[¡Oracle!]

I serviced my CV joints on my '99 Passport using the procedure outlined on the 4x4 Wire and everything went along smoothly until I got to the left wheel.

The *&$#^*&@#$ upper ball joint will not separate from the spindle no matter what I do! In the process of trying to remove it I gave the boot a teeny little tear. I gave up and serviced the CV boots and joints by removing the lower ball joint and working that way.

A day later I see the dreaded bead of grease around the upper ball joint boot and I know that it has to be changed. I have to repack my wheel bearings this weekend so I'm going to be in there again so I want to ask for opinions on how to get that $ucker off!

I have a pickle fork and it will not work. Someone suggested that I jam the fork in there after I raise the the control arms all the way up with a jack stand under the lower arm. Then I should lower the arms by jacking up the car until the fork pops the ball joint apart. The idea is that the torsion bar will do the work for me.

I figure that heating it with a torch probably will not work because of the tapered shaft design. Am I wrong to think that? I haven't tried that yet because I figure it will work against me.

I have whacked it gently for a long time and hard a few times on the side of the spindle, I have pried and pried, but no luck!

 

[¡Oracle!]

Disregard!!!

I guess I was being a little chicken about giving it a good old whack wih my sledge.

I didn't like the idea of having my ABS speed sensor right there and smashing it if I missed. I bit the bullet, proverbially closed my eyes and SWUNG and CLANG the little sucker was sitting on the castle nut.

I was in disbelief after the hour I spent "whacking" away at it a few days ago.

Thanks anyway!

 

[cruiserman]

I had the same problem with mine, but it was the lower ball joint. Thankfully the upper one separated with 1 whack, so I was able to pull the entire knuckle and separate the lower BJ on the bench. I really hate IFS :x .

 

[wrenchmonster]

Howdy. I was just reading this and wanted to chime in a little. First of all, a good ball peen hammer is all you need to take apart ball joints, tie rods, etc. Do be careful to hit whatever item you are taking off in a straight direction. In other words, don't hit a ball joint from the side, hit it where the control arm will give you the most force behind it. The perscribed method is to actually use 2 hammers, one to bang, and the other behind the joint to take up the shock of the blow. I don't like pickle forks because they can damage the boots. The absolute best way is to use pullers, which cause no shock vibration and no possible boot damage.

I know you left the castle nut on the ball joint which was a good precaution, but guys don't mess around with torsion bars. I used to work with a guy who had 17 stiches on his arm from unloading a ball joint with the torsion bars still under tension. Unload the dam things, it's an easy process and can save you a trip to the emergency room. Unless you want a cool scar. No forget I said that, don't do it!!

-Kevin

 

[¡Oracle!]

Just a note, there's no place to fit a puller on the 4WD models. The half shaft is right under the ball joint.

 

[wrenchmonster]

Howdy. Hey Oracle. I was just re-reading your post and wanted to add a couple comments. First, yes, you cannot get a puller into everything. I was using the term "puller" generally. There are "special" tools of course designed to take apart front ends. Anyway, I also wanted to say that I have had some success fixing damaged boots with "fribbage". This is the same stuff NAPA sells in the little cheez whiz bottle for like $20. Toyota calls it fribbage and I get mine from a tech friend. Anyway, it's a very high performance silicon sealer. I've cleaned the infected area the best I can with brake cleaner, then made a patch with the fribbage on the boot extending well beyond the actual wound. (ps folks, I've never done this on a customer car) Anyway, I figure it's worth a shot on your own rig and might just save you some money. Also, you should generally avoid using torches at any time. If you have to, keep in mind that you are changing the physical properties of the metal you are getting red hot, which can lead to failure of the component.

-Kevin

 

[¡Oracle!]

Yep heating steel to red hot is usually a bad idea. Strength goes waaay downhill when that is done.

I ended up buying a new ball joint and it went in no problem.