ball joint?

[TWOJZ]

how can i get the tapered shaft out of the hub thingo!

I've gotten one side out, by hitting the side/top with a hammer, then hitting the threaded section on top with a piece of wood/hammer,

but the other side of the car, I can't get it apart!!!

any methods people have used?

supercheap auto had nothing I could use for this.

thanks!

[naf33n]

had to do this today on a hilux. get a big hammer(mini sledge hammer), dont hit the tapered part but more the bit the tapered part is pressed into.. for example i had to remove the upper ball joints from the hilux. but i didnt actually hit the tapered part of the ball joint. i hit the control arm where the taper goes into. came out pretty easy with a few big hits.


hope that makes sense. sounds weird but it works

[TWOJZ]

had to do this today on a hilux. get a big hammer(mini sledge hammer), dont hit the tapered part but more the bit the tapered part is pressed into.. for example i had to remove the upper ball joints from the hilux. but i didnt actually hit the tapered part of the ball joint. i hit the control arm where the taper goes into. came out pretty easy with a few big hits.


hope that makes sense. sounds weird but it works

thats exactly what I have been doing, and it worked pretty well on one side, but not the other.

the problem is, that the joint is located such that you can't get a decent hit in there, I've belted the poop out of it using a normal hammer, put quite a few dents in the housing doing so, but it still wont come out.

I found a website that said to hit both sides of the thing at once, but I can't get to both sides of it! going to try that today anyway

I've tried cooling it, heating it, swearing at it... it just doesn't work!

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Put a long bar like a piece of pipe over the top of the control arm and under the cross member and lever down while you hit the taper on the strut. Put a fair bit of pressure on it and it will come out.

[Holdfast]

Ya working on your VL aye

Ive just checked my repair manual and it says to use a special tool to remove the ball joints.

There's other info in the repair manual to which is new, news to me.

Says that:
Whenever a ball joint has been removed from the control arm the service replacement .2032mm (.008 in.) oversize assembly must be fitted.

For identification purposes, a grove is machined in the larger diameter of the housing. If it is necessary to replace the ball joint a second time a new control arm with factory installed ball joint must be used.

Ref was:
Page 89 of Max Ellery's Factory Workshop Manual 1986 - 1988 Commodore VL.

Best of luck

[TWOJZ]

Put a long bar like a piece of pipe over the top of the control arm and under the cross member and lever down while you hit the taper on the strut. Put a fair bit of pressure on it and it will come out.

do you mean levering the joint apart?

I even tried forcing the taper out using a car jack, a socket, a socket extension, by bolting the jack to the bottom spring seat (there's a hole in it right above the ball joint)

I tried locking two nuts together on the thread, and twisting it to break the taper lock...

I will try your method when I get off my butt

[TWOJZ]

Ya working on your VL aye

do I have a choice?

pedders told me all the bushes were worn, which I think was a lie, but anyway.

Removing/Breaking Ball-Joint Taper - Truveo Video Search

I love "special removal tools"

so, the manual says, if you remove the ball joint taper, you also have to remove the WHOLE BALL JOINT and replace the whole thing with a bigger one!?!? WTF MAN!

screw that! haha

edit: my bad, its the BALL JOINT, that needs replacing if removed, not the taper

[jules]

BUY A BALL JOINT REMOVER. they're pretty cheap

do not just belt the thing, you will damage stuff!

[TWOJZ]

BUY A BALL JOINT REMOVER. they're pretty cheap

do not just belt the thing, you will damage stuff!

there is no ball joint remover that will work in this location

don't you think I may have already looked into this?

anyway, I gave up, put the car back together, I now have a nolethane passenger side, and a stock, worn out rubber drivers side...

might take it to pedders, ask them to pop it, put it back together, give em 50 bucks or something...

[Reaper]

there is no ball joint remover that will work in this location

don't you think I may have already looked into this?

anyway, I gave up, put the car back together, I now have a nolethane passenger side, and a stock, worn out rubber drivers side...

might take it to pedders, ask them to pop it, put it back together, give em 50 bucks or something...

