I am rebuilding the front suspension on a my 69 vette and my Haynes book says I need a special tool to separate the balljoints studs from the knuckle arm. Is this true or can you use a normal balljoint speparater (with the forks). The one they show looks like a rod that goes between the ball joints and pushes against each other. Thanks Mark

 

I thought the same last winter when I re-did mine. I saw the pic of that special press tool. I used a pickle fork attached to my air chisel. A simple pickle for will do. After 30+ years though mine were reluctant to separate from the knuckle. If the ball joints are still rivetted, you'll need to center punch the rivets and drill them out. Easier to perform with the CA off the car.

 

MarkJ -
You don't need the "special" tool. The easiest way to do it is with a fork attached to an air chissle: Jack the front end off the ground and let the control arms hang unsupported. Loosen the nut on the lower ball joint and back it off until the top of the nut is flush with the stud. This will loosen it about 3/16", and your spring tension is now working for you trying to pull the stud out of the steering knickle. Now, first take a ball peen hammer and tap around the steering knuckle casting where the ball joint stud is attached. This will "knock loose" a lot of the rust and sediment that's holding the stud in there. Don't be surprised if the ball joint actually pops loose - if it does, it will be retained by the nut you left loose.

Now you have 3 ways of getting it separated:

1. Use the air chissle with a fork. This is the easiest and fastest. A few blasts with the air chissle, and the joint will pop apart and be retained by the nut. Once that happens, put a floor jack under the a-arm, raise it up to lightly seat the stud in the bore (to keep it from turning), remove the nut, and then lower the floor jack. If you're yanking the upper a-arms, too, leave the lower "popped" arm retained by the loose nut and do the same technique on the upper before you remove the lower - you will thus have spring tension working for you on that one, too.

2. Pickle fork. If you don't have an air compressor or an air chissle, just buy a pickle fork and whack it in the with a big hammer. Once you've driven the fork in really hard and the joint won't pop, tap around the steering knuckle attach point with the hammer to "jar" it loose. The joint will suddenly pop apart and be retained by your loose nut.

3. BFH. (That' a "big hammer" for those who don't know automotive acronyms). If you do not intend to re-use the ball joints, you can actually get them separated using just a big hammer. Again, back the nut off flush with the stud, tap around the knuckle to loosen it up, and then give the top of the stud with the nut installed flush a few hard, straight hits. You want to hit it straight, since if you hit the nut crooked, you'll bend it over and never get it off. You want the nut in place for safety and to keep from "mushrooming" the top of the stud. After a few hard hits, the stud will pop out of the knuckle from the spring pressure. You now have to raise the arm with the floor jack so the stud seats firmly back in the knuckle, since the bashing you did with the hammer will want to make the stud turn when you try to remove the nut. You may have to tighten the nut a little to seat the ball joint back in the knuckle lightly, and then remove the nut by "rocking" it back and forth to get it off the stud. You can then lower the floor jack so it's 1/8" below the arm, and then simply tap the stud with the hammer - it will pop out and the arm will be retained by the floor jack.

Piece of cake.

 

just use the balljoint pickle fork.....

 

If all else fails (lars method is the recomended procedure. Try this:

If your not going to reuse ball upper ball joint (dont recomend) take the lower off like lars recomended leaving the jack in place to support lower a-arm then as an alternative to a lot of hammering with a BFH in a small opening (fiberglass doesnt absorb errant hits w/ aBFH real well) remove the two bolts holding the upper a-arm in place and remove the whole shootin match! knuckle rotor and all cut brake hose (hose not line) with snips. Then put the ugly mess on the floor step on it use the pickle fork and BFH to beat apart :smash: :smash: Have fun I did!

 

...... Drilling those rivets out in he ball joints castings will work, but its quicker to just grind the heads off and punch them out. Regards, '74 Turbocharged 350, "Molested to Perfection", class of '71