need a little help with removing lower a-arms.

[snopro442]

I am still in the process of installing the BMR K-Member I am having a hard time getting the lower a-arm ball joints to drop out of the spindle. Can someone point me in the right direction/ Do I need to get a ball joint removal tool ? I tried hitting them down with a hammer but so far no good. Thanks for any input.

 

[BruceH]

Are the cross bolts completely removed?

 

[eighty6gt]

If the bolts are out and you have penetrating oil on the balll joint stud try hitting the steering knuckle itself around the area where the stud passes through. Also you can pry the ears apart where the bolt went through.

Wait a minute, is this even tech?!

 

[skwerl]

Hands on wrenching is definitely tech. This is why it's here.

With the cross bolt removed they should practically drop right out. Perhaps the weight of the hub is side loading the pin and locking it in place? Try relieving the weight of the hub off the joint and then tap it with a hammer to knock it out.

 

[oh5gt]

Like BruceH said. Are the bolts all the way out?
It might appear that the bolt pinches the sleeve around ball joint. In-fact the ball joint has a shoulder that the bolt sits next to. Keeps the ball joint from falling out.
Remove the bolt all the way and tap with a hammer. Should fall out.

 

[BruceH]

If the bolts are out and you have penetrating oil on the balll joint stud try hitting the steering knuckle itself around the area where the stud passes through. Also you can pry the ears apart where the bolt went through.

Wait a minute, is this even tech?!

Not sure if you are serious. He's doing something to his car and it's not happening like it should. This is a big difference from talking about parts, standard specs, what if questions, what does it do, how does it work, etc.

 

[snopro442]

Yes the bolts are out. I will try to pry them apart and see whats happens.

 

[snopro442]

I used the floor jack to keep the weight off, used a pry bar to open them up a little and hit them with the hammer a few times and they dropped out. Now tomorrow I can put it all back together and see if it was worth all the work, Thanks again for the input.

 

[eighty6gt]

The line between tech and not tech is very blurry for me. I'm kind of "tech blind," like some people are color blind. My misfire detection post is a good indication of this. Car seems to be running rougher than usual, I'm under the hood plugging and unplugging the injectors, listening and feeling the engine change in tone and operation... figure I'd ask why I can notice this but not the ECU...

Glad my technique was the trick, snopro! Here's another good tip, if you are working with bolts you know are going to be tough to remove and if they have a good solid backup (this won't work with something hanging in the air or only supported by sheet metal or something,) you can smack the bolt heads hard with a hammer or hammer and drift before you start loosening them. 90% of the time, for me, it works great. Water pump bolts are a great example.

 

[BruceH]

The line between tech and not tech is very blurry for me. I'm kind of "tech blind," like some people are color blind. My misfire detection post is a good indication of this. Car seems to be running rougher than usual, I'm under the hood plugging and unplugging the injectors, listening and feeling the engine change in tone and operation... figure I'd ask why I can notice this but not the ECU...

Glad my technique was the trick, snopro! Here's another good tip, if you are working with bolts you know are going to be tough to remove and if they have a good solid backup (this won't work with something hanging in the air or only supported by sheet metal or something,) you can smack the bolt heads hard with a hammer or hammer and drift before you start loosening them. 90% of the time, for me, it works great. Water pump bolts are a great example.

"My car feels like it's running rough but there aren't any codes what could it be"? isn't tech imo. You just want some advice on things you could do to smooth out how it runs. To me it's chit chat. I could be wrong, it's not that big of a deal.

I've had a spring and cam swap I was doing moved from tech to chit chat because I was just changing parts. I've documented a few of my complete motor builds and they aren't in tech. Same with a 6060 swap and clutch swaps. Same with supercharger installs. Same with header swaps. It goes on.

It's just how it is here. You can certainly disagree with how things are handled but it keeps tech focused on tech. There are plenty of other sites out there where changing oil, spark plugs, cai, etc. are considered tech but this isn't one of them.

 

[Shelty]

buy this tool

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-4-quarter-inch-forged-ball-joint-separator-99849.html

it helped immensely when I changed mine. also take a dremel with a light sanding wheel and run it in the chamber a few times to clean up any corrosion in the spindle. if you are having the issue I had, some corrosion closed up the tolerances between the spindle and the ball joint.

do that before wacking it with a hammer, cuz you might mushroom the top of the ball joint stud and then it will never come out.

just my .02