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Well I got in my car yesterday, started to reverse out of the garage and the passenger side front wheel fell off!! Thank goodness this happened in the garage! Got out with the jack and got the wheel off and found that the rear lower ball joint had completely sheared off - not idea how that happened but now I need to fix it. Watched a good video online (YouTube link removed - first video when searching for "2012 Dodge Charger ball joint" by ELH4X4 DOIN' STUFF) and set to work. Of course it did not go all that smoothly 
1. I got the caliper and brake housing off and disconnected the ABS sensor
2. Tried the get the steering arm off the steering knuckle and that was a non-starter. Smacked it with a hammer a few times and could not get it to move
3. Breakfast helped me refocus and I got the broken ball joint bolt out of the rear control arm
4. Got the snap clip off the bottom of the rear lower ball joint
... and this is where things took a turn for the worse. I got the ball joint housing to move in the knuckle but now it seems to be pressing against the boot of the front control arm ball joint. I'm worried that I will damage the front one if I go any further. So my questions are:
a. Most importantly, can anybody comment on whether both of these ball joints should be replaced at the same time?
b. Am I doing this right or is there a better way. Remember I cannot get the steering joint off the knuckle so I cannot remove the entire knuckle which is what I wanted to do originally.
c. Should I continue to "force" the busted rear lower ball joint past the boot of the front lower one. Does the front one (on the right in the picture below) look ok?
d. Follow-up question ... will I have difficulty getting the new one in if I leave the front one in place?
Relevant pictures - yell if another angle would help you give me answers ...
![Automotive tire Tread Synthetic rubber Tire Automotive design]()
![Automotive tire Wood Bicycle part Tints and shades Rim]()
![Automotive tire Motor vehicle Bumper Wood Gas]()
![Wood Automotive tire Bottle Metal Auto part]()
1. I got the caliper and brake housing off and disconnected the ABS sensor
2. Tried the get the steering arm off the steering knuckle and that was a non-starter. Smacked it with a hammer a few times and could not get it to move
3. Breakfast helped me refocus and I got the broken ball joint bolt out of the rear control arm
4. Got the snap clip off the bottom of the rear lower ball joint
... and this is where things took a turn for the worse. I got the ball joint housing to move in the knuckle but now it seems to be pressing against the boot of the front control arm ball joint. I'm worried that I will damage the front one if I go any further. So my questions are:
a. Most importantly, can anybody comment on whether both of these ball joints should be replaced at the same time?
b. Am I doing this right or is there a better way. Remember I cannot get the steering joint off the knuckle so I cannot remove the entire knuckle which is what I wanted to do originally.
c. Should I continue to "force" the busted rear lower ball joint past the boot of the front lower one. Does the front one (on the right in the picture below) look ok?
d. Follow-up question ... will I have difficulty getting the new one in if I leave the front one in place?
Relevant pictures - yell if another angle would help you give me answers ...
