gcthree

With every expletive depleted and every possible path taken, I turn to the forum for ideas.

Every ball joint popped off the car without fuss...except for the lower LH one. It simply wouldn't budge. Pickle fork? Yep tried that. Ball joint press? Tried 2 different versions and used an impact gun: didn't give.

Yep, used the MAP gas torch and heated it good. It laughed at me.

Put the steering knuckle in the bench vise, let it sit with PB Blaster overnight and then pounded on it with a 5 lb. sledge: nada.

I drilled through the center hoping that it would collapse a bit to loosen it: zilch.

I hacksawed the ball joint off and the threaded section too so that I could have some options on holding it and then pounded away: forget it.

Should I admit defeat? Toss-in the white flag and just buy a used knuckle like the one on eBay for $189 and be done with it? Arrghh!

I also went over to DC Auto's site and they have an '88 knuckle for $200 and an '89 knuckle for $500. There's no difference, is there?

Thanks for your help in my time of need.

Bob

M. Requin

Just went through this. Take your knuckle to a competent machine shop, and they will have the old taper pressed out in no time at all. Well, other than the time it takes to rig up the arbor(s) to hold the knuckle. Don't bang on it any more in the mean time! Looks like you'll have to clean up some areas with a dremel or files, but that is no biggy.

upstate bob

If you had left something to push on, a hydraulic press should have removed it. The housing should be supported properly and not squeezed. Hard to believe the right size pickle fork didn't do the job.

Hilton

After a learning experience like yours (I went through the same thing with a tie-rod taper on my first ever encounter with a stuck taper - including the drilling through it part), what I do is:

1. Attach a ball joint separator like this one and tighten it to load up the joint.
2. Get 2 good size hammers (small sledges even) and hit opposite sides of the knuckle at the same time (or hold 1 hammer against knuckle and hit with the other hammer).

It can take a few knocks (sometimes really hard knocks), but it will pop out.

gcthree

Thanks guys, at this point, the machine shop seems like the best path because that sucker might as well be welded into the knuckle.

Mrmerlin

machine shop

M. Requin

I have a separator like that and bent the screw on it on this job. Took it to a shop and it took a few seconds to press out (after setup). I now have a hydraulic press...

jon928se

You could try threading a junior hacksaw blade through the hole in the ball joint, then reattach blade to frame and carefully cut through the remainder of the male part. - don't cut into the female part of the knuckle. Once you are nearly through - say 1mm to go there is little hoop strength left in the male part so will be easier to hammer it out.

gcthree

I took the machine shop route, and an 80 ton hydraulic press took 2 pumps before it dislodged. After watching this, I really wish I had enough room in the garage for a press.....

upstate bob

A HF press doesn't take up much room. Put it in your bedroom closet. Throw those useless suits away.

M. Requin

dr bob

I think about having a press, and the cost, and the space it takes up, and how often I (don't) need one these days, and how inconvenient it is to use the one at a local parts/machine shop. So far, "machine shop with press" is winning the decision battle.

I bought the rear wheel bearing tool, knowing it would pay me back the first time I used it. Plus others could use it. Conversely, I haven't needed to do anything beyond what a small benchtop arbor press could handle in over a dozen years. Having a ball-joint or tie-rod end that doesn't come out with the correct dedicated tool is a rarity. Rare enough for the OP to not buy his own press, especially when the job is already done?

Keep in mind that my tool disease, while not quite as all-consuming as Rob's, is still severe enough to merit my own little orange flag on the CDC map. No press yet.

gcthree

You know, Christmas is coming and at this stage in the game, there's not a thing we need except for a press or a glass bead cabinet, no?

M. Requin

I also think about having a ______ (insert favorite large stationery tool here), its cost, and the space it takes up especially, since my shop, which has to serve for metalworking, woodworking, and mechanical work on the 928 (and some farm stuff) is only 19 X 19. Which is one of the reasons why it has taken me decades to buy a hydraulic press, which I could have used countless times. But I bought it for the same reason I bought a lift- I'm getting too old to waste time crawling around under a car or mcgyver-ing some solution to a problem created simply by not having the right tool. Now all I need is a parts washer...