I'm trying to get the axles out of my 93 Civic. I got the fork and the hub nut off but i can't get the stupid lower ball joint off the knuckle. any tips or tricks on how to get it out without a puller. the more info i get the better.

 

try putting the castle nut on backwards and banging on it with something to loosen it up, then try it..

 

stop messing with the ball joints all together and drop the upper or lower control arm.

 

word

but if you really want to drop the ball joint, ball joint removers are like 15 bucks..

 

NEVER hit the ball joint stud with ANYTHING, whether the nut is on there or not, you will end up bending the stud. I'm speaking from personal experience. I usually bang on the lower control arm a few times, and then raise the brake rotor w/ the jack to lift the suspension out of the lower control arm. If that doesn't work, I try wedging something between the spindle and LCA (while suspension is pushed up), then lowering it down, and it should pop apart. The shock fork has to be bolted up for both of these methods to work.

 

: hammer :

hit the LCA not the ball joint.

 

just remove the bolts that hold the LCA on and let it dangle from the ball joint
then you can pull your hub away from the axle.
ive pulled many axle's off and have never split the balljoint.

 

The absolute easiest way to do this safely, is to take the castle nut off and then hit the lca where the ball joint stud goes through with a hammer. A few good heavy smacks should pop it loose. DO NOT HIT THE BALL JOINT STUD!!!!!!

 

FINALLY! Someone who has done it the way I did.

 

get a ball joint remover(pickel fork) 20 bucks