Jdpathy Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 (edited) I am replacing my lower control arm bushings and I can not get my lower ball joint off because it is sandwiched in between the lower link and the cv joint. Any Ideas? Edited October 20, 2006 by Jdpathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 i can't remember now but i am thinking you'll have to dis-assemble the hub so you can swing the axle away.. search and yee shall find.. that info is in this forum already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Undo the 4 bolts that hold the Ball joint to the lower control arm. Trying to remove the ball joint from the knuckle can be very difficult, sometimes requiring a press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 (edited) Unfortunately, removing the lower BJ on a 4WD requires the CV shaft to be partially slid out, since (as you observed) it's in the way of the BJ. To remove the BJ from the knuckle, remove the nut, then just whack the side of the knuckle with a hammer (such as a 2-lb sledge). The impact on the metal will pop the BJ loose. Alternatively, if you don't care about the BJ, you can whack the bottom of it, but the threads will get all buggered up. Edited October 19, 2006 by XPLORx4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUELER Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 In addition to xpolrx4 post, if you leave the nut threaded on the bottom of the BJ bolt once you loosen it, you can whack it from the bottom or use a press, and you won't ruin the threads or mushroom the BJ bolt. I didn't think of this the first time and I ruined the BJ bolt by banging on it without the nut threaded on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUELER Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 dont use a ball joint separator (the kind that looks like a gnarly fork) because you will ruin the booties and potentially the ball joint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdpathy Posted October 20, 2006 Author Share Posted October 20, 2006 I looked everywhere and could not find another post about lower ball joints. I have been using a pickle fork on it because I am planning on replacing the ball joints as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unccpathfinder Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 (edited) here is how i did it on wheelmans truck... undid the top replace it found out i needed to leave that undone to to get the lower out...so it might be worth it to go ahead and do all 4...we seperated both top and bottom and u can maneuver the spindle out of the way to barely have enough room to get it in and out....i did have the hubs off b/c we were doing the rotor and all that off as well IIRC i was hell bent to not pull the cvs and all that other crazy stuff also another problem i had besides the upper on the driver side having a broken socket and having to cut it with a hack saw...the ball joint seperater we had was not tall enough and i ended up wedging a wrench on both sides under the seperator to get enough lift to get it unpressed from the CA's i def WOULD NOT hit it with a hammer...wheelmans were in so tight that i tried that and mushroomed the nut and bolt...although the seperator will tear the boots thats the right way to do it and only way i would recommend...possibly press it out with a c clamp might work but i dont know from experience Edited October 20, 2006 by unccpathfinder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdpathy Posted October 20, 2006 Author Share Posted October 20, 2006 Darn, and I just tightened the upper ball joint nut also because I replaced it. Hmmm... :o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 I had to pull the axle to get mine off. Use a BJ puller, not a pickle fork. Much more stable and easier to use. If it's stubborn, hit it with some heat from a propane torch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUELER Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Yes, a ball joint puller (aka c-clamp) is the better choice, but if you are replacing the entire ball joint, get it off any way you want. Use a pickle fork, destroy your booties, bang on the BJ nut because that stuff really sticks together HARD but you're going to throw it away anyways! Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdpathy Posted October 20, 2006 Author Share Posted October 20, 2006 Thanks, got it off finally, I ended up having to disconnect the cv assembly at the differential. I was trying to get it off all kinds of different ways and at the end I had the brake line disconnectedl, tie rod ends seperated, hub removed, cv assembly removed, and all kinds of great stuff. So now comes the fun part of relubing and putting all the stuff back together. I'd show you some photos if I could figure out how to put them on the post. :type: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 dont use a ball joint separator (the kind that looks like a gnarly fork) because you will ruin the booties and potentially the ball joint. not necessarily.. the trick is to grease the fork and the boot.. the thicker the better. :idea: