Lower ball joint removal

[03TroutFinder]

Finally got around to changing the LCA to correct some negative camber caused from some semi aggressive wheeling. It seemed to have corrected the camber, but I also ordered a lower ball joint to change out since I had it all torn apart. 
I can’t for the life of me remove it though. I reviewed a few YT videos and they simply just remove it once the axle is slid out enough to get the room.

Mine is apparently ceased or pressed very tight. I’ve used a ball bearing separator & press with no luck.

it does appear that someone had either replaced it before or lost the castle nut at some point since it had a huge nut on this side(passenger). The drivers side has the correct castle nut.

Any ideas on how I can get this joker removed? I’ve definitely compromised the existing one obviously by trying to remove it as a significant amount of grease has leaked out.

 

[hawairish]

You do have to have the CV fully removed.

 

It's supposed to be in tight, so putting up a fight isn't unexpected.  Most of the time, I will resort to the following processes, in this order:

 

1. Loosen the nut, but leave it in place at the bottom of the stud.  Smack the knuckle with a sledge hammer a couple times, then smack the bottom of the nut upward.  Repeat.

2. Ball joint tool on the joint, tightened up so that there's tension on the joint, then sledge hammer to the knuckle.  Joint tends to pop here.

3. Pickle fork.  People seem to dislike them, but I've never had it not work, it's just usually a little more aggressive.

4. Heat the knuckle for a little bit, then do #1.

 

Smacking the knuckle a few times is key.  Just changed my passenger ball joint a few days ago.  #1 was all I needed, but I'm fortunate to live in a dry region.

[03TroutFinder]

On 9/9/2023 at 5:21 PM, hawairish said:

You do have to have the CV fully removed.

 

It's supposed to be in tight, so putting up a fight isn't unexpected.  Most of the time, I will resort to the following processes, in this order:

 

1. Loosen the nut, but leave it in place at the bottom of the stud.  Smack the knuckle with a sledge hammer a couple times, then smack the bottom of the nut upward.  Repeat.

 

Smacking the knuckle a few times is key.  Just changed my passenger ball joint a few days ago.  #1 was all I needed, but I'm fortunate to live in a dry region.

Thanks! I got the ball joint changed out this morning and #1 did do the trick. Had to order the right hammer for the job though!

Note that I was able to remove it without fully removing the CV though. There were a couple of YT videos showing how to do it-Although they were a bit shotty!

Removed my manual hub assembly and washer so the CV could travel. Pushed the knuckle forward to get just enough space to remove the Ball Joint. 
Not sure if this is a time saver, but figured I would share.

My negative camber issue still remains though. When I got it all back together, the camber was sitting true, but once I took it o

for a spin. The negative camber came back.

My initial thought was a bent strut, but someone in one of my other post said it may be the LCA, so I went ahead and changed it out. Still the same issue with the negative camber.

Would the Strut be the next place to start to identify the issue? They are Rancho struts with OME shocks for about a 2-2.5” lift. No spacers any longer when I went to the OME shocks.

Edited November 5, 2023 by 03TroutFinder