Never needed any special ball joint remover yet. Sometimes in very difficult to get to situations I have used two ball pein hammers. I place one on the knuckle at precisely 90 deg to the shaft and use the second hammer to hit it. Don't be shy - hit it hard. Usually 2 - 3 hits and it is out. Getting the force perpendicular to the shaft is king.

Reaper

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

do you mean levering the joint apart?

Yes, you may need a helper to apply downward force on the pipe as you hit the taper.


I have never been a fan of ball joint removers, they have a habit of destroying the thread on the ball joint. Even the fork type removers destroy the rubber boot.

[TWOJZ]

Yes, you may need a helper to apply downward force on the pipe as you hit the taper.


I have never been a fan of ball joint removers, they have a habit of destroying the thread on the ball joint. Even the fork type removers destroy the rubber boot.

i put an 18inch breaker bar in the gap, and levered it upwards (this has the same effect as pushing down )

I jacked the end of the breaker bar up using a scissor jack, harder up than I could ever lift it.

I hammered, and hammered, and nothing moved...

hmm..

[BOGANV8]

I would be spraying some wd-40 or some rost off/sonax in the joint and lettingit soak for a min or too and SMACK THE HELL OUUTA IT. never had a ball joint that i couldnt get out using the above method.. doing them every second day too

If you can get in the use a big steel drift and hit it with that to transfer the shock to the joint.....

[TWOJZ]

I would be spraying some wd-40 or some rost off/sonax in the joint and lettingit soak for a min or too and SMACK THE HELL OUUTA IT. never had a ball joint that i couldnt get out using the above method.. doing them every second day too

If you can get in the use a big steel drift and hit it with that to transfer the shock to the joint.....

please dont post while drunk, and the the joint was left soaking in WD40 overnight.

[BOGANV8]

Wasnt drunk but was a bit high on Ribena

Just a thought to try if you havent already but anyway keep smacking it

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

I don't know where you put the lever, but lifting up won't do anything.

Actually, where I originally said to put the lever is not correct. Looking at the car you should have seen that. You put it over the top of the Z bar and under the control arm right where the inner bush is and lever down. You will need a longer lever than 18" to get enough downward pressure.

[TWOJZ]

i was levering it apart. Whether i was pushing up or down, it was still applying force to seperate the two pieces.

[minux]

lol, just take it somewhere and get them to do it...would have been done by now if you did that

[immortality]

i had this problem on the VN, tried everything mentioned with no luck, in the end i stripped the entire strut/ control arm out and then got the grinder out and cut straight through the balljoint. that got the bastard apart

[BOGANV8]

i was levering it apart. Whether i was pushing up or down, it was still applying force to seperate the two pieces.

But pushing it up would apply force to the joint which wouldnt help you one bit it would make it worse....

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

I'm still trying to work out where the lever can be placed so that you pull it up to put separating pressure on the taper.

[TWOJZ]

I'm still trying to work out where the lever can be placed so that you pull it up to put separating pressure on the taper.

between the bottom of the strut, and the control arm.

there's a gap there, which a normal breaker bar fits through nicely, as you lift the breaker bar, you're forcing the two pieces apart.

I was not applying upward force to the ball joint, I was applying downward force to the ball joint, and upward force to the strut.

you guys get the whole concept of a "lever" dont you?

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

The problem with that is that there isn't enough opposing force leverage. You are applying diagonal force which is probably only equivalent to about 1/3 of the actual force applied to the lever. Not enough.

[TWOJZ]

The problem with that is that there isn't enough opposing force leverage. You are applying diagonal force which is probably only equivalent to about 1/3 of the actual force applied to the lever. Not enough.

no, trust me, it wasn't.

anyway, I paid someone to get it apart, they said it wasn't too difficult, but wasn't as easy as they normally are...

I've now replaced all the bushes in the front end of the VL.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Good to see you got it sorted. I bet it drives better now.