Hey Vette Fans,

I just broke my pickle fork trying to separate the ball joint from the lower arm on my 79. Tons of heat, hammering and PB blaster later, this sucker still needs no nut to hold it in place.
How do I get this out???

Happy memorial Day All!!

auto zone loan a tool

ball joint puller..

did you have the axle stand under the lower a- arm or under the frame, put the nut on loose,about a i/8" from contact on knuckle,put the axle stand under the frame, let the a-arm hang free, try again,this time the spring tension might help it pop, also you might put a little tension on with the pickle fork and then smack the flat spot on the knuckle hard a couple of times, make sure you only hit the flat spot

cthulhu said: auto zone loan a tool ball joint puller..

A two-jaw puller (Chtulhu and I are probably referring to the same thing here), steadily increasing pressure and occassional applications of heat. Use the puller with the nut still on (as was referenced before). The heating will probably degrade the ball joint boot and grease, so plan to replace the boot and wash out the ball joint if re-using that ball joint.

Be patient. My front suspension hadn't been touched until I dove into it last winter. Took me at least half an hour to separate each ball joint. But, the end results are definitely worth all the effort.

"Git 'er done!"

John

This sound weird but works.

Hit the steering knuckle on the boss that surrounds the ball joint stud. Don't be whimpy, Get a two pound hammer, pretend your THOR, and HIT IT. It flexes the metal where the taper is that the ball joint is wedged into.

Now the caution. Hit it square. DON'T hit anything else. No other area of the knuckle/spindle, or anything else. Swinging that hard will hurt something.

Often after two or three hits, the ball joint stud will pop loose. If not it loosens it enough that the pickle fork or puller can now do it's job. It works on any car with a good solid cast iron knuckle. NEVER do this on a sheet metal control arm, or any sheet metal or cast aluminum unit. Cast Iron only.

This also workd for tie rods, etc. I have removed hundrends of them this way. It works well. Don't miss.

But like Anips said, don't forget to leave the nut on, loosely. When it pops loose then you have control over it. Mike

I always have the car on stands or a lift, and I have stands under the control arm so it can't go anywhere. I don't trust a loose nut. If the threads give from sudden impact load, you are in trouble. Probably won't happen, but has.

|UPDATED|5/29/2004 10:58:00 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

Thaks to all, Vette Fans!!

I used a $20 ball joint puller and got both sides off in under an hour with a little heat.

ARTHRITIS CURED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I just need to get brave enough to tackle the trailing arms!!

Happy Memorial Day God Bless America Support Our Troops

the right tool for the job helps everytime

On the Vette lower ball joints the threads face downward. Having the nut on loosely will prevent the steering knuckle and rotor(and everything else attached) from dropping down when the joint seperates when you have the stands under the control arm. Also protect the threads from us lefties wailing away with hammers! Mike