I cant for the lifte of me seperate the lower balljoint on my 89 civic dx.

Currently I've tried:

- banging the lca with a hammer
- Broken 2 pickle forks
- Soaked the balljoints in liquid wrench all night
- Jacked the car up from the balljoint bolt
- Heated the LCA until the balljoint caught fire, then used an air hammer mounted pickle fork.
- Tryed the above while keeping pressure on the balljoint bolt with a jack.

I'm just about to start looking for high power explosives.

 

they make a tool called a ball joint separator. go to autozone and rent one. its just something that has 2 or 3 little arms that attach to the control arm and a screw at the other end that goes on the bottom of the ball joint screw and it just kinda pushes it out

 

There are 2 types of separators. One is a fork that you slip between and bang with a hammer... ( be careful this can rip the boot! ) and there are the gear puller type.... (take care not to damage the threads)

Brian

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BdoubleU &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">There are 2 types of separators. One is a fork that you slip between and bang with a hammer... ( be careful this can rip the boot! ) and there are the gear puller type.... (take care not to damage the threads)

Brian</TD></TR></TABLE>


Ive been using pickeforks for years and never ripped a boot...you must get it under the boot's lower clip, and grease the fork. Works fine. Bro I think your not smacking hard enough because never once has a picklefrok failed me....or your a *****..j/k Hit it harder and use PB Blaster

 

Sounds like its seized in there....but there is always a way out and this would be my last resort &gt;&gt;&gt; go to a junk yard and get a hub with the lower suspension arm still attached to replace yours.

 

just get the gear puller ,,thats what i used,,worked perfect.

 

or this tie rod puller.

just position it right.

 

some ball joints are bitches but keep going at it with the hammer and it will eventually break free

 

I've used the forks before, and regret it, but they always get the job done. I would say "bangin the LCA" is your best bet, I've used a two-point craftsman gear puller as well, but be careful not the strip the balljoint.

If you do strip the threads, you can always buy a 12x1.25 Dye (from a tap & dye set) and re thread the ball joint.

good luck

 

The "Jack up the hub and put a wrench inbetween the LCA and Hub" method always worked for me. Visit pep-boys and pick up some PB-Blaster. Give it a soaking and let it sit overnight, then try again.

 

hit it with a hammer.. the casting around the ball joint that is.. it will knock it free. I've done it many times with no harm to the ball joint. and it costs less than a separator.

 

If none of the above methods work, just hit is with hopes and dreams. J/K

They sell ball joint separators, and that is what I would use. They don't make tools called ball joint separators to not use on ball joints . Use the proper tool for the job,and the job usually goes smoothly. Yes sometimes you can getaway with hitting the LCA with a BFH, but that is not the proper way. Just rent a separator from autozone. or buy one, there not too much, and if you ever have to to the job again you have to right tool. Just my .02

 

I've never had a picklefork fail to get a joint apart, BUT i have ripped a polyurethane boot so THERE! And I was pissed!

 

Thanks for the replies guys...I eventually got it loose by dooing the following:

Jacked the car up from the balljoint screw, heated it up till it got more or less redhot.....quenched it in water.....then I used a pickle fork and beat it in place with a sledge hammer....after 10-15 blows of the sledge it let go

You can bet I'm soaking it in anti size.

I wasnt aware of the gear type puller.....nmakes allot of sense cause those damn forks tare the balljoints...both my lower balljoints are shot now

Luckily I have spare knucles from a crx ....as long as I dont kill the tierod and upper balljoints I should be a happy camper

 

i have taken my lower ball joints everytime i take my engine out in order to take axles out

well i keep breaking them .... and they are a pain in da *** to take out.. use a ball joint separator and a sledge hammer...

after wards i rather take the front torsion bar off and loose the LCA off the chassis.... and the wishbone.... that way i dont mess with ball joints and they dont rbeak...

 

b17gsr had a good suggestion...I have yuet to try...but he's been successful with it.

Here's the way I do it (if I it's not removed on this list, reinstall it).

1. Jack front end, support with jackstands.
2. Remove front wheels.
3. Remove cotter pin and nut.
4. Remove 17 mm nut off fork (bolt that goes through lower control arm), leave bolt in fork.
4. Install 17 mm fork nut on ball joint (jut enough so the hole nut is threaded).
5. Place peice of wood on hydraulic jack.
6. Use hydraulic jack to lift hub up approx 3 inches (only part that should touch the peice of wood is the nut threaded on the lower ball joint).
7. Wack side of control arm near ball joint about 4 times with a hammer (no need for anything bigger).
8. You should hear a thump, cause the ball joint popped out.
9. If not, lower hydraulic jack, raise again and wack again.

This has worked for me each and everytime.

 

like this...

 

Ya I know...In hindsight....I think I should have done that ....would have been much simpler. I wasted a good 5 hours on those pieces of ****

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jet Black &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thanks for the replies guys...I eventually got it loose by dooing the following:

Jacked the car up from the balljoint screw, heated it up till it got more or less redhot.....quenched it in water.....then I used a pickle fork and beat it in place with a sledge hammer....after 10-15 blows of the sledge it let go

You can bet I'm soaking it in anti size.

I wasnt aware of the gear type puller.....nmakes allot of sense cause those damn forks tare the balljoints...both my lower balljoints are shot now

Luckily I have spare knucles from a crx ....as long as I dont kill the tierod and upper balljoints I should be a happy camper </TD></TR></TABLE>

I dont know why you had to go through all that.....that sux. BTW your knuckles are still good....get some snap ring pliers, remove the ring then pound the balljoint out. Go grab new ones from Honda, the PepBoys ones are GARBAGE.

 

Its putting the new one in properly thats a problem....according to b17gsr a shop press is required to install them properly. Its no biggie, I'll just swap the knucles from the crx...will be simpler

BTW...all these referrecens to pepboys...you americans have it nice....Pepboys, autozone and so on...I have to live with Canadian tire