KUjonathan

hey all...

so i've got to pull my passenger's side half-shaft, and i've read all the archives and i'm in the middle of trying to separate the lower ball joint from the hub. jesus christ, i've tried everything . i have a two jaw puller, i have a ball-joint "fork", i have no idea how to do this. i've tried and tried... i'm not even sure i'm trying to separate the right things. there is the threaded bolt, then the lower arm, then some rubber bulbs (which i have now destroyed on accident), then some little slits, and then the ball joint housing. i can't get the fork in anywhere, and the puller is just popping off. PLEASE any suggestions? my car is in pieces... haha

Fardoche

On my car, I used a puller the first time and it just kept slipping. Then I tried the fork thing but no luck. By then I was really pissed so I took an old axe and... ... actually I used it as a sledge hammer, a couple of hard hits on the fork and it broke loose. You want to put the fork just around the rubber seals, since they are already broken just hammer it, should work.

mr. carpenter

that fork is no good. go to the auto parts and rent a ball joint seperator. the two prongs go on the control arm under the rubber boot. crank on it till it pops but be careful not to mushroom balljoint threads

Steve91

You can always do it the long way. Remove the shock and shock fork. Remove the radius rod. unbolt the control arm at the frame. Pull the hub away from the tranny with the control arm still attached. Once the axle is out of the tranny, use a hammer and a thick bolt to GENTLY tap the axle out of the hub. It will help greatly to have a friend help.

KUjonathan

i've tried that seperator... i just can't get enough on it to pop. it even slips when i put it on the ball joint top. i've had it cranked so hard that it would take a cheater to go any farther... i am beginning to wonder if this joint is seriously hurt or something. i think i'll try the sledge. others seem to do that, and at this point its already fubar'ed. grrrr. thanks for input

KUjonathan

yeah, i'm going to do it "the long way" next time... but since i've already ripped that ball joint rubber, and grease is oozing everywhere, i figure i better remove it and replace it. oh well, learn something every time. thanks

streetlegal gocart

I've posted this several times, but one more can't hurt.

This thing works perfect, no muscling, no hassle. Just position the pitarm puller the right way and you're golden.

b0pIT

Get a hammer with some weight to it. Find that beefy spot on the LCA where its sorta elbow like (idunno sticks out a little). Hit with hammer. Repeat. By now your pissed enough to give it a good whack. Separated.

KUjonathan

yeah, i know about that pitman arm puller... the problem is that i can't get one that fits correctly at the auto parts store. its different than that... shorter and fatter. doesn't have enough range in the screw. it seems like there are a million ways to get this thing off, but nothing works. oh well, tomorrow when the stores open i'll try and get a sledgehammer, maybe try another couple auto parts stores. thanks all for the help

SEA Hag

If your just removing axles try unbolting the LCA where it meets the chassis not the knuckle. Works every time.

DohcVtecCrx

When you use a pickle fork ball joint seperator you do NOT pry onit, you use a sledge and hammer it through. Take your sledge and hammer were the ball joint goes into the lower arm, then take the seperator, put it in so the angle on on the top side and hammer it throught. It will come off. Do not pry with it.

silverCRXTC

with the fork try flipping it over, it dint work in one position but after turning over 180 degrees it worked fine, ive always used em

89civicdx

try the 3rd suggestion in this post by "ELKamino"

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=446576

tilt

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=432347

Look at the 2nd pic. Lift the rotor up then place a bar (anything thick like a ratchet) between the lca and knuckle. Dont look at the circles in the pic. The bar should be placed to the right of the ball joint boot. Lower the rotor and the lca and knuckle will pinch the bar down. all the weight is now resting on the bar. Jump on the rotor and the ball joint should separate. Best thing is you wont ever rip another boot again.

Brandon Clifton

just use a 4lb sledge hammer (the one that's about 12" long) and whack the hell out of the side of the LCA where the ball joint goes in. one or two well placed hits and it'll spring free. Keep in mind that the strut is pusing down and the LCA bushings are rotating it upward, so stick a long bar over the tension rod and under the tranny to put downward force on the LCA. Put a foot on the bar (or have someone else pull down on it) when you whack the LCA with your hammer. This is the "industry standard"

gocivicgo

IVe seperated the botom ball joint a million times with a ball joitn fork no prob, i admit getting it in there isnt ewasy , btu if you take off the tie rod then turn the steerign knuckle allt eh way out, its so easy .

I dont see why peopel have problems with this.

slowpokesi

the trick is to use a 5lb sledge, whack it comes out

therealciviczc

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by gocivicgo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">IVe seperated the botom ball joint a million times with a ball joitn fork no prob, i admit getting it in there isnt ewasy , btu if you take off the tie rod then turn the steerign knuckle allt eh way out, its so easy .

I dont see why peopel have problems with this.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I would guess it has something to do with the condition of the car/balljoint. I've had many that come apart within a few seconds. I've had others that refuse to come apart without an hour or two worth of work.

The only way that I've found to get the really really really tight ones, is with a pickling fork that has a steep angle. Turn the wheel so you can get the arm in there at an angle similar to the front radius arm if you contiuned it... that way you're hitting toward something that is braced. Get a giant hammer and start hitting it hard.

Most of the time a separator will get them, but for the really tough ones, I think the fork is the only way. The separators start to tear the threads out (I've never tried a really beefy one though).

Grease the forks of the fork and as someone else said (i think) use it upside down if it doesn't come apart with it the right way. You need a blunt big hammer too, not something like you'd put nails in with.

Never cease that bitch once you get it apart, but don't over do it or you won't be able to get the castle nut on without the joint just spinning.

Ef Whore

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by slowpokesi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the trick is to use a 5lb sledge, whack it comes out </TD></TR></TABLE>

Exactly, ****'ll pop right out.

KUjonathan

hey all,

ok, i really want to thank you all for your help and not flaming me. i know that this was a basic question, but i'll be damned if anything i was trying was working. i suspect the 5 pound sledge would have definitely worked, but i can tell you the pullers didn't. i bet they will when a nice new joint is on there though... what did work was the jacking up the rotor and putting a bar between the lower arm and the spindle, and jumping. it came off in 2 minutes. its amazing how things won't budge one way, but will pop easily another. ok, anyways, thanks a bumch guys. (woo hoo, almost off "new user" status!)

90crxb16a

Forget to take the 2 bolts out of the rotor? ( Little screws) Ive done it before.......

Jonathan_ED3

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Doctor Zagato &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I've posted this several times, but one more can't hurt.

This thing works perfect, no muscling, no hassle. Just position the pitarm puller the right way and you're golden.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I've used one of those in the past....joint was so tight it bent/warped my ball joint stud (can't get a nut back on the shaft cuz it warped it over) and now I've got to replace the whole joint. I'll never use one of those again....

'picklefork' is the fastest way, but if you're not careful you're going to bust your ball joint boots

CRXBart

I've always used pickle forks with no problems. I've done the beat the **** out of it with a BFH method also, when no pickle forks were available. Lately I've been installing springs and such on several friend's cars, and I've totally avoided all balljoints just because of the pain-in-the-***, factor. I've just been unbolting the untire upper A arm, shock slides right out. You might need more clearece for an axle I say undo the LCA. That should work.

4drEF

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 90crxb16a &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Forget to take the 2 bolts out of the rotor? ( Little screws) Ive done it before.......</TD></TR></TABLE>


HUH?????