Lower ball joint woes

[Styyy]

Rebuilding the front end on my 1995 SR and the lower ball joints wont release. I've tried wacking the knuckle ,heating it and wacking the nut on the bolt that comes out of the bottom of the ball joint ,all to no avail. What am I missing?
HELP!

 

[nickburt]

If the nut is loose, you're missing nothing. Just needs a bit more "persuasion" or a ball joint splitter with a lot of leverage.

Get it under pressure with a tool like this and then give the end of the arm a big hit with a big hammer.

 

[Styyy]

Frustrating as hell. didn't want to buy more tools.

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

Rent from Oreilly's.

Mine came out with significant persuasion and finally a loud pop... Be persistent and persuasive.

 

[SoCalMonty]

I spent 25 or so on a proper ball joint tool and it was worth every penny. Pickle forks and hammers are a waste of time. Now just a few turns on a wrench and *pop!*.

I highly recommend it. The right tool for the job makes the job way easier!

 

[Styyy]

I agree . I'm just cheap and was always able to get the job done in the past without the ball joint separator tool.

 

[vectorsc]

I have the harbor freight one...it works excellently in every way and reduces ball joint service stress to 0.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

 

[Styyy]

My friend may have one I can borrow,if not its off to Harbor Freight!

 

[nckwltn]

@Styyy, you can use the Autozone tool borrowing program for free. You basically buy the tool, take it home, use it, and then return it to Autozone. Net cost is free if you return the tool.

 

[Styyy]

got the Harbor Freight one,works fine for the idler arm and pitman arm, but no go on the ball joint(lower)! This thing is kicking my a**! I was going to remove the hub and bring it to my friends shop to press the ball joint out,but I couldnt get the abs sensor out. So I started drilling out the ball joint stud but it still wont release,gotta keep drilling,broke one bit. Ive tried heating it,etc.. Ive spent much to long on this ********** thing!

 

[Styyy]

The fork on the HF tool is too narrow to go around the ball joint ,so it squeezes it at an angle.

 

[jdavis]

got the Harbor Freight one,works fine for the idler arm and pitman arm, but no go on the ball joint(lower)! This thing is kicking my a**! I was going to remove the hub and bring it to my friends shop to press the ball joint out,but I couldnt get the abs sensor out. So I started drilling out the ball joint stud but it still wont release,gotta keep drilling,broke one bit. Ive tried heating it,etc.. Ive spent much to long on this ********** thing!

The ABS sensors get rusted into place. You can leave the sensor in place and remove hub. Disconnect the wire from the upper control arm and follow it back to the frame. It disconnects just on the other side of the frame.

 

[jlocster]

Styy, I had to do the very same thing, that is, press my rig's lower ball joints out on a 20 Ton Press. Harbor Freight tool didn't work for me either, in fact I broke one in the process. Couldn't get my ABS sensors out either. Like jdavis said, follow the abs sensor wire back about a foot and unplug it. Good luck, you'll get it, the shop press is the answer. It's also a good time to repack/replace your front wheel bearings and check/replace the inner wheel bearing seals while everything is apart.

 

[Styyy]

thanks for the info and vote of confidence! good to know Im not alone..

 

[nckwltn]

there is a difference between a tie rod puller and a pitman arm puller. I had to use a pitman arm puller on the lower ball joint because the jaws weren't wide enough for my tie rod puller.