Balljoint problem

[1973mach1]

I finally finished stipping the upper control arm and painted it and bought all the new parts for the suspension so today so today I tried putting it together, it was going OK till I tried to take out the old balljoint, I cut the top ball and bushing part off thinking I could knock the rest of the bolt out with a center punch since its not threaded in the spindle (at least i hope it aint) but it wont budge. Did i mess up bad by cutting the top balljoint off? Now i just have the bolt section flush with the spindle on the top. I was hoping to have the new suspension on today but not now.

Thanks,
Jim

 

[Hack]

The ball joint isn't threaded to the spindle. However, the stud on the ball joint is tapered. So the stud has to come out of the spindle in the correct direction. Sounds like you're going to have to pound on the threaded end of the ball joint to get it out. Trying to push it the other way will NOT work. You might also try a vise with a socket to put pressure on it.

Probably heat and PB blaster will help. Try to heat the spindle more than the ball joint, that should help some.

For the future, I recommend you get a pickle fork for separating ball joint ends. You're also going to want a BFH. At least a 10 pound sledge. The heavier the better, whatever you can swing. Use a little framing hammer or something and you can beat on it all day. One or two hard raps with a heavy sledge will pop it loose.

 

[Snail50]

so you cut the upper balljoint apart, leaving the rod part stuck in the spindle? If you're not planning to reuse the old balljoint, then I don't think it's a problem (not that you could reuse it now anyway....).

Hack pretty much "hit it on the head": the balljoint isn't threaded on, rather pressed in and held by the taper and years of driving. I recently did the balljoints in my 67, and if my (horrible) memory is correct, the upper ball joint must be driven upwards and out from below. Because you are not reusing the joint, don't be shy about pounding on the threaded shaft protruding from the bottom of the spindle. you can also hit the sides of the spindle to try to jar it loose.

They are in there tightly, but just keep pounding and all of a sudden it will be out.

 

[GaPonyFarm]

Cutting the head off must have been a real pain in the a*s! You got good advice above.

 

[1973mach1]

Thanks guys, i'll try that tommorow, cutting the head off wasn't too bad with a sawzaw. This has come in handy a few times on a car as rusted as this. Until I can afford a new engine and tranny im just trying to get the stuff that I can do done like suspension, engine bay detailing, and getting the rust off the undercarriage/rearend. I did finish the brake system. I do have new balljoints for it so wrecking the old one is not a problem.

Thanks,
Jim