Thread: ball joint stud spinning when tightining nut?

im trying to replace my hub right now because my wheel bearing fell out , and now when im trying to put the new hub on the stud of the ball joint is spinning when i tighten the nut. is there a special sequence or something to make this go on? thanks

The ball will rotate in the socket. You can remedy this by applying some force to the ball/socket. Sometimes you have to go mcguyver on it. I've had similar issues with ball joints and tie rods as well.

If it's on there at least a full nut's worth then just drop the car and use the weight of the car to push down on the joint. Turn the wheel out to give you a little room. You can finagle a wrench in there and tighten it the rest of the way.

Try cleaning the threads first by taking a wire wheel or brush to the ball joint shaft threads first. if there is rust in the threads you'll never get it tight even in most cases when pressure is applied to the joint. Is the nut a "nylock" style or cotter pin style ? The nylock style is a pain in the a-- !

The ball joint threads may be damaged, use some vise grips to compress the flat bottom of the ball joint with the edge of the spindle to stop it from spinning then get the nut as far as possible, you should be good from there.

I've seen that no one has said nothing on the torque specs....... Been awhile, somewhere @ 40 ft lbs. Sounds like he's reusing the old one. Get a new one and press it in there. You will find the ball does resist spinning alot better.....USE a torque wrench!!!!!!!