Stuck upper ball joint nut. Help me avoid cutting it off

[jack.hanks02]

This nut along with every other nut I've encountered on this truck is "seized" to the upper ball joint. I need some tension on the spindle and or upper control arm, so that I can try to unscrew it the old fashioned way. Problem is that the lower ball joint is out so the spindle is just dangling by the ubj. I pulled it by hand as far back as it would go (towards me) and had my wife ratchet on it, but no luck. Even though it felt like we got close! The ball joint is just spinning along with the nut.

The cotter pin is still in the hole. It just crumbled when I was working on it the first time. I'm sure it's rusted to the castle nut.

Any ideas on how to get tension on there that might be enough to overcome the rust? If the spindle was still connected to the tie rod I would just do the bottle jack on top of the upper control arm, but if I do that now I don't think it will get tension. Could be wrong, haven't tried it.

If I have to cut it off any pro tips to avoid ruining the ubj? I think it's still good and I'm already way over budget!

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[Kanoe]

You've got great access to it in that location, I'd use a grinder with a cut off wheel and carefully nibble one corner of the nut away taking care not to hit the stud too much. You'll be replacing the nut anyway.

Toyota sells a UBJ reboot kit for a small price that has a new boot, new nut, cotter pin and grease packet. Could just service the whole thing while you are there.

On another note, I am surprised that the stud is spinning. When I last had one off I had a b!tch of a time separating the UBJ from the control arm. Different problems for different folks I guess.

 

[jack.hanks02]

You've got great access to it in that location, I'd use a grinder with a cut off wheel and carefully nibble one corner of the nut away taking care not to hit the stud too much. You'll be replacing the nut anyway.



Toyota sells a UBJ reboot kit for a small price that has a new boot, new nut, cotter pin and grease packet. Could just service the whole thing while you are there.



On another note, I am surprised that the stud is spinning. When I last had one off I had a b!tch of a time separating the UBJ from the control arm. Different problems for different folks I guess.

That's a great idea to reboot it. Really, really don't want to replace it.

I don't have an angle grinder, so hopefully the dremel will work. Although I am way overdue for buying an angle grinder..

I figure I can waste another few hours trying to get it off or just cut it and be done. Assuming I don't **** it up.

The ubj was totally stuck in the spindle btw. I put a two jaw puller on it until it gave way. It was a harrowing experience, but I managed to wedge a plastic tote lid between me and the puller so when it finally gave it didn't fly at my face.



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[LittleCaesar]

Try jacking up the knuckle in order to take the weight off the UBJ. But unless you have a small impact handy or a torch handy, try like the dickens to get the cotter pin out before anything else if tools are limited.

 

[HiLife]

If dremel is all you got then I would get a tungsten carbide grinder bit for it and cut a slot on one of the nut flats. Then hit it with a punch hoping to split it and take the tension off the nut/ubj stud. You should then be able to turn the nut without it binding.

 

[jack.hanks02]

Try jacking up the knuckle in order to take the weight off the UBJ. But unless you have a small impact handy or a torch handy, try like the dickens to get the cotter pin out before anything else if tools are limited.

No small impact, but I do have a torch. I put it on the nut for about 40 seconds before trying to turn it, didn't appear to help but not sure if I had enough tension on it.

I tried a few times to jack it up, but it just wants to move outward towards me. I've got no way that I can see to secure it from moving side to side. I could try to ratchet strap it to the frame or something. I wonder if I could ratchet strap the upper control arm to the lug nuts or something.

Maybe I can poke a small screw driver through cotter pin hole. Or a small drill bit.

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[jack.hanks02]

If dremel is all you got then I would get a tungsten carbide grinder bit for it and cut a slot on one of the nut flats. Then hit it with a punch hoping to split it and take the tension off the nut/ubj stud. You should then be able to turn the nut without it binding.

When you say nut flats is that the bottom of the nut where it flattens out?

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[Skulking]

When you say nut flats is that the bottom of the nut where it flattens out?

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By nut flats he means the flat face of the nut where a wrench would make contact. I believe he is suggesting using something like this to cut a groove most of the way through the nut and then hitting the groove with a punch to finish breaking the nut off. Using a cutting tool like that will take longer than a cut off wheel on a dremel, but you should be able to avoid damaging the upper control arm or the threads of the ball joint if you do it that way.

 

[LittleCaesar]

No small impact, but I do have a torch. I put it on the nut for about 40 seconds before trying to turn it, didn't appear to help but not sure if I had enough tension on it.

I tried a few times to jack it up, but it just wants to move outward towards me. I've got no way that I can see to secure it from moving side to side. I could try to ratchet strap it to the frame or something. I wonder if I could ratchet strap the upper control arm to the lug nuts or something.

Maybe I can poke a small screw driver through cotter pin hole. Or a small drill bit.

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HiLife is correct in saying that the tension has to come off the UBJ first. A C clamp may work. If you have some small needle nose pliers you may be able to pull it or knock the pin out. Then lay on the torch for some time.

Or bite the bullet and buy another UBJ.....

 

[Bikeric]

I would replace the UBJ anyway if I were you. It's easier to do if you get the knuckle off the vehicle which it appears you are doing since the LBJ is already removed. Standard replacements are cheap on RockAuto if you can wait for shipping. My $0.02

 

[TheDurk]

Amazon.com: Mityvac Silverline PC70 Nut Splitter Set 2-15mm/15-22mm - 2-Piece Set: Home Improvement

 

[jack.hanks02]

Nut destroyed. Spindle removed. I may have bungled the threads on the ball joint, so I have to decide if forcing a new nut on there is worth it. Unless there is a way to repair them.

Now I get to actually begin the real work. Check out the all the sheared off bolts in the spindle!

Edit:
If anyone finds themselves in a similar situation, what I did was ratchet strap the spindle out of the way to the left. Then cut pieces off the nut, heat it with torch, hammer with punch counter clockwise. After doing that a bunch, pull the spindle as far towards you as possible to create tension and try to unscrew. Took me about half an hour of that sequence to get it off. Might not even need to cut it if you aren't too rusty.

Best advice is get that nut loose before disconnecting tie rod or lbj. I didn't know I would have to take spindle off which is why I did not follow the correct order of operations [emoji848].

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