removing front hubs from lower a-arms

[Leines]

Is there something im missing... i removed the cotter pin..and the nut from the bolt.. but i cant seem to get the front hubs to come away from the bolt on the a-arm... ive tried wd-40 overnight... even hit the bolt with the torch until i started to see the rubber start to slightly melt down at the a-arm... im getting new front hubs.. but id like to save these a-arms so i dont have to buy new ones of those as well..

any suggestions.. i tried a rubber mallet and a piece of wood to hold my the hub so i can get a good hit on it... not even a budge... i gotta be missing something..


Thanks in advance..


cheers

 

[super noober]

Is there something im missing... i removed the cotter pin..and the nut from the bolt.. but i cant seem to get the front hubs to come away from the bolt on the a-arm... ive tried wd-40 overnight... even hit the bolt with the torch until i started to see the rubber start to slightly melt down at the a-arm... im getting new front hubs.. but id like to save these a-arms so i dont have to buy new ones of those as well..

any suggestions.. i tried a rubber mallet and a piece of wood to hold my the hub so i can get a good hit on it... not even a budge... i gotta be missing something..


Thanks in advance..


cheers

i useually use a "pickle fork" when mine are giving me trouble. but you ahve to be carefull not to damage things

 

[sheeblast]

i am a little lost.
how are you removing the hub from the a-arms?
are you removing the hub from the spindle or the spindle for the a-arms?

best way to remove the ball joint from the spindle is to take a hammer (metal not rubber) and hit the spindle around the ball joint.

if you are removing the hub from spindle, take PB Blaster (WD40 is garbage) and spray it up around the spindle inside the hub. but really they should come off pretty easy.

 

[Leines]

stupid question... whats a pickle fork.... and what do i need to be careful not to break... can i replace the rubber mount on the a-arm if i bash it too hard and fawk up the threads on the bolt or something??? i put the nut back on flush to the bolt when i was hitting in with the mallet... i mean ive given it some sh*t.. but doesnt seem to wanna budge.. its a 1990 blaster.. so in theory they could have been there rusting away for 20 years if they have never been removed before..

 

[Leines]

ok.. but the spindle is connect to the front hubs... and i cant get the hubs apart either because they are seized..... so i was hoping to just remove the hub and spindle all in one from the a-arms.... i have a picture up in my rebuild thread that shows where im stuck.. but i find more people check the regular forum then the rebuild thread..

Cheers

 

[sheeblast]

use a hammer and hit the spindle around the ball joint to get it out, best way to do it.
you are going to want to lift up the spindle so the a-arm can fall out of it. then just beat it a couple times. this helps break up any rust that is there.
also use PB blaster on rusty things, not WD40.
PB Blaster will eat the rust, WD40 is just a sh*tty lube.

 

[Leines]

well i did put something called krown 53 of 56 which is an anti seize on it last night so its been soaking on there overnight.... i have the whole front hub up on wood and the a-arm should be able to fall down if it came away from the spindle... ill go try again right now.... hit it a couple times with a steel hammer and see if it will come away now...

Ill let you know how i make out..


Cheers

 

[sheeblast]

make sure you hit the spindle and not the ball joint. hit the loop/ring around the ball joint.
you dont have to smash it, but make sure you have a solid hit on it.

 

[Leines]

Got it.... It looks like there was some loctite or something on the threads to the balljoint... im assuming that krown stuff ate thru it a bit more.. cause damn i hit that baby good yesterday as well... but they came off.... now my next question is can i replace the ball joints on these lower a-arms since they look like shat now, and the threads are looking pretty hurting.. maybe why they had something on there to hold it???

Now i gotta prep the frame etc for paint... which will bring more questions in a different section i think..

 

[sheeblast]

since you have stock a-arms, you really cant replace the ball joints.
you can get other stock a-arms, or you can get aftermarket a-arms where you can replace bad ball joints.
but if you are good at welding, and fabbing things. you can cut off the old ball joint, weld a block there, and tap it for the replacement ball joints. this isn't an easy project.

 

[Leines]

ok well my uncle is really good at welding... he also make pneumatic lifts etc... so assume he could do that.. the ball joints still move freely.. but the rubber is slightly melted..and the threads on the bolt near the bottom are pretty sh*tted... would it be worth it to do all that welding to get aftermarket ball joints... or what kinda price am i looking at for used aftermarket ones.... also do i have to replace all four i assume?? what else would have to be replaced???

 

[sheeblast]

you can just get stock a-arms with good ball joints. you can just get the one for the mess up one.
if you get aftermarket a-arms, you have to get all 4.
if you do the welding trick, i would suggest doing it on both lower ones.
i have seen it done on stock banshee a-arms, never on a blaster, but there isn't much difference really.

 

[brandoz28]

tried one of these?

 

[Leines]

that tool looks like it would have helped a lot... but ive already got them off...


Ok so what is a good deal on the aftermarket a-arms... ill have to do a cost-benefit analysis to see if its good idea... i assume ill need to replace all the bearings etc in these a-arms if i were to keep them and weld that spot.. so id be in for bearings, materials to weld..and the aftermarket ball joints..... or i get the aftermarket a-arms..which are better handling i assume... and should be in decent shape without needing to be rebuilt... or i guess i replace just the lower a-arms with stock ones from here..


what do you think each route would cost me.. so i can get an idea of what one i should take...

 

[royalt67]

Aftermarket is always the way to go if you can afford it. Cheapest I know are these Armadillos, but the ASRs on ebay are close. TRAX ATV - A-arms - Standard Travel - Armadillo Standard Travel A-arms Yamaha Blaster

If you can't do new, used ones sell on ebay for 200-300 occasionally, and there is often someone parting out something here in the Marketplace.

 

[sheeblast]

replace just the lower a-arms will be the cheap route in the short run.
gettting aftermarket a-arms will be the costly route but you will also increase resale value, have better handle and make it easier to fix a ball joint if it messes up again.

i would suggest looking for some used a/m a-arms on here or ebay and get them.

 

[Leines]

See... i could prolly work $150 for the aftermarket a-arms into this budget... assuming i can get the stock ones for $60 or so... but i dunno about $200 plus shipping... I guess ill go to work and see if i can find something locally for a killer deal..

Thanks for the help again guys..