Lower Ball Joint Seperation Anxiety PLEASE HELP!!

[focodave]

All,

I am stuck trying to seperate my lower ball joint from the steering knuckle. I am ready to scream.
First, a little background:
I own a 1980 Spider 2000, Fuel-Injected, that had severe negative camber when I bought it. Upon close inspection, I found all of the control arm bushings to be shot.
So, I decided to bite the bullet and fix her before I had a terrible mishap on the road.
Near future plans include buying a nice set of Mark's Rota's or Monza's with some nice rubber to make the car look much better and handle better.
I purchased all brand new complete control arms from IAP and thought I would rebuild my front end this weekend.
Well, after about 8 hours of effort, I have gotten the upper control arm replaced and I am now stuck on the lower one. I just can't get the ball joint seperated from the control arm.
I am not the kind of guy who gives up easily, so I don't think my problem is due to my not being up to the task.
I've replaced a total of 8 ball joints in my life, with simple hand tools and a "pickle-fork-ball-joint-seperator" tool (on a '65 Plymouth Barracuda Formula S and a '66 Chevy Nova SS).
I've always been able to get the ball joints seperated with the fork.
Now my Spider does not want to cooperate.
Does anyone know of a sure-fire, better way to get this lower ball joint out of the knuckle?

Pictures of my ride follow:

[bobplyler]

I used this to get the lower ball joints loose. Used the one with the screw and lever.
http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece-fr ... 66686.html

[dmwhiteoak]

I used a pickle fork and hammer. I too thought it was not going to separate , I just used a bigger hammer. That was the advice given to me because I posted about it also

[RRoller123]

A BA hammer (big arse) and some serious impact with the pickle fork and it will release. Had the same problem with mine. Had to really wail on it with a 5 pound hammer. But it came loose eventually.

[azruss]

if you have a hydraulic sissor jack like one used with a porta-power, you can put nuts as caps on the upper and lower ball joints and jack between them. hammer like crazy on the lower a-arm at the ball joint.

[djape1977]

hold one hammer in place touching spot marked red, take another hammer, a big one, at least two pounds, and hit hard. it will pop right out.

[pda041376]

hold one hammer in place touching spot marked red, take another hammer, a big one, at least two pounds, and hit hard. it will pop right out.

Isn't smacking hammers together a bad thing? Something about the heads exploding? I might be mistaken on this, just asking.

[focodave]

Dennis and RRoller123,

Many thanks for the advice.
I hit is as hard as I possibly could to the point where I thought the car was goint to fly off the jackstands.
That very loud noise you guys heard in Texas and Mass --- yeah -- that was me!
I just went to HF and bought the tool in the photo, following.
It, too is not working and I have cinched it as hard as to mung up the threads on the removal tool itself.
Still no luck.

I may resort to trying to buy a new steering knuckle.
Does anyone know where I can buy one??!!!
(Driver's side)

My ego and my patience are both history, now.

Dave


Please help!!

[focodave]

All,
Many thanks for the advice, everyone.
I smacked the knuckle where instructed, while it was under the stress of the new HF seperator, and still no luck.
I smacked it HARD and MANY times!
I've never come acorss anything this stubborn -- and I've worked on my share of old cars, even a 1946 Internationa firetruck (king-pins).
Anyone have a good driver's side knuckle/spindle they want to sell me???
Dave

[RRoller123]

It looks like you haven't soaked it with PB Blaster yet. You definitely want to do that, and tap the assy strongly to help get the lubricant into the joint.

Also, I ran into an issue with the pickle fork where I had it oriented so the points were bottoming out on the knuckle backside before the ramp was exerting enough stress on the ball joint to separate it. Make sure the pickle fork comes in from the side and has clear movement as you whack it with the BA hammer.

[focodave]

RRoller123,
Many thanks.
I, too, noticed the fork bottoming out on the knuckle in certain positions.
I've tried every possible position to prevent that.
I did find new knuckles for sale at SpiderRoadster.com.
I haven't given up.
I'm just sorely disappointed and anxious.
I thought I'd be driving her this evening with both sides rebuilt and feeling good!
Dave

[dmwhiteoak]

Don't give up. It will come loose. Like I said earlier, mine was the same waybut a little penatrating oil and persistence , off it came. Where bouts you located? I thought I heard a loud scream.

[kmead]

The correct process with two hammers is to hit them at the same time on two opposite sides of the knuckle. This causes the knuckle to compress ever so slightly, popping the shaft out of the knuckle.

Hitting them at the same moment takes a bit of coordination but one gets it after a bit.

Using two 2lb ball peens works best as it concentrates the energy best.

Karl

[ventura ace]

How I do it:

Put the nut back on. Then put a deep socket (turned upside down) and whatever spacers you need above the nut to take up the space between the nut and the top ball joint. Then back off the nut. Once it is wedged tight against the stuff above it, and you keep turning the nut, it will pop the lower ball joint loose. Do just the opposite to remove the top ball joint.

Alvon

[dmwhiteoak]

How I do it:

Put the nut back on. Then put a deep socket (turned upside down) and whatever spacers you need above the nut to take up the space between the nut and the top ball joint. Then back off the nut. Once it is wedged tight against the stuff above it, and you keep turning the nut, it will pop the lower ball joint loose. Do just the opposite to remove the top ball joint.

Alvon

Now this is something worth a try.