Well here's a tip you probably don't need but try to avoid your foot with the 3 pound no bounce. I was holdong the control arm real steady with my foot to wack the ball joint with a pickle fork and blam! Broke my foot in 2 places, the wierd part is that I did it 2 months ago and it only recently started hurting. I don't have much feeling in my foot due to a nasty bout of the bends in my military days so I have been cruising around with a broken foot for 2 months. Good news is the new ball joints should be a big improvement, I may however need an alignment and some grade 8 hardware in my foot next week:)

My wife is completely confounded as to why I do what I do on this ride...

There's anice shot of the xray here:

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2517955/1

OUCH!

I often give blood but haven't broken a bone... yet.

Never try this at home.

Any videos? I've got to teach a home safety class next week! ;)

Sorry about your foot, a broken foot can be pretty painfull.

Last night I was getting some pictures of my rotisserie to put on here, and ducked under the car and rolled the skin back about a half of an inch on the top of my head,:mad: I'm old and ugly enough allready, without a big old scab on the top of my head.

Bald headed guys don't do well under these cars. But I still have the sideboards, I'm not kojaked anyway.

Rob

Bill do you want a picture of it, it looks like a little flap up there.:)

Which reminds me of the time my wife and her aunt and uncle went to a little airport to pick somebody up, and when the uncle stepped out of the car, the wind blew the front half of his hair up like a flap, she didn't know he was that bald.

Damn ,son !!! :sad:

oooh, foot x-rays! you think this had a little pain involved? first a broken heel back in '93, then 11 years of going around in pain, then this surgery, now much better! Doesn't hardly ever hurt, but there is a "limited range of motion" :)

Ouch X 2! :(

Holy crap. Looks like you blew up your Talus, and then some. I narrowly missed out on that big screw deal when I broke my Talus in half. I was told It was a sprain for 6 weeks. I was allowed to walk on and grind up the bones all that time. took almost 1 year to get it well. When I picked up my X ray to go for a second opinion. My 5 year old daughter could easily spot the black line running through the bone. I was very pi__ed. Fotunatly it works pretty well now.

Just a tip, dont use pickle forks, just use a 3 pound BFH and hit the spindle with a sharp rap. the ball joint pops out and the boot and ball joint is reusable. I saw you were replacing them anyway, but just store it for future reference. Jim

Just a tip, dont use pickle forks, just use a 3 pound BFH and hit the spindle with a sharp rap. the ball joint pops out and the boot and ball joint is reusable.


Never had any luck with that method. I finally broke down and bought a set similar to this:

http://www.toolrage.com/prodView.asp?idproduct=1579

Highly recommended. (My set came from NAPA, and was about $100 if I remember correctly--but their web site is so screwed up there's no finding anything there. The NAPA set was made in Taiwan, not Communist China--at least they were a year ago when I got mine.)

Just a tip, dont use pickle forks, just use a 3 pound BFH and hit the spindle with a sharp rap. the ball joint pops out and the boot and ball joint is reusable. I saw you were replacing them anyway, but just store it for future reference. Jim


I worked for years in a frame and alignment shop, popped many a ball joint, literally hundreds of those mid '90 Goshen and Eldorado shuttle buses, using only a hammer. Turn the spindle which ever way gives you the best shot at the area that the ball joint's shaft goes through. First and foremost, after removing the cotter key, loosen the nut enough to let the ball joint seperate, but leave it threaded a few threads, as to stop the spring from blasting out. Just give it a pop at first, sometimes that's all it takes. No worky?

Take the biggest hammer that's practical, then the biggest swing possible within the realm of accuracy and safety. Do it like you mean it, as if your "following thru". Trust me, it'll pop. If you did this and failed, it's probably because you had the floor jack under the lower control arm. Leave the nut on a couple of threads, support only the frame with jackstands and let the spring pressure help you.

Once it pops, then put your floor jack under the control arm to relieve the tension off the nut. Remove the nut and lower the control arm.

I have been able to pop them out using the Jim and Rowdy method. The trick is get it out with one maby two hits max (in my experience) or the bolt head starts to mushroom.
My 2 cents.

chevy fan attic, dont hit the bolt head, hit the side of the spindle. Jim

Yeah, the shock of a hard hammer hit momentarily deforms the ball joint stud hole, allowing the ball joint to release.
Works with tierod ends too.

I have a pickle fork attachment for my air hammer. Stick it in the right spot and pull the trigger. I also have some of the tools in the kit Shurkey posted for the removing tie rods, pitman arms and ball joints that are not being replaced. I try to stay away from hammers of every kind, I once broke a handle on a baby ball peen and now every hammer I own has been seeking revenge :rolleyes:

Definitely DO NOT hit any part of the ball joint itself. Besides, like I mentioned earlier, the nut should remain on the last couple on threads anyway.

Pickle forks will wipe out the boots almost everytime.

FWIW, the same sorta thing will usually work to rermove a steering wheel. Back the nut up to the top of the shaft, to shroud the top of the shaft (nut just higher than shaft). Wedge your knees under the wheel, pushing it upwards while whacking the nut/shaft (not nearly as hard as the spindle requires).

Definitely DO NOT hit any part of the ball joint itself. Besides, like I mentioned earlier, the nut should remain on the last couple on threads anyway.

Pickle forks will wipe out the boots almost everytime.

FWIW, the same sorta thing will usually work to rermove a steering wheel. Back the nut up to the top of the shaft, to shroud the top of the shaft (nut just higher than shaft). Wedge your knees under the wheel, pushing it upwards while whacking the nut/shaft (not nearly as hard as the spindle requires).

Definitely DO NOT hit any part of the ball joint itself. Besides, like I mentioned earlier, the nut should remain on the last couple on threads anyway.

Pickle forks will wipe out the boots almost everytime.

FWIW, the same sorta thing will usually work to rermove a steering wheel. Back the nut up to the top of the shaft, to shroud the top of the shaft (nut just higher than shaft). Wedge your knees under the wheel, pushing it upwards while whacking the nut/shaft (not nearly as hard as the spindle requires).

Rowdy...ya drinkin' already? You're developing a studder... ;)