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I've started my winter project to replace the front A arm bushings and ball joints and have run into a problem pretty quickly. I've removed the sway bar, loosened the ball joint bolts, but no matter how hard I hit it, I can't get the steering knuckle to drop off the top ball joint. I see a small gap where I've been using the ball joint fork tool, but it won't drop down to the bottom of the bolt so I can remove and lower the full assembly. I'm thinking maybe if I place the jack under the lower control arm and raise it a bit it might release....
I'm compressing the spring from above, inside the engine bay. If I can get all pressure off the lower A arm, what do you think about cutting the bolt off?
I must admit that I bought a Snap-on air hammer and pickle fork a couple years ago and it has never failed me. This, after too many manual attacks, slammed thumbs and cheap air hammers... not sure what it is as I am typically not a tool name snob, but the Snap On one works..... go find one to borrow..
Holy cow...I bought a new California Air compressor this week and have been thinking about what new tools I could use with it. Didn't think of that, thanks. Wonder if the cheapo from Harbor Freight would do the trick. Thanks for the idea!
I don't have much advice other than what's been posted as far as the disassembly goes, but I thought I'd post some advice for the reassembly as I see you're using an internal spring compressor at the moment....which definitely won't work for reassembly.....spent untold hours fighting with them. Below is how I got everything back together:
I took a scrap piece of 3/16 steel plate, drilled a 5/8 hold in the center for a 5/8 all thread rod. Also drilled two 5/16 holes to mount the plate to the bottom of the lower control arm using the holes and hardware for the shocks. I ran the 5/8 rod through the top of the shock mounting hole, all the way down through the spring and the center of the lower control arm. I put two 5/8, grade 8 nuts on the bottom of the rod under the plate. Up top, I used a captive trunion bearing with a 5/8 inside diameter (from Granger Supply), and a 5/8 grade 8 nut on top. After I got everything lined up, I slowly started torquing the nut up top to compress the whole assembly. After much grunting and groaning, I finally had the whole thing compressed enough that i could get the spindle mounted top and bottom. I then continued to compress the assembly by turning the nut up top, to the point where the lower control arms lined up with the mounting holes in the frame. It took a fair amount of "finesse" to get everything lined up, and the hardware installed, but in the end, it was all installed safely.
Hopefully this will save you time on getting everything back together!
No worries, the factory springs are a huge pain to get reinstalled and the internal spring compressor won't have enough reach to go in from the top and grab all of the coils to get sufficient compression. Even if it did, the coils would be so tight with the control arm and spindle bolted back together, you'd never be able to get the compressor out again. I can't tell you how many saturdays over the past few months I wasted trying every method imaginable to get those springs back in. What I outlined above is by far the easiest and safest method.
Rick,
the old school way of using the spring to do the work
jack up the lower arm
make sure the nut is still on like in your pic
remove spring compressor
slowly lower the jack until the spring pressure pops the spindle off the shaft and down onto the nut
might have to hammer, heat, pickle fork, etc... to break it free
raise the jack
reinstall the compressor
remove the nut
lower the jack and everything comes apart
warning, if you’re not careful you could put your eye out
Post number eleven just about gets you there. Use two BIG hammers and hit (hard) the designated spot on both sides simultaneously and it should pop loose. Be sure the nut stays on until loose.
If you are going to heat up the area, make sure you remove as much grease as possible with brake cleaner. I used a pickle fork and hit it until my arms ached swinging a five pound hammer. It will come loose. Like mentioned above, I used threaded rods and plates to install the spring. Don't forget to correctly index the spring to the top of the frame pocket or your front end may be uneven. Lastly, be careful. Good luck. Jerry
Thanks Jerry. I'm going to try the air hammer first. Gives me a good excuse to acquire a new tool. If that doesn't work, it's a bigger hammer and some heat.
I'm trying to move slowly enough so that I don't make any mistakes that can go bad, but I don't know what I don't know. Youtube videos have helped and I'll definitely strap the spring to the frame with a chain or heavy strap as extra safety measure in case it gets loose somehow. I'll have to build the compression rig, but hopefully home depot has all I need for that.
I'll let everyone know how the air hammer goes for others trying the same thing.
Here's how I've done them...
First, screw that nut on the upper ball joint closer to the knuckle - I set about 1/16 inch to minimize the bang when the stud comes loose.
Second, remove the spring compressor - spring force helps separate the ball joint.
Third, hold a large backup hammer on one side of the knuckle, and then clobber the knuckle hard on the other side with a 2 lb sledge. The ball joint stud should pop free from the knuckle. See post 11 for more detail!
when I did mine I left the shocks in place ( I was replacing them ) air hammered the control arm off, had a jack under the lower control arm, the shocks wouldn't let the spring become air born.
RJ, I had a few of the cheapo ones over the years and while they worked ok, the Snap On one is from another planet.... have yet to find a ball joint it could not dispatch in 2-3 seconds...
So I decided to go the cheap route and picked up a very inexpensive harbor freight air hammer. Can't believe they can even sell an air tool for $14, but that's what it was. I also picked up a pickle fork for it for another $10. Worth a shot for $24, right? Well, it actually worked OK as far as jamming the tool into the gap. It didn't pop the knuckle off, but it was jammed in so good I had to use a hammer to remove it. Thought about it a bit and noticed the gap between the knuckle and A arm was at least half an inch which was only working the very thick end of the pickle fork. So I took a few spacers off my upper A arm and used them to fill the gap. This time I used a hammer and pounded hard and what do you know, it dropped off. Happy days.
So I had the spring compressor mounted from the inside, under the hood. I used the jack to lift the lower a arm a bit, took the top castle nut off and lowered it, no problems. The spring compressor, which is free on loan from pep boys, is long enough that it was mostly unsprung by the time I completely loosened it from the top. Greg, I know you mentioned you had a hard time with your attempt, but I'm thinking this one might be long enough to get it compressed and the A arm back on once I'm done refurbishing...we'll see I guess.
Now I have a new problem. I can't get the upper control arm on the passengers side off because it won't clear the forward bolt under the hood. I'm going to have to remove the fan, shroud and maybe radiator. I'm not sure if the shroud and radiator are connected, but it sure looks like it. So my project is growing. Oh well, that's the fun of winter projects.
Thanks for the good information everyone, very helpful.
Rick
Correction Update: I thought the bolts holding the upper A arm to the frame were welded in place, but they are not. Therefore I don't have to take the shroud and radiator out. Thank goodness for small miracles.
12-11-2018, 07:20 PM
Front Suspension Disassembly Help
Dennis
