DC2 Ball Joint Quick Removal - Tip

[Neesmo31]

Hey all, after renewing all the bushes in my lower control arms for my DC2R i found a very easy way to pop the ball jonts.

When the car is on stands (under the front jacking points either side of the car), jack the suspension arm up on the bottom of the control arm until it is parrelell off ground or about where it would be with the cars weight on it.

Next step is the secret - i found an old tranmission filler plug, which almost fit into the gap between the lower control arm and the hub assembly. Its a near perfect fit, however will require slight tapping in with a hammer (you shouldnt have to bash it in, if its slightly too tight you may need to jack the assembly up higher)

Then with the jack, lower the arm to the ground (making sure to leave the ball joint nut on the end) and you should hear a loud popping noise which is the joint separating from the arm.

Job done!

Use that transmission filler bolt as a spacer and you will never have any more hearache when doing this job - it would even be worth buying one (its not even more than $10) and you have the best ball joint tool ever!

Thanks all. I hope this can save people some time when doing any front suspension jobs.

Cheers :)

[bennjamin]

nice tip. But dangerous for a small piece like that - it can shoot off possibly hurting someone or damaging something.

I prefer to use a long ratchet or breaker bar that fits. Drop the sussy down and nice firm CLUNK noise.

Or , do it old school with a large mallet. And bang the crap out of the sides of the LCA (there is an obvious lip impact point on either side. dont forget WD40 or similar to loose the ball joint beforehand !)

[Neesmo31]

Yeah i was careful with that but if you loosen the nut off to only 1-2mm clearance then once it pops the nut still stays in between the 2 (the lower control arm and hub assembly) till you jack it back up again to take it out.

If you use this method i think you will see how much of a nice fit it is. Was just a little tip as sometimes the right sized breaker bar or wedge some people may not have or have access to. This is a sure fire way to get them off.

Thanks all.

[spardikis]

nice write... its always the small things!!! i just spent 20mins taking out my wifes rusted in uppers :(

stupid cheap nasty old adjustable control arm ball joints gahh!!!

[kccord]

Another tip, 2 Jack method.

Note: It will not work on heavy rusted vehicle or vehicles with oem springs (soft)

1. With the car supported on vehicle jack on one side; remove wheel, pin that goes through the lower ball joint's castle nut and the castle nut itself.

2. Borrow another vehicle jack, put the castle nut back on the lower ball joint thread loosely (to protect the thread), and place the jack under the nut.

3. Lift the Jack gently until you hit that thud of it separating. Remove castle nut and work away.

The way it works is that while the suspension of the car is pushing the lower control arm down, you are lifting up the knuckle assembly/removing the lower ball joint by jacking. Too many pro's and cons in this tip but hey it's just another tip.

I got sick of doing it this way as it will not always work, so I invested $30 ball joint removal tool from supercrap. Worth doing.

[string]

I've never tried any method other than the one described in the first post. The most difficult step is finding an object the right size to wedge in the gap. Simple job once you've mastered the trick.

[Killa From Manila]

Another tip, 2 Jack method.

Note: It will not work on heavy rusted vehicle or vehicles with oem springs (soft)

1. With the car supported on vehicle jack on one side; remove wheel, pin that goes through the lower ball joint's castle nut and the castle nut itself.

2. Borrow another vehicle jack, put the castle nut back on the lower ball joint thread loosely (to protect the thread), and place the jack under the nut.

3. Lift the Jack gently until you hit that thud of it separating. Remove castle nut and work away.

The way it works is that while the suspension of the car is pushing the lower control arm down, you are lifting up the knuckle assembly/removing the lower ball joint by jacking. Too many pro's and cons in this tip but hey it's just another tip.

I got sick of doing it this way as it will not always work, so I invested $30 ball joint removal tool from supercrap. Worth doing.

wats this ball joiint removal tool look like n how does it work? i gave up trying to seperate the lca from the hub last week after 30mins of banging the crap out of the lca >< will try again soon with the methods described in this thread though

[vinnY]

yep worth it to get a ball joint removal tool (http://www.amazon.com/Tool-Aid-61900-Joint-Lifter/dp/B0002SRDRI)
this method only works on the lower ball joint anyway, you're gonna need a removal tool to remove the tie rod or upper control arm's ball joint

[riruiz_88]

best to use a ball joint separator (fork)...
http://www.homedepot.ca/wcsstore/HomeDepotCanada/images/catalog/869fdb3f-2fc6-4463-98bf-d1930fe52b76_4.jpg

[vinnY]

never had much real luck with them, either too long and got in the way or it just chewed up the boot while hammering it

[EGB18CT]

just be careful not to rip the ball joint boot with those, bennjamin's method i think is best and one of the safest, works for me all the time.

[riruiz_88]

the fork would be good for those stubborn old joints. wouldnt matter if you damaged it if you were gonna change it.

[Neesmo31]

I really like the idea of jacking the LCA and using the cars (suspension spring) to do the work for you, rather than hammering and beating the arm. I just thought id post this little tip up for you guys if you had a spare bolt laying around.

:wave: