stuck ball joint

[mehoff400]

what tricks are you guys using to remove stuck lower ball joint on a spindle? i have been hammering on the thing all day with a pick fork and some heat with no luck. unfortunately i only have a little hand held torch not sure if its actually enough heat to do anything. i am at the point where i was thinking about removing the upper ball joint sticking bolt/spacer/nuts through to push the spindle up while putting pressure on the lower ball joint.

[hotrodder]

More heat would do the trick. What you are suggesting might do damage to the upper control arm.

[mehoff400]

My thought was with the spindle disconnected from the upper control arm.

[Captainfab]

Have you tried hitting the spindle next to the lower ball joint from the side with a big hammer? That is usually how I break them loose. Also, supporting the frame with jack stands and letting the suspension hang with the spring pushing down helps a little. Of course you will want to leave the nut on the ball joint by a few threads.

[retrax]

If you are using a small handheld propane torch, you can get cylinders with MAPP gas that will also work with it. MAPP gets hotter than propane.

[mehoff400]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

Have you tried hitting the spindle next to the lower ball joint from the side with a big hammer? That is usually how I break them loose. Also, supporting the frame with jack stands and letting the suspension hang with the spring pushing down helps a little. Of course you will want to leave the nut on the ball joint by a few threads.

yea, thats how the driver side came apart but no luck on the passenger. i might just take the control arm off and go to a local shop to see if they can give me a hand.

[95 S_Trucker]

I would not heat up a ball joint. I heated one up. Got it removed, and then about 5 minutes later, it exploded. I'm glad I wasn't nearby when it happened. It put a dent in a metal cabinet and the ball stud shot about 80 feet away.



Hit the steering knuckle where the ball stud goes into it. My hammer of choice is a 3 pound mini sledge. (estwing drilling hammer, it has a slightly angled face, so it hits squarely with a short swing)

[mehoff400]

so after beating on it today and smashing my thump good enough to bruise the nail. I decided to take it to a local machine shop to help me out.

[mehoff400]

so took it to the shop and they got it all worked out for me. in talking with them asking if they work on a lot of straight sixs. they say no they dont but start telling me about the few builds they have done and stuff. so no i know a local shop that does some work on straight sixes and told them i will be talking with them in the future about building something

[Magicalzoomer]

Originally Posted by mehoff400

so after beating on it today and smashing my thump good enough to bruise the nail. I decided to take it to a local machine shop to help me out.

I had the same issue until I unscrewed the nuts holding that steering link onto the bottom of the spindle that attach to the drum. Once I did that it popped off with ease using a pickle fork. Hope this helps the next person looking this up.