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05 TL 6speed. I need to replaced the axles and can't get the stupid lower ball joint out. Due to this newer design I can't use a ball joint separator. On most cars I can use a pry bar and a hammer to smack the area around the control arm or knuckle and it will separate. I even tried flipping the castle nut and using a jack on the nut itself with all the weight of the car and it still won't separate. How are you guys normally doing this.
The forks aren't wide enough. I haven't looked to see if the wrench thing will work. I'm guessing not considering how much force I put on it with the floor jack. I definitely like the older style better I never had any problems with those I've done a few dozen over the years. I found a ball joint compressor that is supposed to be in stock at search I'm going to go buy and try its a OT6297 or OTC6297.
Those tools will definitely work, but it sucks when they tear the boot. I've never torn a boot using the method in the video. Since Honda redesigned the lower control arms, I'm curious to know if it will work on the 3G TL or the 7G Accord.
I always leave the nut on the ball joint with a little gap, so the movement of the knuckle is not as violent when joint pops.
when I took my ball joints out I just got a hammer and hit it out from the bottom. not sure if that is the safest way to do it but I got each ball joint in less than 10 seconds. The ball joint remover that looks like a fork just straight up messes the whole thing up.
Take the nut off and find the biggest hammer you have. Go by the rule, hit what it goes thru. Hit the control arm not the ball joint.
Few hits and it should pop loose. No need to mess with those fancy tools.
That's what normally works but mine apparently are in there really good. The pitman puller I got must be a little smaller than most as it's about 2 mm too small and rides the ball joint. I took a file and filed the inner parts of the jaws so that it should fit I'll try it after work today. If not I'll grab a propane torch and try heating the hell out of it.
I can personally vouch for this method, it works and I've used it perfectly when I replaced my axles, get a 1/2'' drive craftsman ratchet, the exact one, jack up the hub and the gap will widen. Put the wrench in and hurry and drop the jack, this will cause so much pressure that it will remove the ball joint. It works.
That's what normally works but mine apparently are in there really good. The pitman puller I got must be a little smaller than most as it's about 2 mm too small and rides the ball joint. I took a file and filed the inner parts of the jaws so that it should fit I'll try it after work today. If not I'll grab a propane torch and try heating the hell out of it.
How does it ride the ball joint? This doesn't make sense to me. Don't take a torch to it.
How does it ride the ball joint? This doesn't make sense to me. Don't take a torch to it.
When I get the pitman puller in there it doesn't clear the edges of the ball joint. I filed about 1 mm from each side so it should sit flat on the control arm now.
Torch would be to heat up the control arm to expand it.
You mean the boot? The pitmann puller slides under the ball joint over the arm as illustrated, and also shown in the vid. If the boot sags over the lip, gently push it up and slide in the puller.
Again.. don't use a torch. PB it if you have to.. but don't torch the arm.
Again i'm hoping the pitman puller will get it now and heating up the control arm shouldn't hurt anything heat is a very useful tool used in shops all the time.
On some components maybe, but on components in contact with materials not suited for it, no. As long as you have the right tools, you'll be fine without it.
I would only use a torch if I was going to replace the ball joint. I'm pretty sure sealed ball joints (OEM type) use some sort of polymer bearing material which can't withstand the heat of a torch. I'd also be worried about damaging the boot material if I wasn't replacing the joint.
Just did both CV driveshafts and used this http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/s...4084&showall=1 only thing that sucked is that I had to grind around the opening since it wasn't wide enough to fit around the bottom of the LBJ. But it looks like the pitman puller would of worked too.
ok the grinded down pitman puller worked. Mine was apparently corroded pretty good it took a 1/2 breaker bar to get enough leverage to finally break it loose.
That's it.. the other one would probably work as well. The lips on the pitmann puller are a little bulky so you might have to lift the ball joint boot to slip it in on one side.
Just be careful.. if the boot tears when you do this, it was in need of replacing.
Hasn't anyone here noticed that Acura doesn't make this ball joint available separately? They require you to buy and replace the whole knuckle which comes with an integrated ball joint.
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Hasn't anyone here noticed that Acura doesn't make this ball joint available separately? They require you to buy and replace the whole knuckle which comes with an integrated ball joint.
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Damn, I should've researched more and searched for the pittmann puller. I used a pickle fork to separate the ball joint and now my boots are torn. Fawk... Do you know how to replace the ball joints? or the boots specifically?
You need a new boot, boot clip and some packing grease. Manual says you need the special tool to get the clip around.. I'm sure you can do without it. Most important thing is cleaning all foreign material before packing and clipping.
Gonna try that Pitman puller on the other side. Got the one off with a combination of the socket-jack method and the beat with big hammer to finish off. Turned out the boot was nipped. I suspect the socket-jack so be carefull if you use that you keep away from boot if you try that method. I will find out tomorrow about the LBJ replacement or complete new knuckle issue.
I used the pittman style tool from harbor freight and it did not work, I also used this tool picture and nothing, it look like both tools damaged the ball joint bolt, I hammered the crap out of the LCA and still stupid ball joint won't come out. I didn't want to use the fork tool I didn't want to damage the boot but I might have have to. Might just replace ball joint too I noticed most after market ball joints don't have a castle but with a pin, which I think is not very safe.
By the way I didn't file down the control arm to get this in, you go in an angle from where the brake rotor is, grease it and it goes right in with out any effort.
I tried it again for the 5th time and it finally came off with the harbor freight tool! bad news is that I damaged the rubber boot and messed up some of the threats on the ball joint. After putting everything back together the lower ball joint started turning, got it in as far as I could. Will have to get it replaced soon.
The HF tool should fit without damaging the boot. You need to remove / bend the brake dust shield / cover first. The lower arm is pretty beefy and it's pretty tight to get to. The best tool to get is a puller with adjustable arms. I'm surprised that beefy puller wouldn't pop it. Did you stop torquing it because you thought you'd damage the threads?
+1 on the pitman puller. I bought one this summer to get my LBJs out and it worked like a charm.
Word of caution (and it seems it's already too late)- screw a nut on to the end of the ball joint, so that all of the threads of the nut are in contact with the ball joint. Then put the pitman puller on and have it push on the nut. You want to make sure the nut has as many threads as possible in contact with the ball joint, to reduce the chance of the threads getting smooshed. There's quite a bit of force applied to get the ball joint out.
Also, if you're just pushing on the end of the LBJ, there's a chance you'll mushroom the end of it, making it impossible to get the castle nut back on. I've seen it happen. It's a nice way of making a quick job turn into a pain in the ass.
Last edited by TacoBello; Nov 2, 2015 at 05:49 AM.
bad news is that I damaged the rubber boot and messed up some of the threats on the ball joint. After putting everything back together the lower ball joint started turning, got it in as far as I could. Will have to get it replaced soon.
