I've been desperately trying to get this damn tie rod end off but it won't budge. I've tried smacking the side of it with a hammer, bought a tie rod (ball joint?) remover and smashed that in there but it just destroyed the rubbers. I've even tried bashing on top of the stud with the nut upside down. I'm worried if i hit any harder im gonna break something. What gives?
get a jack under the arm not the tie rod but where it goes in to support it then use wd40 let it soak then bash it out. if that doesnt work heat the outside with a blow dryer and hit it again
sounds like you are doing everything right except for "bashing on top of the stud" try some crc, wd40 etc, and give it time to work like half hour or so and keep spraying it on during that half hour.
i've found the smiplest way is once you have the car on stands get your jack and put it under the arm where the ball joint is and jack it up untill the car is almost lifting off the stands than give it a wack after some wd40. They seem to come out better this way because there is less presure on them
Don't hit the damn thing out from above. That never works. It just makes the burrs worse. You have to get in there with a hammer and work it side to side, back and forth. Hit it from all sides, repeatedly, for a few minutes. Then smash it from above, and it should fall out. If that doesn't work, try getting a bucket of ice water, and some rags, and freezing the heck out of it. Then do above again. If that doesn't work, use a heat gun and get it up to 200 deg and try again. If that doesn't work, your hammer isn't big enough
What sort of remover did you use? dont use the fork type remover theres a better you can from a car assesories shop it works well MINI BALL JOINT SPLITTER, SCISSOR TYPE *NEW* - eBay, Other Car Parts, Accessories, Car Parts, Accessories, Cars, Bikes, Boats. (end time 24-Feb-09 14:27:26 AEDST) you get them for $25 from a shop this is what you are looking for
^ That's the tool i ended up using, worked great. Yes initially i was using a fork type, but all that did was destroy the rubber boot around the ball joint. Do i now need a new tie-rod end? Then i slipped trying to undo the locknut and tore my thumb to the bone on the brake dust guard. :bang: Thanks guys.
