Upper ball joint (Help!)

[Sup41]

Hey y'all...

So I'm 3 hours into my first upper ball joint removal and I cannot get the UBJ bolt out of the upper control arm. After removing the castle nut I have...

A) Wedged a tie rod separator and hammered the tie tod / pushed down and pulled up

B) rented a 3 jaw 2 ton puller to pull from the top but it doesn't grasp the UCA's properly

C) hammered the shit out of both the bolt and UCA.

WTF gives?

 

[kolelt]

Did you remove the big ass c clip ? Right isn't there a c clip that like holds it in. It's been so long I don't remember. Rent a ball joint remover

 

[Sup41]

Did you remove the big ass c clip ? Right isn't there a c clip that like holds it in. It's been so long I don't remember. Rent a ball joint remover

C clip is the next step in pressing ball joint out. I just need to get the damn bolt out of the UCA

 

[MarkamisPrime]

Get a bigger hammer

 

[Septimius]

try an air hammer?

 

[Mighty Buffalo]

I ended up sawzalling the joint and taking the UCA out. You'll have enough clearance to press the rest of the UBJ out of the spindle, and you can get more creative with pushing the bolt out of the UCA.

The pictures are down in the thread, but there's a description of what to do.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/162849-3rd-gen-upper-ball-joints-ubj-easy-way.html

 

[flipty]

Ball joint removal tool (the one that looks like an extremely beefy clothes pin) will pop that sucker right out.

 

[LookAtThatDog]

did you remove that super long bolt that holds the arm on? That would allow the knuckle to move and give you more room for the puller.

Or heat it up and use the pickle fork more.

 

[Sup41]

did you remove that super long bolt that holds the arm on? That would allow the knuckle to move and give you more room for the puller.

Or heat it up and use the pickle fork more.

I did remove the really long bolt, but that actually just created more headache cuz the UCA moved around too much.

I tried a blow torch and pickle fork just now. No luck. F*ck me.

 

[Sup41]

Ball joint removal tool (the one that looks like an extremely beefy clothes pin) will pop that sucker right out.

Tried it. No luck. The piece that pushes out the bolt wasn't long enough so when it got too tight it would fly off (nearly took my eye out, too.)

 

[Sup41]

I ended up sawzalling the joint and taking the UCA out. You'll have enough clearance to press the rest of the UBJ out of the spindle, and you can get more creative with pushing the bolt out of the UCA.

The pictures are down in the thread, but there's a description of what to do.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/162849-3rd-gen-upper-ball-joints-ubj-easy-way.html

This is a good idea. Technically I'm replacing my UCA's so I don't need to push the last stubborn piece of bolt out anyway.

To be clear, you sawed below the UCA on the UBJ bolt, then removed UCA?

Which sawzall do you have / did you use?

 

[HiLife]

What about a cut off wheel?
That would make short work of that ubj bolt if you can get that wheel into that space.

 

[Mighty Buffalo]

This is a good idea. Technically I'm replacing my UCA's so I don't need to push the last stubborn piece of bolt out anyway.

To be clear, you sawed below the UCA on the UBJ bolt, then removed UCA?

Which sawzall do you have / did you use?

Yes. You'll have to cut through the rubber boot, or you can cut off the rubber boot beforehand. I have a corded sawzall with a metal cutting blade, I think the blade is called "the torch" or something. I'll try to get a picture of it this afternoon.

 

[Sup41]

UPDATE: This worked: https://www.google.com/search?clien...8#q=OTC+(7503)+Outer+Tie+Rod+Remover+autozone

It was 90 bucks, but well worth it after a tie rod fork, hammering on and off for 8 hours(not kidding), 3 jaw puller, and a blow torch.

It also worked on my tie rod and low ball joint, so again, well worth the $$ to me.

Thanks for all the tips!

 

[flipty]

90 bucks?!?!

That seems incredibly steep. However I will grant you that getting the job done is satisfying.

I would highly recommend getting one of these for future work, they operate in less space, and work for ball joints of nearly any size, as well as tie rods.

https://www.amazon.com/GearWrench-3...=1500426735&sr=8-13&keywords=ball+joint+press

at $25, worth its weight in gold.