I have a couple different sized pitman pullers and am in the process of replacing axles and LCA bushings. My question is, how are you supposed to get the pitman onto the LCA? There isnt enough room between the rotor shield to slide it onto the LCA. Do i have to remove the caliper, rotor and heat shield?

 

noneed to remove the caliper, rotor or shield, just beat the lca with a hammer... ive personally never used a pitman puller in any honda/acura always hammered the crap out of them...the lca has a dedicated spot for you to hit it at. just loosen the lower ball joint nut and keep it on just in case you get a bad swing in there and mess up the threads... even if you are replacing the ball joints you never know what can happen (like wrong ball joint) and you need to use the old ones for the mean time.

 

use a hammer and beat the side of it
sometimes put the jack on the bolt to release a small bit of pressure

 

I'm not replacing the balljoints. Where is this dedicated place to hit it? So just beat the side of the LCA where the bolt goes through? I gave it a few good hits but was hesitant to go crazy on it.

 

you're going to damage the ball joint threads before the ball joint comes loose from hammering. thats not the right way to do it

 

Well what is the best way to get the pitman on?

 

Well I removed the rotor and neither my pitmans would fit. I also bought a ball joint seperator from HF and its too small. I tried jacking up the assembly and dropping it with a wrench in there, It pulled the sleeve halfway out with the joint still intact. Any one have any advice?

 

ok, got them free. 1 boot casualty. Ordered up a couple new ones.

 

I'm curious what did you end up doing? I might need to actually replace my ball joints when I replace my tie rods. How long did it take you? Any tips?

 

I just answered this exact question less than a week ago.
No one searches anymore?


This is the tool I use...Never had any success with the pitman puller


http://www.ebay.com/itm/22mm-Universal-Ball-Joint-Tie-Rod-End-Separator-Remover-Puller-/141241124510?hash=item20e2a0869e&item=141241124510&pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&vxp=mtr

 

Yeah that's what I used. A 3/4" ball joint separator from harbor freight. I had to enlarge the opening a little but with a grinder to get it to fit though. I'm curious now, how would you know if you need to replace the ball joints? Mine look fine, I just beat up a boot while using the puller.

 

one way to tell is when you raise the car, you place your hands on 12 & 6 and move the wheel. You might get some play around the ball joints which is indictive of needing replacement.

Now when you remove the old and compare to the new. You can tell the difference. The new one is extremely hard to pivot. While the old one moves on its own.

 

those "tools" basically ruin every "joint" they seperate.. thats why you use the hammer method on the side of the lca.. your not gonna hurt a piece of metal with another piece of metal and the threads arent inside of the lca so smacking it aint gonna hurt it

 

I hammered the crap out of the LCA, no luck. I also tried dropping the assembly with a wrench in there. All that did as pull the sleeve halfway out of the LCA. I am going to replace the ball joints while I am down there. Has anyone replaced them with the knuckle still on the car?

 

ive also removed it withe the knuckle on but used the tool i referenced above.

 

I'm talking about replacing the ball joint, not separating it.