i am down to the bare ball joint, and i have nut on the top off, but i can't seem to get the ball joint out.
do i just hit it or what?

 

i've put my floor jack under the control arm and used a muffle gun on it, or a BFH. usually comes out fairly easy. use a ball joint press to put it back in.

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-=ICON MOTORSPORTS=-

 

sometimes you have to use a press to get them out also. Are you changing the bushings in the ends of the A-arm also?? They are a pain in the rear sometimes. You definetly need a press for those. Any tire/machine shop can press them out for you if you don't have one. Be careful hitting on it because it will bend and pressing them suckers out/in will bend the metal also unless it's done right.

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1988 TA 300+hp 350 w/ TBI and Holley TB unit,
WC T-5, 3.42 gears w/ Auburn posi. MSD 6A, edelbrock TES headers, dynomax 3" cat and cat-back system, ACCEL coil, polyurethane bushings all around, aluminum driveshaft, Mr. Gasket open air cleaner.

1993 S-10 w/ 4.3L V6 TBI, slightly bigger cam, Mild polish job and 3 angle valve job on heads, Edlebrock TES headers, Dynomax cat back, MSD 6A, ADS chip
(bought from my dad)

2000 GMC Sierra Regular Cab Stepside
285hp 5.3L w/ 3.42 gears and locking diff. (sold to my dad..no!!)

 

Jason,

BadBird has the ticket. There is a portable press made for the purpose. It resembles a monster-duty "C" clamp, complete with drifts and bushings to press the ball joint out of the arm while still on the car. They can be rented at some of the auto parts grocery stores, like Ought-Tow Zone and Larry, Curly, ans Moes.

I've heard of some people heating the area around the joint to expand the arm and allow the joint to be driven out easier. I wouldn't recommend that, since the heat will soften the 'A' arm. I wouldn't want to drive a WS6 car the way it was intended to be driven after "softening" the ball joint seat, but that's just me - I like to be able to steer when driving. People who use the cellephone while tuning the radio while "doing their lipstick" probably don't care as much about steering.

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Later,
Vader
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"Make Me Bad"
Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0

 

Master of Darkness,

You're undoubtedly correct again about those Yuppie cellphone tricksters.....judging from the number of vehicles they crash (including your classic Pick-em-up) .........but HEY !

Here's what I want to know......

If one of those "A little over the hill" former cheerleaders continued to tune the radio, but replaced the lipstick with my Johnson, could she still see to drive ?

Wait a minute......it doesn't matter - they always crash anyway, so, no harm - no foul, right ?

And oh, about those ball joints - I've always used a BFH on 'em.

BOR
"I'm back in the saddle again." Gene Autry

[This message has been edited by Box of Rocks (edited September 27, 2000).]

 

BFH is definately my tool of choice. My ball joint removal tool just kept slipping so I found my trusty sledge and went postal on it. Re-installation was a major pain in my sack because the ball joint kept going in crooked even with the proper press tool. I had to use the tool, re-align with the BFH and repeat until it finally popped right into place.

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The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

BFH all the way... there's no such thing as a part that's too stuck, just a hammer that's too small...

Ask your significant other if you need verification, size does matter.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."

 

This probably belongs on the Suspension board, but what the hey.

Are you trying to get the ball joint stud out of the spindle arm, or the whole ball joint out of the A-arm? The answers given above seem to be the latter.

For the former, you need a ball joint pickle fork. BFH will ruin the ball joint, and will take longer to get done.

For the A-arm, get a c-clamp type press. That's the only right way to do it. BFH can ruin both the ball joint (whether new or used) and the A-arm.

The tools can be had for around $50 from Harbor Freight (don't get the square-tube frame type press, it'll break the first time you use it). Or, the tools can be rented. Auto Zone will loan you the tools when you buy the parts.

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82 Berlinetta, orig V-6 car. Rescued w/86 LG4/TH700R with all harnesses, sensors, ECM, etc. 2.73 open, cat-back from '91 GTA, Accel HEI SuperCoil. AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Daily driver, work-in-progress (LB9 w/ZZ3 cam, ported heads, exhaust, paint, etc.).
57 Bel Air, my 1st car. Currently 396 .030 over, Weiand Action+, Edelbrock 1901 Q-Jet, Jacobs Omnipack, 1-3/4" headers, TH400 w/TCI Sat Night Special conv & shift kit, 3.08 10-bolt, AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Best 15.1 @ 5800' Bandimere. Daily driver while Camaro was being put together.