mjolson

does this work for a 92 prelude, i am trying to get it out with a pickle fork and the damn balljoint is starting to separate from the casing. i tried the wrench method, but i dont have exactly a craftsman wrench, i substituted a standard wrench about the same width but it does not seem to work. maybe im not pushing down enough? i tried it with the pinch bolt in and out. with out it seems like u might break something if u push to hard down in it. the balljoint looks exactly the same is in the pics above. i tried to hit a couple times and my finger but not in the nub. will try that tomorrow. i have tein springs, does that matter? doesn't seem like it should if it can be done without pinch bolt in. also i only need to disconnect the pinch fork bolt, axle nut, lower balljoint nut, and remove hub ring to service the lower ball joint, right? i also finally found the correct tool to press honda balljoints out. moog part#T80541 if i could only use it, but cant get the damn ball joint to separate!!! im go ing to pound the hell out of the nub tommorrow.

IN VTEC

iTrader: (3)

What does separate from the casing mean? I take it as the ball is loose from the socket and there's a lot of slack in the joint. If that's the case then using a wrench to pop it won't work.

You'll have to hammer at the LCA to loosen it to remove it by hand.

mjolson

okay finally got it out easily with a pitman arm puller. it took some cranks. now i cant get the damn axle spindle out of the hub. it is rusted in there. looks like previous installer did not use never seize. i hit it with a hammer without the spindle nut on but not to hard, afraid ill damage it. so some guy said i should spin the axle nut on the until its flush with spindle end. i did that and gave it a couple good wacks but now ive smashed the very end of the nut slightly and it wont come off. im sure air tools can get it off but i dont have them. time to call someone who does i guess. but how the heck do i get the axle out of the hub? ive heard of a hub puller, but im afraid it will separate the hub from the knuckle. any thoughts?

mjolson

one more thing, if i do it, i would obviously try the hub puller with out the axle nut on.

UPDATE

got the axle spindle out with a hub puller from advance auto(luckily did not damage bearing or remove hub). once i got that done it was breeze. lol especially with MOOG balljoint remover T80541 and press. came out fairly easily and i did not have to hammer the hell out it. tool is so much easier then hammering it out. by the way the vehicle application list does not list prelude models for the remover but it fits 92-96 Honda Prelude and possibly more honda/acura models.

serversurfer

IN VTEC is my hero. <3

I tried four different tools to try to pop my joint, to no avail, but this method worked like a charm!

B20ztek

iTrader: (1)

I tried it, didnt work, didnt feel like putting suspension back on so i just got the seperator from autozone ha. Nice write up though

Zeronamous

Got my driver's-side axle out tonight thanks to this thread. I didn't kick the ratchet down to pop the joint though. I held one end in-place while I hammered the other end down. I couldn't get enough power in a kick with how much room I was working with.

m4xwellmurd3r

I believe cylinder 3 runs hottest due to the intake design.

Air sticks to the walls of the intake plenum. The rear two (cylinder's 1 and 2) are fine as they have the straightest flow.
Cylinder 4 tends to be ok as well because it sits right there at the TB opening (and I also think due to the air wanting to "stick" to the walls.

I would like to see some EGT reading's from a Bseries with ITB's to see if the theory is true. With ITB's and no plenum, every cylinder should in theory be nearly identical.

Also, holy hell this method is AWESOME. I've got one of those ball joint popper tools with the two forks and the bolt you screw in till it pops them apart, but holy crap this is even better!

sweesiong78

Sorry to bump this thread, but how many times can I pop the ball joint using this jack method ? I am afraid of damaging the ball joint because the wedging force is uneven. Unlike a pickle fork or ball joint separator where there are two wedges that slip under the knuckle this method forces the knuckle to separate from the LCA on one side only.

I am asking because I have popped my left ball joint 3 times already in the last week using this method (to change an axle and replace a seal, and then replace that seal again cause it was cocked). The ball joint always pops out with a bang just by lowering the jack but I am afraid doing this method to many times might damage the ball joint internally.

IN VTEC

iTrader: (3)

Let us know. You're the first to attmempt test to failure.

sweesiong78

come on man that was a serious question does anyone know if separating the ball joint damages it each time it is popped?

pixelphoto

HELP!!!
I was able to pop the front lower ball joints using the magic ratchet-handle-method trick to remove the lower control arms (LCA). But, now I'm unable to reinstall the lac. From the begining:
Jacked up the car and supported it with jack stands. Jacked up the lca and popped the joints. Driver's side ball popped out of ball joint. Ordered Moog replacement. There are three points were the lac mounts. I'm able to make a connection to any of the two points but there is a large gap at the third point. Brute force does not work. Any advise, insight. I'm stuck up **** creek without a paddle.
Element 2004

pixelphoto

When using the ratchet handle trick to pop the ball joint is it possible to pop the knuckle from the axle?

petr0lb0mb

Thank you IN VTEC for this little nugget!

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

Old post is old, but in case anyone is wondering, I highly doubt that there's any damage from popping the ball joint loose this way. All you're doing is using a type of wedge (ratchet handle) and spring force from the suspension to force parts loose that were held together by the friction of the tapered seat shape of the ball joint stud. The ball joint parts do not touch anything else other than the LCA and knuckle (what it normally touches), and there are no impact forces imparted onto any part during the process.

And for those OG's out there, this is referred to as the WTDR ball joint separation method.