lower ball joint stuck

[613lx]

im doing rotor replacement and i cant get the lower ball joint off.. ive tried 2 jaw puller all sorts of clamps, hammerin the shit outta it and using a bar to pry and jumping on it... anyone??

[SteveB]

I used one like that I got at Princess Auto. Want to borrow it?

[FishyMan]

You got pictures??! I might enoucnter the same stuff SO0N !

[92HondaPower]

All you have to do is smack the hell out of it with a hammer... on the control arm only. It may take more than one hit, but it'll shock itself loose.

[maroonaccord2.2]

I had to smack the everlivin' crap outta mine to get 'em off to. I just went through that BS with both sides, and I finally broke down and ordered all of the part for the rotor-over-hub conversion. It'll be done soon thank God......

[cp[mike]]

1) get a jack and put pressure on the stud of the ball joint until it almost starts forcing the control arm up

2) hit the control arm where the ball joint sits as hard as fuck....don't miss or you'll fuck up the ball joint

it will come loose i promise you

make sure you loosen the nut enough to give the LCA room to break free and get loose, but leave the nut on there protecting the stud/threads. when i jack it up, i jack it up a few inches... makes sure theres good pressure lifting up on it, also gives more room to swing a hammer at it.

this method always works.

[RedStitch]

To get my LCA of the lower balljoint a buddy who is a mechanic of mine lent me a "Pickle Fork", it looks like a big round metal steak fork. All i had to do was undo the cotter pin and nut and then wedge that thing between the ball joint and the LCA and hit that thing as hard as I could with a hammer...the LCA dropped right off after the first hit. He told me they cost like $25 at sears... just ask someone for a pickle fork and they'll know what you mean

[cp[mike]]

i tried a universal pickle fork, the largest size i could find... it worked, but tore up the boot.

[613lx]

would be great if i could use that tool... how much are they? i should get one too if it works i gotta redo my whole suspension in the summer.

[92acclude]

Pickle fork + 10lb Sledgehammer = a free knuckle

[xaxis360]

If you plan on installing new ball joints (which you should around 100K) just use the pickle fork. It will tear the boot and spooge the grease everywhere, but its super easy and causes the least amount of stress both on you and the car. You can rent one at AutoZone with the free tool loaner program they have. They also have a "Pitman arm puller" you can rent. They are of questionable value on our cars tho... If someone has done suspension work on your car before, prepare to have a bitch of a time getting them apart. 9 times out of 10 they overtorque the castle nut on the lower ball joint, overcompressing the fitting leading to a PITA when its time to seperate them again. Salt is a bad thing too.

[cp[mike]]

i used a 2 jaw puller on my old cb7... the balljoint required so much force to break loose that the tip of the puller ended up crushing the end of the balljoint stud (the cotter pin holes thru the bolt make it pretty weak)... it ruined the threads and i couldnt get the nut back on. ive never again touched that stupid puller... i guess it was probably because that balljoint had never been separated in 250k+ miles, but even so, im never going to attempt to use one of them again. the method ricky posted works perfect and its much safer...

[SteveB]

would be great if i could use that tool... how much are they? i should get one too if it works i gotta redo my whole suspension in the summer.

Hmm...20 bucks I think. You in town? You know where Princess is on Hawthorn?

[timmy0tool]

while you have the puller on the joint, pound the LOWER ARM at the side near the joint, not the ball joint directly. the closer the better and again don't hit the ball joint directly. use a heavy hammer (~4lbs) to shock the joint loose in this manner: tighten the puller and strike a few times, then tighten the puller and strike a few more times. continue until she is free!

[i_love_cb7]

If u figured out how to take the bolt out plz make a diy