upper balljoint trouble
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Whack your pickle fork in there tight to get some pressure against the spindle, then carefully warm up around the top of the spindle and the ball joint should pop out, you shouldn't need to use much heat and it won't harm the spindle. It is easier to separate components from each other while they are bolted to the car rather than wrestle around on the floor with them!
“It’s good enough for Nancy”
Get another hammer (nice big one), & mate (nice big one) , & hit both sides of the knuckle simultaneously for a minute or three. THis tends to 'squeeze' the balljoint stud out.
Or get a bigger pickle fork & hit it really hard with a bigger hammer. They usually come off like this.
Or like Blue rightly said , heat it up a little bit - but be very wary in general of heating up any suspension or steering components. You don't, for example , want it to get anywhere near red hot.
In theory you could grind through the balljoint fairly easily with an angle grinder- especially a big one, but space would be tight , and you would still have the problem of getting the stud out of the stub axle - but now you'd have less stuff to pull on or hammer on , so it could be even trickier.
I've undone a lot of these and I haven't come across one yet that doesn't separate with enough force carefully applied.
Or get a bigger pickle fork & hit it really hard with a bigger hammer. They usually come off like this.
Or like Blue rightly said , heat it up a little bit - but be very wary in general of heating up any suspension or steering components. You don't, for example , want it to get anywhere near red hot.
In theory you could grind through the balljoint fairly easily with an angle grinder- especially a big one, but space would be tight , and you would still have the problem of getting the stud out of the stub axle - but now you'd have less stuff to pull on or hammer on , so it could be even trickier.
I've undone a lot of these and I haven't come across one yet that doesn't separate with enough force carefully applied.
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Dave-R
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There have been times when I have wellied ball joints for a couple of hours with no joy whatsoever. Until I can barely fift the hammer. It can be SO frustrating.
I have walked away, had a rest, gone back, taken a deep breath, and BANG suddenly they go and you wondered why you had been having so much trouble before.
I sometimes have better luck hamering in a large screwdriver or small chisel into the gap so that it also wedges against the knukle or something. Then while that tension is on i hit the joint with the biggest hammer I have. I use a mash hammer which is like a small short handled sledge hammer.
It also helps if you have as much mass on the knuckle as possible. So if it came with drum brakes leave the drum on and the mass hanging down will help.
If all else fails I have a trick I thought up onnce for a very stubborn upper joint that you can try.
Put the car on axle stands.
I always remove the LOWER joint by running the bolt down a bit, jacking the suspension up with the jack under the brake drum/disc, then one or two big thumps with the hammer and they always come away easy. Leaving the nut on stops the suspension from suddenly flying apart.
You can takle the upper joint the same way. Jack it up as before but then put a couple of axle stands either side or the UCA. I used a section of heavy pipe running across the top of both stands and under the UCA so that when the jack is dropped the pipe is holding the UCA up against the suspension. Then it is the same thing. One big tap on the side of the joint and she will fly apart. But REMEMBER TO LEAVE THE NUT ON THE END TO CATCH IT!
I have walked away, had a rest, gone back, taken a deep breath, and BANG suddenly they go and you wondered why you had been having so much trouble before.
I sometimes have better luck hamering in a large screwdriver or small chisel into the gap so that it also wedges against the knukle or something. Then while that tension is on i hit the joint with the biggest hammer I have. I use a mash hammer which is like a small short handled sledge hammer.
It also helps if you have as much mass on the knuckle as possible. So if it came with drum brakes leave the drum on and the mass hanging down will help.
If all else fails I have a trick I thought up onnce for a very stubborn upper joint that you can try.
Put the car on axle stands.
I always remove the LOWER joint by running the bolt down a bit, jacking the suspension up with the jack under the brake drum/disc, then one or two big thumps with the hammer and they always come away easy. Leaving the nut on stops the suspension from suddenly flying apart.
You can takle the upper joint the same way. Jack it up as before but then put a couple of axle stands either side or the UCA. I used a section of heavy pipe running across the top of both stands and under the UCA so that when the jack is dropped the pipe is holding the UCA up against the suspension. Then it is the same thing. One big tap on the side of the joint and she will fly apart. But REMEMBER TO LEAVE THE NUT ON THE END TO CATCH IT!
I use one of these babies and have never had a problem.
In fact, many of the upper and lower ball joints snap apart before I get the hammer out, though some have required one or two applications of the Birmingham screwdriver (so Richard Maltman knows what these are).
Can't remember how much it cost, but I think it was about 15 quid...worth every penny too.
In fact, many of the upper and lower ball joints snap apart before I get the hammer out, though some have required one or two applications of the Birmingham screwdriver (so Richard Maltman knows what these are).
Can't remember how much it cost, but I think it was about 15 quid...worth every penny too.
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Dave-R
- Posts: 24752
- Joined: Sun Apr 18, 04 11:23 pm
- Location: Dave Robson lives in Geordieland
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Trust you to have the right tool for it Ivor! You with your valve cutting bits and big shed etc! 
I have never even seen one of those before.
Where would you buy such a tool? I quite fancy one now even though I don't plan on doing any suspension work! I would just want to show it to people at dinner parties and say "Look. The proper tool for splitting ball joints. I bet you haven't got one of those!".
I have never even seen one of those before.
Where would you buy such a tool? I quite fancy one now even though I don't plan on doing any suspension work! I would just want to show it to people at dinner parties and say "Look. The proper tool for splitting ball joints. I bet you haven't got one of those!".
Come on Dave, you're giving me a complex!
I'm not sure, but I think it's a Sykes Picavant Tool...it could even be a Draper, but I know it wasn't incredibly expensive...not like the custom made valve seat cutter at 150 smackers
Which is why I've taken up Steve Ball's kind offer to borrow one from Mustang Mike...in the meantime, the ball joint splitter is going in the middle of the dining table for parties...I may even hang it off my belt like one of those s w a n k y key rings that hot hatch drivers wear.
I'm not sure, but I think it's a Sykes Picavant Tool...it could even be a Draper, but I know it wasn't incredibly expensive...not like the custom made valve seat cutter at 150 smackers
Which is why I've taken up Steve Ball's kind offer to borrow one from Mustang Mike...in the meantime, the ball joint splitter is going in the middle of the dining table for parties...I may even hang it off my belt like one of those s w a n k y key rings that hot hatch drivers wear.
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Anonymous