Quote Originally Posted by MSHardeman View Post
Well here's something to be aware of: I needed to replace my passenger side lower ball joint due to a tear in the boot. I could NOT get the ball joint to release from the knuckle so I took it to a shop to have them replace the joint while they were installing some real band clamps on the CV boots. I just heard back from the site and they said that in order to do the ball joint swap the book/program that they have states that you need to release the torsion bar to take the pressure off of the A-arms so that you can remove the ball joint. I told them that I had removed the plate that the ball joint is on by just jacking up the lower A-arm to take the pressure off of the joint.

"Oh" was the answer that I got. I know that they are just doing things by the book, and I trust this shop as they are the ones who did the engine swap for me and have always been straight up with me. They are an independent shop, but are run by a VW master mechanic who worked for a couple of the VW dealerships in the area. I'm guessing that he is still doing things by the book which is why his guys aren't thinking outside the box and just jacking up the lower A-arm instead of disconnecting the torsion bar.

Just a heads up to anyone who might have a shop replace their lower ball joints for them. The book/program states that the ball joint swap is .8 hours, but you have to release the torsion bar to do the swap (according to the book) so that adds another .7 hours to the job.
This is probably due to the fact that in a workshop situation, they would most likely be doing this type of work with the vehicle on a hoist and lifted to a comfortable working height. More difficult and a bit dangerous to try and jack up the lower control arm in this instance.
At home with the vehicle on jack stands the obvious method is jacking the LCA.

PK