Hey there,
I’m trying to take off the lower control arm on an S13. To do so, I have to remove the spindle/hub assembly from the lower control arm.
I had borrowed a Ball Joint puller that I got from Cdn tire, but it did no good.
From the Factory Service Manual, it shows a small tool that they use to pry the spindle/hub assembly away from the ball joints. I do not have this tool
Have you guys had any luck pulling ball joints apart? If so, please share.
The ball joint has a tapered seat where it fits into the steering knuckle. It’s probably siezed in there very well. You will need a hydraulic press to get it out. Pullers, pickle forks, and even the fancy Nissan tool are useless for this… they don’t generate enough force!
This is what I did to remove my 13 yr. old ball joints:
Remove the lower control arm, steering knuckle and tie rod end in 1 piece. Hint: Measure the tie rod length then completely unscrew the tie rod by loosening the lock nut and unthreading the ‘adjuster’. This is the easiest way to seperate the tie rod without using a special tie rod puller.
Remove the cotter pin on the lower ball joint retaining bolt and loosen the bolt a few turns. Do not remove it… it will help keep the assembly together when you seperate the ball joint.
Using a hydraulic shop press, set up the assembly with a spacer between the knuckle and control arm and some drifts to line everything up. Then it’s simple matter of ‘pressing’ the ball joint stud from the top until it pops out.
I took an even simpler route: using an angle grinder I simply cut the ball joint stud between the knuckle and control arm. I could then easily use the press to get the remaining stud portion out. I was replacing my ball joints so I could care less about re-using the old ones. Oh, and when I pressed out the stud, it took A LOT of force… so much it sounded like a gun shot when it finally did give! :o
Good luck!
Man that’s one hell of a post.
How come no one else can post like this???
Thank you!
Hey Phil,
Have you any recommendations on which shop to take it to get the parts pressed out?
Thanks again.
