Moderators: IMOC Moderators, IMOC Committee Members
/ technique / martial art required to remove the darrned ball joints from the front lower arms? I have the split pins and nuts off the balljoint but it seems that no matter how hard i smash it with a hammer, the darned balljoint won't come off!! 
Recently on my rears i had to soak in penetrant for a bit then hit the collar with some heat then use a BFH(blow torch is best but failing that a heat gun will work) and just beat the living daylights out of it whilst its hot. If it doesnt shift first time try multiple heat cycles. it will free up eventually."morse taper" on some ball joints, it somehow resists the persuasion of the hammer by, presumably, spreading/disipating the shock...I would use a ball joint seperator matey either the fork you knock in or better...the type you slide in and open up by winding the bolt, does less damage to the gator if you want to re-use the ball joint.djpkins wrote:the type you slide in and open up by winding the bolt,
+1 after getting it HOT "use the right tool for the job" and the tool for this job is NOT a bloody hammer, big or otherwise. : http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/produ ... nt-remover: http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/produ ... issor-type 
uglee wrote:I laid the arm across both jaws of the vice with the balljoint inbetween and twatted it with a bloody great big hammer
A HUGE smack. It pops out.'94 rev3 NA, '92 rev2 Turbo forged, '07 Civic Type-RSlarty wrote:There's an old expression
Use a scissor type ball joint spliter and it'll come apart with no trouble whatsoever.
One of these
(the whole arm was off the car as I was changing the bushes) - they whacked it 
£8. If you use two hammers at the same time on the part of the ball joint that connects to the hub, will this damage the balljoint? the one i have already wrecked was no good anyway but the rest of them are fine so i would like to re-use them....they're engineered to resist exactly what your trying to do...Homer Simpson would bash the feck out of it with a hammer...will prob work after a while...thread mashing will happen, even if you try sticking a nut on the end to protect it...much better to use short, sharp clonks with the hammer if you can't let it win.RyanRs wrote:Well that first tool is far too expensive just to get two ball joints out!
I've had my ball joint spliter (think it's a draper one) for about 16/17 years now and I can't count how many times I've used it. And it only takes a minute or two to use, removing the ball joint without damage for further use. It's also great for removing track rod ends. should pop right out Slarty wrote:
it's just that we subscrible to the theory of hitting it harder until it works.
Reason why is because the mr2 is not my daily driver and this will be the first time in 5 years that i have need for a ball-joint extractor to use on it! it will probably be the last too. I have used ball joint extractors on my escort quite a few times but the tool for this is just the fork type to which there is quite an abundance of! .. djpkins! compare me to homer Simpson you swine! lol. How am i supposed to know they are designed to resist this method? I see know reason why it would need to be 'Hammer resistant!' ? Use a spanner to undo a nut, not pliers etc 
... I had a similar 4 day episode of hammering a ball joint untill I had ball ache , doh...lol...on an old mk1 astra....and that was the tip from the mechanic that I eventually took it to...it's to do with the angle of the tapered insert, prob makes them less likely to move or loosen under extreme stress... it's not a tool that is used often, but when you need a device that does what they do...gotta have one...I suppose pressure needs to be applied through the centre of the shaft, or at least equall from side to side, so you must be really unlucky to have hit it soooo many times and not got it right yet...lol...or more likely, it's stuck like a bstard mate, if it's off the car, why not pop up to any local engineering firm you can find, most will have a press that will do it in seconds. Alot of whacking with the fork and hammer with alot of brute force and ignorance but to no avail. However the cup/fork/screw tool worked pretty well. Be careful though as under tension when the ball joint flies out it FLIES out. Nearly hit me full on when it popped 
Just kept at it until it worked.- supposed to be heavy duty! The pickle fork did nothing. Couldn't undo the arms so I spent days trying to free the ball joints. Everything was aching! Did it in seconds. +1 on having the right tool for the job. Made the Machine Mart one look like it was made of chocolate. Do it up tight then whack both sides with hammers. Then do it up some more and repeat the hammering to shock it. Makes a hell over bang when it goes!.....