OK don't get me wrong.. I love thirdgen.org, everyone here is amazing, and its my favorite site. BUT THE SEARCH SUCKS. So I didn't find my answer in the search so here is the question.

How do I disconnect my ball joints without a puller? Oh, and what part of the C-Arm should I have jacked up? I have two stands at the front of the car and was just planning on using the stock jack on the C-ARM lip.

Will that work?

Thanks!
-Andrew

 

Yes, you can disconnect the balljoints without a puller. Remove the cotter pin and remove the castle nut. Flip the nut over and screw it back on until the top of the balljoint stud is JUST below the top of the upside-down castle nut. Take a large hammer and swing. Keep the jack about 1/2" below the arm and all unnecessary tools/rags/clothing/body parts out of the way.

 

OK so I dont even have to lift from the C-arm at all? because my book says to have a jack under it so the spring doesnt come out. That worried me a little..

 

No, you want the jack stands under the frame rails. You don't lift anything on the arm at all with the jack. When you're jacking up the car, its best to do it under either the engine crossmember or under the frame rails.

The book tells you to put the jack under the balljoint only to keep the arm from flying down once you separate it from the steering knuckle. The spring will force the arm down and without something to catch it, the spring can potentially fly out and kill someone or put a huge hole in the wall of your garage. This normally doesn't happen as most jackstands wont let you get the car high enough for the arm to hang vertically which is about what it takes for the spring to come out.

 

OK thanks man. Well right now I have the whole wheel assembly hanging from the ball joint. I got the strut and stuff out. I cant seem to hammer the bolt back into itself like I did with the steering links. Im guessing this requires a heavier hammer?


-Andrew

 

You may need to try a bigger hammer. I usually use a 3lb mini sledge hammer, but I've had success with a large ball-peen hammer as well, it just takes more hits. You're best bet would probably be to bolt the strut back in and then remove the balljoint. Is the arm resting on the jack, or is the wheel still mounted on the hub? If you have it resting on the jack, you'll never get it out that way. If you have the wheel still mounted and its just sitting on the ground, that's dangerous. It will also make it hard to remove the balljoint as that creates a pivot point that will collapse in on itself when you hit it and bind up on the balljoint stud, essentially sticking it in there.