ball joint replacement

[elt]

Ok so I recently purchased a 97 gmc Yukon

I am currently trying to replace the lower ball joint. It was so shot that it came out of the a arm! Now I am having trouble removing it from the hub. any ideas? I have pressed and mechanically agitated it and it will not move....

 

[Gzes]

I would spray the Hell out of it with silicone spray and beat the Hell out of it til it gives and comes out

 

[elt]

I currently have it back in the a arm and lifted with my hydraulic floor jack by lifting on the shaft of the ball joint. Still not moving!

 

[Gzes]

Lift with maybe a cylinder that will go on the joints case not on the shaft and use a mallet on the arm

---------- Post added at 01:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:07 PM ----------

By mallet I mean a big Ass hammer or sledge hammer

 

[elt]

only the shaft is sticking through the hub. I am considering cutting the ball joint off....

 

[SunlitComet]

you should really have a ball joint tool with a impact wrench to power it. it would go a lot easier then.

 

[mattluttrell]

you should really have a ball joint tool with a impact wrench to power it. it would go a lot easier then.

This is the best answer. You need to get ball joint tools. You can buy it from Harbor Freight for $40 or so.

 

[elt]

I have the tool, it wont budge it either.

 

[SunlitComet]

pic of the tools please.

 

[elt]

it finally came out

 

[SunlitComet]

cool beans.

 

[elt]

Now to get the new one to go in! It is not wanting to press in.... getting really tired of this job.

 

[mattluttrell]

Sometimes you can torch the hole and freeze the ball joint. You can also modify (grind) on the tool adapter if it isn't lining up.

 

[elt]

Got it in

 

[Fixer]

I am new here and have been looking around for fixit tips. I will be replacing the upper and lower ball joints on a friends 99 Tahoe 4X4 as soon as the weather warms up a bit. I'm not sure if this information will be useful to anyone here or not, but here is a link to a fairly detailed "how to" tutorial.

http://www.tribalvisiontruck.com/balljoints.htm

 

[BirchyBoy]

I am new here and have been looking around for fixit tips. I will be replacing the upper and lower ball joints on a friends 99 Tahoe 4X4 as soon as the weather warms up a bit. I'm not sure if this information will be useful to anyone here or not, but here is a link to a fairly detailed "how to" tutorial.

http://www.tribalvisiontruck.com/balljoints.htm

That looks like a good write up. Saved for later use. Thanks!

 

[devnull]

You can buy it from Harbor Freight for $40 or so.

No. No no no! The Harbor Freight balljoint tool is crap. I own one, and the C-clamp bent up the first time I used it, while installing a ball joint on my Yukon. No impact gun was used, just a long ratchet. In other words, I bent up their sorry excuse for a clamp with my bare hands. The bending of the clamp caused the balljoint to be installed in at an angle.. it was ridiculous. If I had to use the HF tool, it would have taken me hours of re-positioning the tool to compensate for its weakness. But don't take my word for it... have a look at the pages and pages of reviews on harborfreight.com that detail the weakness of that C-clamp.

NAPA sells (and loans!) the Evercraft kit, which I had to switch to.. it's solid. OTC also makes a solid kit that a lot of people like, and generally, I've had good luck with OTC tools. Amazon has it for $107 shipped to my door.