beat my head against a wall today, attempting to replace a lower ball joint in the '88. of course i snapped one of the bolts off removing the old one yesterday. had to resort to torches to get it out, but i got it.
spent a good three hours trying to get the replacement installed. eventually figured out that the casting is off slightly. no surprise, as it's made by the a*%holes from the land of almost right. bought it at o'reillys, a MasterPro K9587. and damn, it looks well-made. it has a bellows-type rubber boot, a boot-spring, and decent hardware to attach it, and the casting appears the same as the original. but it won't fit. it can sit flush in the recess of the knuckle, but the holes won't line up. or, i can get all four holes/bolts in, but it won't sit flush that way - it is askew, and will not seat properly. shit.
i should have ordered one through toyota, and that's what i'm going to do now.
used a pitman arm puller to remove the old joint, worked slick. i then used a bottle jack to separate the upper/lower arms enough to remove the old joint (and install the new one). only disconnected the shock mount, nothing else had to be removed or disconnected to replace the lower joint (not the caliper, not the brake lines, not the sway bar links - NOTHING).
and, i ended up using the MP joint anyway, since i couldn't return it (filled with grease prior to attempting to install it). i "solved" the mounting hole alignment issue by using a carbide cutter bit in my dremel, and removing enough material from the joint mounting holes to allow the joint to fit in the knuckle recess and have the holes line up.
