbs. I didn't worry about the turning force. I just torqued the sleeve and nuts to specs and called it good.

[kwspony]

Do you have a socket for the upper sleeve? If not I have one you can borrow. Just let me know.

Karl

[crawlin68]

Do you have a socket for the upper sleeve? If not I have one you can borrow. Just let me know.

Karl

Hey Karl,

Yeah I bought the spanner socket to fit the upper sleeve. Man that 40 lbs just seemed awefully tight. Maybe I'll try it again and see what happens. Thanks for help, I really appreciate it.

Patrick

[crawlin68]

Well, I went out in the garage tonight and this is what I did. I first torqued the lower ball joint to 100 ft/lbs. Then torqued the upper sleeve to 40 ft/lbs. Then torqued the upper ball joint to 100 ft/lbs. Now the knuckle turns way too easy! I don't have a pull scale, but it can't be more than a pound or two of pressure to turn it. What the heck!? I just can't win here.

[kwspony]

I would have to check the manual again but I tightened the sleeve before the nuts. Mine were tight too but I could turn them with both hands. They haven't given me any problems yet.

[crawlin68]

I would have to check the manual again but I tightened the sleeve before the nuts. Mine were tight too but I could turn them with both hands. They haven't given me any problems yet.

Maybe that's what I did wrong. I tightened the bottom ball joint first, then the upper sleeve. I thought that if tightened the sleeve first, then when I tightened the the top and bottom ball joints that it would pull the ball joints up more and then the sleeve would be too loose?? In your manual does it give a specific order of what to tighten first, second and third? Thanks again for the help.

[crawlin68]

I think I got it!! I put the lower ball joint nut on hand tight, then torqued the upper sleeve to 40 ft/lbs, then went back and torqued the lower ball joint nut to 100 ft/lbs and finally torqued the upper nut to 100 ft/lbs. I don't have a pull scale but it seems about right. Thanks for all of your help. Now to the other side.

[kwspony]

Glad you got it.