lower balljoint needs replacing - what tools are needed

[Surf_MoFo]

i have steering wheel wobble on my 3rd gen and i just replaced the worn steering rack bushes thinking it was them but the steering wheel is still wobbling usually when braking, the brake discs look true to me, i found play in the drivers side lower balljoint so im thinking this may be the cause.

if i am to replace it will i need a heavy duty balljoint splitter and can these be hired from anywhere ? will the same splitter remove the tie rod end balljoint too ?

is the worn balljoint likely to cause steering wheel wobble, there is no knocking noise or anything.

 

[LINY4Runner]

make sure it isn't the inner tie rod end...very common

 

[Surf_MoFo]

make sure it isn't the inner tie rod end...very common

i only seen an outer tie rod end which seemed fine, is there an inner one behind the rubber boot ?

 

[techno]

i only seen an outer tie rod end which seemed fine, is there an inner one behind the rubber boot ?

Yes there is. It is sometimes called the 'rack end'

Not sure if you have fixed the lower ball joint yet or not, the book says that the max play is 0.5mm. Should should be able to use a bearing puller to remove the ball joint, check out the local auto parts stores for these kinds of tools. Not sure about Scotland but over here they often rent/hire them out for a few dollars. As for the tie rod, I've always found a BFH works best.

 

[Surf_MoFo]

i just checked the discs using a clock and they were fine, i have never heard of rear brakes causng steering wheel vibration.

the lower balljoint has about 0.010" (10 thou) of play vertically