Lower Ball Joint Stuck in knuckle

[ignis]

I need suggestions. I can't fit a puller on there. I've tried whacking the heck out of a pickle fork. I've tried heating. I've even tried cutting the damn tie rod off with a reciprocating saw (sawzall), but the tie rod metal appears to be too tough.

Any other suggestions?

 

[Turdle]

Put the lower ball joint castle nut on upside down, thread it up to fill it with bolt thread, leaving a small gap between the nut and knuckle, then whack it upwards with a BFH.

You may loose the ball joint in the process from damaged threads though. Be careful not to damage the nut as it may be a PITA to remove if you do.

If you do not care at all about the ball joint, just whack the bare bolt upwards until the knuckle pops down

Hope this helps

 

[ignis]

Put the lower ball joint castle nut on upside down, thread it up to fill it with bolt thread, leaving a small gap between the nut and knuckle, then whack it upwards with a BFH.

You may loose the ball joint in the process from damaged threads though. Be careful not to damage the nut as it may be a PITA to remove if you do.

If you do not care at all about the ball joint, just whack the bare bolt upwards until the knuckle pops down

Hope this helps

Unfortunately, I don't have lift. So, I've only got 12 inches at most to swing my hammer down there.

 

[swshawaii]

Tried in vain for three hours to no avail. Gave up and took it to a shop. Took them at least ten full swings on each side, to release the LBJ stud from the knuckle. As mentioned, the difference was having the truck on a lift, and trying to swing while laying on the ground. Suggested below, hard full swings on the side of the knuckle where the stud goes through the spindle, while leaving the pickle fork wedged in hard between the LCA and spindle. See post #9.

Need help getting lower ball joint out !

Tapered joints like steer ends and some ball joints, require a strike from the side. Use some locking pliers or a clamp that will put pressure on the joint stud. Then hit the axle beam perpendicular to the area where the tapered stud is seated in.

 

[Turdle]

Unfortunately, I don't have lift. So, I've only got 12 inches at most to swing my hammer down there.

Do you have a 2lb hand sledge? ( and a real strong friend helps, I forgot that part)

You might try jacking the lower control arm up a tad with a bottle jack, this will put more of the impact on the bolt by limiting how far the knuckle "jumps" when it is hit.

 

[Blazepet7]

MAP OR PROPANE GAS IS YOUR FRIEND!!! Heat the damn thing up and beat it out...sounds dirty I know but it always works....

 

[ignis]

Holy smokes Batman! I gotem both out! By your powers combined.... Picklefork, combined with penetrating oil all day long, combined with propane heat, and then I raised the control arm beat it with a 3lb BFH.

Now, for the last two headaches. I have one strut and one stabilizer bar that do NOT want to come off!

I got the back nut off the front driver strut, but the bolt is stuck in the control arm and strut. Air hammer is no help. 3lb sledge is hard to maneuver in there. Can I safely heat up the lower bolt mount on the strut itself with propane?

As for the stabilizer bar. I got the one off the driver side, finally with the use of an air hammer to punch the bolt down through the grommets. However, the passenger bolt doesn't want to budge. I have the top nut off already and the stabilizer bar pulled off the link.

Any thoughts.

 

[pet575]

I know you have already gotten them out, but for anyone following along I have also put the castle nut back on and put a jack on the castle nut and then put the weight of the vehicle onto the jack to push the LBJ upward. Then I applied heat and beat the side of the knuckle with a 3lb sledge. Came right out when nothing else would even come close to doing the trick.