1958: Lower Ball Joint Stud

[wbdeford]

I've beaten it with a pickle fork, hammer, 2 jaw puller, and even lifted almost all of the weight of the front end of the car with a jack under the ball joint stud, and it won't budge.....sprayed with penetrating oil.   All the motion with the fork just moves the ball joint itself in its terrible looseness.

Any other tricks to get it free?  My next thought is to remove it still attached to the steering arm and take it to a shop.

[TJ Hopland]

Is there a way you can get as much pressure as possible on it like with the fork or jacking it and then either smack the end of the stud or what its going into?   If its a big casting that its going into maybe hit it from both sides at the same time with the biggest hammers you have?   The idea is to shock it while its under pressure to come apart. 

[V63]

The ball joint has a tapered shaft that is inserted into a loop.
the ‘trick’ is to WHACK the loop squarely!!!  I’ve always used this technique without fail. WHACK it until it loosens.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Plus, hold a heavy hammer on the back as an anvil.

It WILL come off.

It is a case of Shock and Awe.   The Shock is "boy, that was hard", and the Awe is "how come it was so easy in the end" 

Bruce.

[wbdeford]

I whacked and whacked and no dice...I disconnected the steering arm from the brake backing plate and removed the whole control arm.   Without the backing plate, it was easy to get a puller on there straight, and an impact wrench got it to pop.  This means my plans to save most of the front end rebuild for the winter are now scrapped....will be doing it now.

Thanks, guys!

[novetti]

Heat with a Propane torch first