How to change a ball joint

THANKYOU !!!!!!
that was like pullin teeth to get posted,

good info as i've seen it asked a few times lately
have some reps dbowhntr
 
I don't THINK I need to point this out to anyone but I'm gonna say it anyway.

That's about the worst possible way to separate the ball joint and spindle. The guy says, "without damaging anything" except if that ball peen hammer slips one time and hits that threaded shaft and screws those threads ALL to pieces. Even if he doesn't slip, hitting the ball joint "on the side" like that is a surefire way to damage the joint. The joint is designed to take loads up and down, hitting the spindle "backward" like that is loading the ball joint in a way the socket IS NOT designed to take.

I agree with the person in the video that a pickle fork is NOT the right way to remove the ball joint either. The absolute best way to remove a taper shaft ball joint without damaging the boot OR THE JOINT is to use a "press" type ball joint separator.

Sears: Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more

KD tools #3916 $17.99 at Sears.com and no damage at all to either side of the suspension.
 
The only way to get a taper free, great instructional vid, get some more green.

I usually strike about 90deg from where the vid shows , like straight down and with a bigger hammer, usually comes free in obout 5 blows.

Leave the nut on and slacken if off about one turn, so if you chance to miss the threads will be protected.

Use the flat face of the hammer, lessens the chances of missing.

A good way to remove tie rod ends also, but make sure you strike the end of the pitman arms.

Do not hurry, short, sharp, well placed blows are the order of the day.
 
Last edited:
this is also the way i, and anyone i've seen do auto balljoints/tierods
as he was not hitting the ball joint itself, so no damage could occur
 
sicivicdude said:
I don't THINK I need to point this out to anyone but I'm gonna say it anyway.

That's about the worst possible way to separate the ball joint and spindle. The guy says, "without damaging anything" except if that ball peen hammer slips one time and hits that threaded shaft and screws those threads ALL to pieces. Even if he doesn't slip, hitting the ball joint "on the side" like that is a surefire way to damage the joint. The joint is designed to take loads up and down, hitting the spindle "backward" like that is loading the ball joint in a way the socket IS NOT designed to take.

I agree with the person in the video that a pickle fork is NOT the right way to remove the ball joint either. The absolute best way to remove a taper shaft ball joint without damaging the boot OR THE JOINT is to use a "press" type ball joint separator.


Sears: Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more

KD tools #3916 $17.99 at Sears.com and no damage at all to either side of the suspension.
Click to expand...
I agree. A press is the best way to do it, but this is the way we have done it all the auto shops I have worked in. Put the nut on the end if you are really worried about hitting the threads. No big deal. It looks more violent than it actually is. That was just me doing both at the same time lol.
 
awk08 said:
this is also the way i, and anyone i've seen do auto balljoints/tierods
as he was not hitting the ball joint itself, so no damage could occur
Click to expand...

When he's hitting the "front" of that spindle and the ONLY thing holding it on is the balljoint, where do you think those "shock waves" he's talking about in the video go to once they've gone through the taper? He's beating the snot out of that ball joint, in a direction it's not designed to take load in. In other words, he's smacking that ball joint apart by beating it sideways. While the possibility of damage from that is far less than the guaranteed destruction from a torn boot which is the likely result a "pickle fork" separator, the chance of damage from smacking it on its side is far more than the damage possible from using a tool which presents a separation load on the taper itself. Even if used in conjunction (I've done that before with my press too BTW) with shock, the press has less chance of damaging a good ball joint than any of the other options.

Now obviously, if we're talking about the ability to get something home off a mountain trail somewhere, you do what you have to do (including ratchet strap ball joints together) to make it back out of the woods.
 
Ya I No nothing just an ase master tech and senior engineer for the worlds faster super car lol. To each their own , it works each time without any damage to the spendal or balljoint. done it hundreds of times. I see guys struggle all the time on here with this so take it with a grain of salt. So that is why I posted this. Last one for sure
 
dbowhntr said:
Ya I No nothing just an ase master tech and senior engineer for the worlds faster super car lol. To each their own , it works each time without any damage to the spendal or balljoint. done it hundreds of times. I see guys struggle all the time on here with this so take it with a grain of salt. So that is why I posted this. Last one for sure
Click to expand...