also, you can get replacement boots nowadays anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdpathy Posted October 23, 2006 Author Share Posted October 23, 2006 Thanks for all the help guys, I finally got the other side done. I was able to do it this time without taking the cv assembly off. These were my steps for removing the ball joint: :cool2: 1. loosen the tension on the torsion rod 2. remove the shock absorber 3. break the ball joints loose, I left the nuts on mine while I was doing it so that it wouldn’t fall or anything (upper and lower) I used a pickle fork, but only because I did not have access to a different type of bj remover and I was replacing the bjoints anyway. (I accidentaly tightened my bjoints up and I needed them loose again, so I found that if you tap rather continuously on the arm that the joints (the link????) connect to, then they break loose it takes at least 15 minutes for some lightly tightened joints) 4. Loosen the (freewheeling) hub assembly, but do not remove it yet. ( I needed someone to step on the brake for me so I could loosen the bolts). 5.remove the brake caliper and set it on the upper control arm 6. seperate the tie rod ends 7. remove the hub assembly (try to keep it all contained, so that you don’t lose any important washers or anything) set it in a place where it will not get dirt in it (At this time it would be a good idea to support the wheel assembly some how so that it doesn’t fall on the ground like mine did) 8. remove the c-clip holding the second group of Items on the shaft, set the c-clip and items in a place where they would not get dirty. Remove the bj nuts if you haven’t already. 9. pull the wheel assembly off the shaft being careful not to drop it or injure the rubber seal inside the back of the assembly (the only way I know of that you can injure this if you are being relatively careful is if you let the shaft hit it but because of its placement I found it rather easy to pull off) 10. set the wheel assembly somewhere where it won’t get dirt inside with the bearings. 11. now once you’re done working with whatever you were going to do, installation is just about the reverse of deinstallation (just don’t forget to clean the shaft and regrease it so that it doesn’t fold the seal over as it goes in. These were the steps that I took to remove my lower ball joints on a 91 Nissan pathfinder with auto locking hubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLApathy Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 Heres my way off doing it.... 1) Jack the truck up and support on flat hard surface with jackstands. 2) Remove tire. 3) Remove ball joint cotter pin. 4) Remove the nut on the ball joint untill the bottom of the nut is even with the bottom of the threads. 5) Hit the ball joint nut with a rubber mallet until it pops loose from the spindle. 6) Remove ball joint nut the rest of the way. 7) Remove the four bolts holding the ball joint to the LCA. 8) Replace the ball joint and reassemble the oppisite of disassemble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdpathy Posted October 23, 2006 Author Share Posted October 23, 2006 (edited) Heres my way off doing it.... That with the lower bj? Because my ball joint was sandwiched in between the lower link and the cv assembly, so there was no way I could simply remove it. Edited October 23, 2006 by Jdpathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLApathy Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 Well, my buddys call me Shrek. When I did my motor swap my driver's side inner CV had destroyed itself, to point of it not attaching to the diff anymore, so I just unbolted the LCA and upper ball joint and took the caliper off and lifted the entire thing and put it on my bench, so that was the CV shaft, outter CV, spindles, rotor, hub, and LCA. I aslo put it back on that way. And I think I know what you mean, the ball joint is inbetween the spindle and CV? I could go out and look but im eating, I will in second, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SuperSon Posted November 12, 2006 Share Posted November 12, 2006 Heres my way off doing it.... . 5) Hit the ball joint nut with a rubber mallet until it pops loose from the spindle. Fla on that fifth procedure, Do you mean the LCA instead of the spindle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89_trailboss Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 no, he means knuckle/spindel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdpathy Posted November 15, 2006 Author Share Posted November 15, 2006 Here is a photo of the Knuckle or Spindle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SuperSon Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 no, he means knuckle/spindel. gotcha Thanks TB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SuperSon Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 Here is a photo of the Knuckle or Spindle Thanks JD. Learning a lot from you guys. Pics is always nice to be included in how to's :cool2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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