OrangeChicken123
New member
yes. i'd prefer not to grind anything, but it seems like there is no other choice.
upper ball joint HElP ME!
- Thread starter OrangeChicken123
- Start date
yes. i'd prefer not to grind anything, but it seems like there is no other choice.
Doc2012
Senior Member
Ok. Read this twice. Then do it.
Put a cut off wheel on the grinder.
Right above the spindle, there's a lip on the UBJ.
Make a cut halfway around the UBJ on that lip. (This area is the lip for the ball.)
Make two vertical cuts on the ball joint, BEING CAREFUL NOT TO CUT INTO THE SPINDLE.
Remove the piece of metal you just cut, should be about 1/8" thick, and 1.5" long.
Tip the threads to the open area you just cut out, and whack it a couple times. It'll pop out.
This leaves just the socket in the Spindle.
Take your ball joint press, UPSIDE DOWN, and press the socket out.
Or, if you have a 5lb hammer, whack it a few times and it'll pop out.
I did this twice Sunday, and it worked like a charm both times.
GhostDog
New member
At first they were stubborn, I was only hitting the ball stud and they were not moving but when I hit started hitting the ball seat from all sides the BJ quickly came out. Maybe 10/15 min of hammering.
Just did my uppers and lowers a few weeks ago. After the first 2 hours of trying to get my first upper out realized I was a dumbass and didn't remove the clip. After that it popped out just fine. The second one not so much. I tried multiple pullers and presses, no luck. I even popped the ball right throughFinally I remembered I had a torch. Lit the shit out of it and smacked it with a sludge and came right out. Keep pressure on it while you heat it. Most important to of them all, beer. Lots of it
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OrangeChicken123
New member
elaborate? like a slit above the lip horizontally? or ON the lip halfway from where iam staring at it?
OrangeChicken123
New member
alright guys, i have literally tried everything!! including [MENTION=76419]Doc2012[/MENTION] idea. My hands are literally black, bruised and bleeding. I think I'm going to have to tap out and take it to a shop. Anyone have a link to a write up on how to take the spindle out???
LMAO! i thought i was going to get everything done today, Ucas, lbj, lift, alignment, tires but a last i didn't get a single thing done,have to spend more money than planned and have a useless truck. Guess i gotta get a ride in the public Limo tmmr to get to work! :rant::rant:
LMAO! i thought i was going to get everything done today, Ucas, lbj, lift, alignment, tires but a last i didn't get a single thing done,have to spend more money than planned and have a useless truck. Guess i gotta get a ride in the public Limo tmmr to get to work! :rant::rant:
OU4x4
Member
i installed LR UCAs two weeks ago and had to remove the upper ball joints also
i read every post i could find on removing the ball joint.
every post was filled with guys easily removing them with pullers or hammers
so i figured it would be easy for me also...nope
i had to take the knuckle to work and use our 60 ton press.
the half inch steel plate under the knuckle was starting to bend before they popped out
it was loud and scared the crap out of us. and yes, the c clips were out
not sure how some just pop right out and some need a huge press
my knuckles are in good shape, no rust, no accidents
beats me
i read every post i could find on removing the ball joint.
every post was filled with guys easily removing them with pullers or hammers
so i figured it would be easy for me also...nope
i had to take the knuckle to work and use our 60 ton press.
the half inch steel plate under the knuckle was starting to bend before they popped out
it was loud and scared the crap out of us. and yes, the c clips were out
not sure how some just pop right out and some need a huge press
my knuckles are in good shape, no rust, no accidents
beats me
Do you have a shop press? If you get it off I would go buy one. They don't take up much space and they are God sent for alot of projects in the future.
20 Ton Shop Press - Hydraulic Shop Presses on Sale
If you're going to spend money, spend it on tools, not labor.
20 Ton Shop Press - Hydraulic Shop Presses on Sale
If you're going to spend money, spend it on tools, not labor.
Wisest statement ever made on the internet.
Nelsonmd
New member
Don't hammer the spindle to either remove or install the UBJ. My buddy did this on his tundra and it ended up bending the spindle. We caught it and bent it back, but it wasn't good. Use the autozone kit, or get a 2 or 3 jaw puller for both install and removal.
my great grandfather said maybe three words that I've ever witnessed. And that wasn't all at one time. But damn if I hadn't learned a lot from that man. Even if he knew he would only use a tool once for a simple job, he would buy it and find a place for it.
weekendclimber
New member
Do this first:
Then setup the ball joint press from O'reilly/NAPA/etc. like this:
I needed to use the Ball Joint Press from O'Reilly's along with the 4x4 adapter kit. It might also be easier to remove the spindle from the vehicle, though I didn't have to do that.