I'm glad you posted something, just NOT the way I would do it. I would use a ball joint press for under $20 (which I've recommended to LOTS of people who've asked about how to remove a lower ball joint).

Let me tell you about another one "I wouldn't recommend" and you can make your own decision on it.... I saw a mexican cab driver (not being racist here, we were in Mexico) replace an in tank fuel pump by popping the seat up, removing the sending unit with a butter knife, cutting the wires going to the fuel pump with a pocket knife, and then resoldering a new fuel pump to the existing wires using a tiny piece of solder and a friggin Bic cigarette lighter. When he finished he pulled some heatshrink up over his solder joints, pushed the assembly back into the tank sat the seat down and drove off. Did he blow himself up to kingdom come that time? no.... would YOU use a cigarette lighter over top of an open gas tank?!?!?!


Sure, it can work.... lots of things CAN be done certain ways and then there's the BEST way. Taking a hammer to a taper fit is a risky procedure and not one I would recommend to anyone (no matter how well trained they might be at wrenching or what sort of exotic machinery they might have worked on)
 
I see nothing wrong with that method. Only difference was I used a 2lb.

Don't worry about the negative nellies. If you have more good how-to's , post them. I a person doesn't like it they can find a different way.

JMHO, your results may, and will vary.
 
yep, i agree with proper tools for the job..............

i know guys who use sockets to drive bearings in, when there is a proper tool for that, and others who use dremels and pencil grinders to port cylinders, when clearly a forhdam with correct attachments is the proper way to do it.
and guys who cut and HACK together sheet metal swingarms in the middle, when clearly for a few more dollars worth of rectangle tubing is the proper way to do it.

lets start a thread and point out all the things/methods we don't agree with on here, as i seem to have quite a few, and luv talking about them
your pet peeves will clearly vary !
 
No big. It works and if there had been someone filming it., there would have been 3 or 4 strikes and it would have let go. Like I said to each their own. When I see guys on here bitching that they need a torch, try this. It works.
 
dbowhntr said:
Done bro lol. Wish i never posted it lol
Click to expand...

Don't let my ramblings discourage you from posting potentially helpful videos or posts. I just like to point out when there are other ways to do something.

Perhaps a "this is how I I do it" is warranted so that anyone who may not know the risks of hitting the ball joint "on the side" will be able to decide for themselves whether this process is right for them or not.

Awk, we all know some things we've all done which weren't the "proper" way to do things, if we started a thread including them all, it would stretch to the end of the internet.... 8-|
 
Yip a big hammer and a few wacks they break loose everytime! I leave the top one for last only difference! But hammer on the spindle is my preferred method.
 
sicivicdude said:
I'm glad you posted something, just NOT the way I would do it. I would use a ball joint press for under $20 (which I've recommended to LOTS of people who've asked about how to remove a lower ball joint).

Let me tell you about another one "I wouldn't recommend" and you can make your own decision on it.... I saw a mexican cab driver (not being racist here, we were in Mexico) replace an in tank fuel pump by popping the seat up, removing the sending unit with a butter knife, cutting the wires going to the fuel pump with a pocket knife, and then resoldering a new fuel pump to the existing wires using a tiny piece of solder and a friggin Bic cigarette lighter. When he finished he pulled some heatshrink up over his solder joints, pushed the assembly back into the tank sat the seat down and drove off. Did he blow himself up to kingdom come that time? no.... would YOU use a cigarette lighter over top of an open gas tank?!?!?!


Sure, it can work.... lots of things CAN be done certain ways and then there's the BEST way. Taking a hammer to a taper fit is a risky procedure and not one I would recommend to anyone (no matter how well trained they might be at wrenching or what sort of exotic machinery they might have worked on)
Click to expand...
That's funny bout the cab driver. When I worked for the ford hotline I had a guy tell me the gas was good in the tank. I asked him how he knew. He said he pored it out on the ground and lit it and it burned. Lol. Truce?
 
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