Help, 
I am in the process of replacing the cv joint on my '84 breadvan. Getting the ball joint loose was already a pain in the ####. 
But getting the control arm back on the hub again is even harder. It does not seem to align, when I try to push up the hub with a jack it also pushes outward. What should I do?

Loosen (don't undo) the ARB mount at that side, slide the TCA onto the ARB, put the nut on a few turns, then put the TCA inner in place and go back round to tighten up. 

No, my tca and arb are already connected. I was wondering how I can now connect the  ball joint to the axle hub. 

sounds like the arb is fighting you

 

right or wrongly i always undo the arb mounts both sides ...this allows some movement get the b/j and inner mount bolted up and refit the arb mounts last ...both wheels need to be in the air

I use a long bar(piece of scaffolding pole) to lever down the outer end of TCA,so allowing the hub to be moved into position.I personally don’t loosen any of the ARB.

 

Make sure the TCA ball end is clean of any rust., also the hub housing.

 

Once the ball end is in position it might not go in straight away, so you might need to give the hub a tap with a soft hammer, to get it to drop in.

 

As Steveo3002 says, have both front wheels off the ground and the hanging free, as it takes pressure off the ARB, which is as said, what you are fighting against.

Edited 20 January, 20215 yr by mk2tastic

8 hours ago, bastibum said:

No, my tca and arb are already connected. I was wondering how I can now connect the  ball joint to the axle hub. 

Yeah, I loosen off the ARB mounts and take the TCA inner out of the chassis, thread it on the bar, knock the ball joint into the bottom of the strut, pinch it up and use the force to put the TCA inner back in the chassis. That's how I do it on my own. The bottom arm is the easiest bit to grab hold of and pull on. 

 

If I've got a helper: Again, I slack (not undo) the ARB mount bolts and get them to slide the worlds longest pry bar (or a length of box section) in from the front corner, over the ARB and rest it under the chassis. Get them to stand on the bar to pull the ball joint down which I get the strut in place. 

I tried wedging it with both sides of the car of the ground. But there is still not enough room. All the joint and the hub do is rub againt each other, further damaging the bushing. No that it matters, I'm going to replace the control arm soon anyway. I just need to learn a good method to place the new one in without damaging the bushings.

34 minutes ago, Yeti said:

Yeah, I loosen off the ARB mounts and take the TCA inner out of the chassis, thread it on the bar, knock the ball joint into the bottom of the strut, pinch it up and use the force to put the TCA inner back in the chassis. That's how I do it on my own. The bottom arm is the easiest bit to grab hold of and pull on. 

 

If I've got a helper: Again, I slack (not undo) the ARB mount bolts and get them to slide the worlds longest pry bar (or a length of box section) in from the front corner, over the ARB and rest it under the chassis. Get them to stand on the bar to pull the ball joint down which I get the strut in place. 

Aha, I'll use one of my little helpers. Hopefully that gets the control arm further down to make the necessary room. Where under the chassis? At the place where the inner mount for the control arm is?

Depends how long your bar is. I go right back to the bulkhead. 

My bar is a just over a metre long and the end is fed in to be against the chassis near the TCA inner mount.The bar rests against the top of the ARB to lever the TCA down.

Edited 21 January, 20215 yr by mk2tastic

1 hour ago, mk2tastic said:

My bar is a just over a metre long and the end is fed in to be against the chassis near the TCA inner mount.The bar rests against the top of the ARB to lever the TCA down.

Yeah I tried the exact same setup. It made the trick so easy that I can't believe I spent so many hours on this job 😬 Thanks for all the help guys!

On 21/01/2021 at 21:17, bastibum said:

Yeah I tried the exact same setup. It made the trick so easy that I can't believe I spent so many hours on this job 😬 Thanks for all the help guys!

glad you got it sorted👍