Then setup the ball joint press from O'reilly/NAPA/etc. like this:
I needed to use the Ball Joint Press from O'Reilly's along with the 4x4 adapter kit. It might also be easier to remove the spindle from the vehicle, though I didn't have to do that.
This thread helped me. I had almost resolved to remove the spindle and put it on the shop press but lots of elbow grease did the trick.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/167111-spc-upper-control-arms.html
I utilized a cutoff wheel to gain a little more room to press out the ball joint as others have stated. If you do this, however, realize that the vehicle is not driveable until the job is completed. This may entail removing the spindle and pressing out the ball joint if you're really unlucky. That previous link will have some more details but this is what I ended up with. The O'Reilly ball joint press comes with an assortment of cups and adapters which I used as needed. On the bottom there was one cup just small enough to catch the lip of the spindle but large enough to allow the ball joint to pass through. Under this cup I used the cone-like attachment that is reminiscent(ish) of a multiple step drill bit (kinda).
I also recall removing the front sway bar links to gain full droop to get a big breaker bar in there. Hence the need for traction from the ratchet straps.
The ratchet straps and scissor jack are all there to put traction on the spindle to hold it in place in order to put a metric shit ton of force on that ball joint press utilizing a big breaker bar
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/167111-spc-upper-control-arms.html
I utilized a cutoff wheel to gain a little more room to press out the ball joint as others have stated. If you do this, however, realize that the vehicle is not driveable until the job is completed. This may entail removing the spindle and pressing out the ball joint if you're really unlucky. That previous link will have some more details but this is what I ended up with. The O'Reilly ball joint press comes with an assortment of cups and adapters which I used as needed. On the bottom there was one cup just small enough to catch the lip of the spindle but large enough to allow the ball joint to pass through. Under this cup I used the cone-like attachment that is reminiscent(ish) of a multiple step drill bit (kinda).
I also recall removing the front sway bar links to gain full droop to get a big breaker bar in there. Hence the need for traction from the ratchet straps.
The ratchet straps and scissor jack are all there to put traction on the spindle to hold it in place in order to put a metric shit ton of force on that ball joint press utilizing a big breaker bar
turbodudey2
New member
Shop press is the way to go
I definitely agree that a shop press is the way to go. I've never tried it any other way though.
Just like [MENTION=126408]4everun22[/MENTION] said, if you don't have a press - go get one. It's worth it to save all the time and headache. I got the harbor freight special on sale for $80.
So when I did my uppers, they were off and back on in about 5 minutes. No hassle.
Pressing off - then back on:
I definitely agree that a shop press is the way to go. I've never tried it any other way though.
Just like [MENTION=126408]4everun22[/MENTION] said, if you don't have a press - go get one. It's worth it to save all the time and headache. I got the harbor freight special on sale for $80.
So when I did my uppers, they were off and back on in about 5 minutes. No hassle.
Pressing off - then back on:
Attachments
Hey so I did this last weekend while installing the new lr upper control arms and the first 3 hours were spent trying to pull them was spent going to the auto parts store and trying different things. I tried the ball joint press which was a head ache and way to big for in the wheel well. than I tried 3 jaw pulle rand it just popped off. than I said screw it went to napa and bought this bad boy. the 2 jaw tie rod puller. for some reason they have it advertised for 104 but I got it for 25 bucks at the store. After buying it I was able to do the complete drivers side removal and replace in about 45 min for the upper control arm.
I place the jaws on each side of the spindle and put the screw in the center of the screw got it all aligned and added some good pressure from the ratchet and bam they were out. no need to remove the spindle or anything. I also spray some wd-40 on there. I also used that to press the new plate in using a washer on top. it worked great for me and they were the original ball joints. and I live in Hawaii so the salty air makes thing prone to rust pretty fast. any questions let me know
http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/C...-Outer-Tie-Rod-Remover/_/R-OTC7503_0483061082
--Lud
I place the jaws on each side of the spindle and put the screw in the center of the screw got it all aligned and added some good pressure from the ratchet and bam they were out. no need to remove the spindle or anything. I also spray some wd-40 on there. I also used that to press the new plate in using a washer on top. it worked great for me and they were the original ball joints. and I live in Hawaii so the salty air makes thing prone to rust pretty fast. any questions let me know
http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/C...-Outer-Tie-Rod-Remover/_/R-OTC7503_0483061082
--Lud
