Help changing ball joints

Nissan11

Nissan11

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2005
Location
Marston, NC
Im trying to swap ball joints on my 02 frontier in my apt parking lot and am having some trouble. Ive got the castle nut off, and the C-clip off but cant get the ball joint to separate from the UCA or the spindle. Ive been pounding the ball joint with a ball joint fork right at the spindle but cant get anything to move. I guess I cut the boot because grease started falling out everywhere, but so far the ball joint wont move. Id like to get this figured out tonight so any prompt advice is greatly appreciated!
 
Nissan11 said:
Im trying to swap ball joints on my 02 frontier in my apt parking lot and am having some trouble. Ive got the castle nut off, and the C-clip off but cant get the ball joint to separate from the UCA or the spindle. Ive been pounding the ball joint with a ball joint fork right at the spindle but cant get anything to move. I guess I cut the boot because grease started falling out everywhere, but so far the ball joint wont move. Id like to get this figured out tonight so any prompt advice is greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

for starters...:beer:
then head to AutoZone tommorow morning and borrow a ball-joint press...
http://www.autozone.com/in_our_stores/loan_a_tool/steering_suspension/ball_joint_press.htm
 
Oh believe me Ive had a few of the first item and while it is making me feel less frustrated, its not helping me make any progress. Im gona beat on the fork some more tomorrow when everyone wakes up. I wont make any friends hammering in the parking lot this time of night.
 
the ball joint press won't help at all when seperating the taper of the ball joint

Give the side of the spindle where the ball joint is a few good whacks to break it loose

Sometimes they won't come and you have to remove the control arm and spindle together and press it out
 
Your pickle fork must have an opening that is too wide. The cheapy one that is sold at auto parts stores is usually too big. Ihave a nice Lisle set that has a narrow fork that works every time. A bunch of us were doing a lift on an X a couple months ago and another guy brought along his "tried and true" pickle fork and spent 5 minutes pounding on it before he gave up. I pulled mine out and had it off in 3 or 4 hits.

I had purchased a lever-type ball joint remover and a buddy of mine killed it a while back. I need to get a new one. They are >$50 but work a lot better than pickle forks and do not destroy good parts in the process.
 
I think you are right. I just beat the hell out of the fork and it slid all the way on but did not separate the ball joint from the spindle.Im gona see if I can get a ride to the local auto parts store to pick up a smaller fork.
 
How much further than this should I be able to go with hitting it? It wont move past this point.


ai130.photobucket.com_albums_p275_nissan11_DSC_0237.jpg



ai130.photobucket.com_albums_p275_nissan11_DSC_0235_1.jpg
 
get a bigger hammer, pound that thing in there from the front side, (turn the wheel some) and smack the knuckle just above where the stud pokes through...
 
definitely looks like your fork is too big. my bet is thats your problem, shouldnt be that hard to remove a ball joint.

oh yea and ^ x2, get a BFH
 
Does it matter that Ive got the jack under the lower control arm? I didnt consider that it might be more difficult if that side has a load.
 
Nah, it should pop right up. Pretty sure your fork is too big.

So did you get another set of control arms? To my knowledge it was impossible to get new BJs because no one sold them. I have a lift on mine so I have old HB BJs on mine making changes easy.
 
should've picked up the ball-joint press while you were out, it never hurts to try.:shaking: Next step is to remove the control arms and put it in a hydraulic press.
 
RenegadeT said:
should've picked up the ball-joint press while you were out, it never hurts to try.:shaking: Next step is to remove the control arms and put it in a hydraulic press.
Click to expand...

Except...that balljoint press will not work for popping them off the knuckle on his truck. Did you even look at his pictures? Not quite the same as working on a solid-axle setup.

I just realize you were concurrently posting this on NOAS. Did you give up for the day or what?
 
Im still working on it. At this point I think my fork is either to wide or not tall enough. I beat it with a big sledge and it goes on till it hits the inside of the fork. Im going to borrow my dads van and go to advance auto and look for another fork. Im not giving up but I have not made any progress.
 
I bent the fork. What else can I do?

Actually, Im going to give up. It looks like the ball joint is pressed into the UCA and I dont think I will be able to get it out of the UCA even if by some miracle I was able to separate it from the spindle.
 
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