Lower ball joint attachment

Went to press out my lower ball joints today and got stuck on the lower ball joint attachment that supposedly 'falls' off if the top of the joint and side of LCA is struck with a hammer.

That didn't work so I tried the alternate method with a pickle fork. Fail. You can see in the pictures provided I slid a pry bar over the fork and cranked, smacked with a 4 lb hammer in all directions using the fork. Fail again.

Lastly thought about a larger tie rod puller than the one featured here. The puller would torque from the threaded ball joint. The one I rented was not big enough. Frustrated after an hour of smacking and cranking, I searched the internet again and there really isn't too much on the subject besides the DIY thread https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diy-lca-ball-joint-replacement-2005-tacoma.176251/







I think you get the picture. Honestly don't feel like surrendering the job to a shop and am willing to give this another go if somebody can help direct another plan of attack. Thanks guys..

 

Bump

 

Get a

 

Was thinking that when I woke up this morning. Get a bigger puller ^

 

Did you hit the pickle on the end? They aren't really meant to be hit downward, you are relying on the wedge action of it by hitting on the end toward the BJ.

 

Ended up renting the 14 piece adapter set from Harbor freight to go with AutoZones C-clamp press. Picked up a tie rod pull set as well. Dropped by Autozone again to grab a torch and also purchased a 5 ton 3 prong puller for good measure... best decision I made.
Fire wins.
Used this long puller from the HF set. Worked for passenger side after all the pickle fork banging, but fractured the tool on driver side.

5 ton puller. Cranked a little, smacked with 4lb hammer, crank, smack etc till it fell.

For the win

 

I did hit the end.

 

I got stuck doing mine all day... I ended up torching it and taking it apart piece by piece... It's a PIA! I also cracked an impact socket.
did the new BJ just fall in or did you need a press?

 

Mine took 7 hours. Lots of cussing, praying and everything in between. Whow you cracked a wrench? Thought I was going to damage my breaker bar on a seized bolt holding steering stop. Took the extension of my hydraulic lift and put it on the end off my wrench and cranked. It was sketch, but did the trick.
I used a C-clamp press from autozone with a 14 piece adapter set from HF. The attachment parts for the autozone didn't have the right adapters for the OEM balljoint. There is absolutely no way the joint would fall in. How did you get yours in?

 

Yeah it cracked and split from all the cranking on it. It was hell! I tossed the BJ in the freezer for a few minutes in hopes it would give a little play but it didn't work at all. And yes, the adapters that came with the AZ kit did not fit the BJ size so I ended up making a modified press adapter. I wish I took pictures of the 3/16 plate I used as backing... It formed the center of the back plate into a round cup. It's not an easy job at all. I've worked on seized heavy equipment and surprisingly this was up there in PITFA jobs! At least on heavy equipment you can bang on it with a sledge hammer. Glad it all worked out... I love those Moog's !

 

Oh yeah, sounds like fun. With the adapter kit it made it a lot easier to press in. Just took a few tries as the BJ needed to be straight on when pressed. I got it at an angle a few times and had to restart the process. When I pressed it back, the clamp left a small indentation on the moog back plate where the zirk fits (not threaded might I add). The OEM seems better quality with the larger c-clip and reinforced mettle plate that won't indent. Only down side is non serviceable.