Thanks to any responses ahead of time...

Trucks jacked, tire's off and I'm looking at the upper ball joint connecting from the A-arm to the steering knuckle. Someone has obviously replaced the ball joints before because they're not rivited onto the control arm, they have the 4 bolts and locking nuts holding them to the arm.

Here's the question! Do I take off those four bolts, that hold that plate to the top of the a arm BEFORE using the pickle fork (tool) and sledge hammer to get the stud out of the steering knuckle? Or do I leave those 4 bolts securely fastened as I beat in thr fork to break the stud free from the knuckle?

Seems like it should be a pretty straight forward answer. My guess would be to leave the BJ bolted to the control arm and then disconnect it after I get it free from the knuckle... can someone please tell me? I've tried searching for this but I can't seem to find this exact answer, just different methods for getting it out of the knuckle....

Thanks a bunch!

 

Leave the bolts done up. Loosen, but do not remove the castle nut. Sharp rap (or 2 or three) with a hammer on the side of the spindle where the joint goes through should pop it. No pickle fork required, and def. not a sledge hammer.

Just remember NOT to take the castle nut all the way off. You have the 'spring' of the torsion bar on your side here, to help you remove the ball joint. If you remove the nut completely, when the ball joint separates from the spindle, you will have a lot of energy that has to go somewhere. Probably into knuckles, fingers, etc. The nut prevents this. You see where I'm going with this.

So ya, leave the joint bolted to the a-arm when removing it from the spindle. It will also be easier to get at the bolts AFTER it's separated





Aaron

 

Gotcha..... when you say "sharp rap' I'm guessin u just mean a few, solid taps on the side of the knuckle. Also, once brokin free will I be able to finish taking off the castle nut without breakin a bone or is there a special way to do such a thing? Thankz for the input!

 

Exactly like that. I usually use a bottle jack under the lower a-arm to take the pressure off of the nut when removing. Lower the jack, and voila it's apart

Same idea for the lower joint. First loosen the nut, then put the jack under the arm and add a little pressure to the lower arm. Tap Tap (whack whack), and it should come free. At least that's the way I do it. You, and others, may have another favorite method. As long as it works, and you don't break anything in the process you're GTG.

Since your going to be in there, you might want to look at your shocks, sway bar links, brakes etc. You'll already be at a point where they're easy to get to. Just sayin'

Good luck, and let us know how you make out!



Aaron

 

There's a guy uses his {hammer}head properly. I dont do ball joints a lot but maybe every two years. I gave {failed to retrieve after loaning} away my pickle fork about 20 years ago. There is no use for it in my driveway, it is a destructive tool.
Point: It's nice to have a sledge head or something that heavy to hold on the other side of the knuckle while you hit it with the heavy hammer.
- just swing away as hard as you safely can.. IOW to not lose control.

Usually most I've ever had to hit on top of tie rod or ball joint stud is about same as starting a heavy nail.. and of course you hit the nut AND stud, not just the stud. If it's especially stubborn, reverse the nut.. always ending with nut even with top of stud to distribute impact.
Doing this ensures you can put the stuff back together without problems

 

Ok, hold on... wait a sec! Lol.... I've gotten kind of confused here. (I wish I had pictures). The ball joint is connected to the upper a arm. The other side of the ball joint (the stud) is going threw the steering knuckle (with the castle nut holding it on w/ a carter pin).

What I do is jack up the entire truck and take off my tire. I then take out the carter pin and loosen the castle nut (until its flush with the stud)

Now where do I hit with the hammer? I have a sledge hammer AND another decent size hammer. Are you telling me to have someone hold the sledge on one side of the STEERING KNUCKLE while *knocking* on the oppisite side of the steering knuckle with the other hammer? Because someone said to hit the bolt itself I believe, while the nut is flush on the stud? Well this would be impossible due to cv axle and lower arm.

Secondly, I believe you said to use a bottle jack to safely remove the stud out of the knuckle without breakin my arm. What do I put the pressure on wit the jack?? The only thing I can think would be under the LOWER arm and then take off the castle nut, followed by lowering the jack slowly until the stud is out and free from the steering knuckle.

 

I don't strike the nut/stud itself. Not usually required. Just the side of the 'knuckle'. Although, if it's particularly stubborn, you may have to resort to that. Just make sure that the nut is flush with the end of the stud, as Pettyfog has stated, so you don't damage the threads making removal that much more interesting.
Right on the money



Aaron