Ball Joint Tools

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MAN, those are cheap looking crap. I only paid CAN $18.00 (on sale at Princess Auto) for the one pictured on tegger's site. (last picture)

That's about $15 US. Notice there are two hinge points too.

'Curly'

"'Curly Q. Links'" wrote

I was looking for this at the Princess Auto site and couldn't turn it up, even after downloading the two catalogue sections (Automotive and "Shop and Garage").

I'll try their 800 number tomorrow and see if they even sell to people in the U.S.

I spent twice as much as you are looking at, but it is a single stage much like the less expensive ones. I haven't used it yet but my son said it worked like a charm. I think the lower priced ones would work as well - this one just had the advantage of being adjustable for small or large ball joints. Unless you're going to work on trucks I doubt that really matters to you.

Putting the joint back together is simple enough, but it really helps if the taper pin and socket are free of oil. (Don't ask me how I know!) If there is oil the pin tends to rotate before it is tight, making it very difficult to either tighten or loosen the nut. Proper torque on the nut is important, since that determines the wedginess (technical term).

Mike

"Michael Pardee" wrote

Mike, thanks! I'll put this in my notes.

I have one of these

works well and it's very dependable. With any ball joint press tool such as this, there's one thing that you have to be careful with. That is, it's possible to put enough force on the end of the ball joint stud before it releases such that the end of the stud collapses due to the holes drilled in it for the cotter key. To avoid this scenario, put a nut on the end of the ball joint stud such that the end of the nut is flush with the end of the ball joint stud. The nut will then provide support via the stud threads and prevent the end of the stud from collapsing.

Eric

"Eric" wrote

I'll call Assenmacher tomorrow and see how much they want for this. I couldn't find the price at the site.

Eric, thanks much. I put this in my notes.

That's the kind of thing I need to know. Thanks, John.

"John" wrote

The cheap ones are not the best and easiest to use but they to get the job done. I'd rather use a cheap one like this rather than banging on the LCA to get the ball joint out.

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That sucker is gorgeous. Good tools are nice to have, eh? As you can see, I already own two identical ball joint puller tools. :-(

'Curly'

I usually just use a hammer for a few sharp blows on the side of the joint which ususally dislodges it.

JT

John wrote:

Eric wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@spam.now:

Flip the castle nut upside down and reinstall it. Same result.

Yeah, I've been using "the cheap-looking piece of crap" tool from JC Whitney for years and it works like a charm. In fact, I used it to remove the upper balljoint and outer tie rod ends(to replace the aging dust boots) on my '98 CRV several weeks ago.

BTW, here's a little tip on how to keep the pin from spinning when you're trying to put the nut back on. I use one of my vise grip wrenches to hold the two pieces together(which puts pressure on the joint) and that holds the pin steady.

"Headknocker via CarKB.com" wrote

Headknocker and Tegger: Your tips are now in my notes. Thank you.

Updates:

Canada's Princess Auto--Does not ship to U.S.

Tool by Colorado based Assenmacher--$70, plus shipping. Order by phone.

I bought a tool like those sold at Princess Auto - it worked very well. I ground it out a bit with a die grinder to make sure it wouldn't tear the boots on my Legend, and it still had more than enough strength. Another source for these is a tool company that sells them on eBay for $29. I figured this would be easier than dealing with an international order. The URL for the tool is below:

Yesterday I thought I'd scoured e-bay. Thanks, this tool may be the one!

This morning I ordered new front suspension spring coils and stabilizer links and stabilizer bushings from the "Team Honda" in Colorado,

, which Tegger's site references. If all goes well with Team Honda, I will add it to my site. Team Honda had the best price, taking into account shipping: OEM coils at $48.25 each, with a shipping charge of 10%. List prices are similar to Majestic, but Majestic's shipping charges are more (at least for my location). Majestic does now have an online shipping estimator.

Then I'm onto the ball joints. One step at a time...

"Ryan Biggs" wrote

If I remember correctly, the manual states that the suspension should be raised up to its normal ride height before tightening the ball joint castle nuts (and also before tightening the lower control arm pivot and strut attachment bolts). I usually find it easiest to raise the lower control arm with a floor jack (it's fast, easy, and takes care of multiple steps at the same time, i.e., the ball joint and the lower control arm).

Lastly, never loosen the castle nut to align the cotter key holes. Always tighten it to the next one.

Eric

In three shops I've worked in no-one has had this tool. Looks neat; but by the time I dig it out and set it up a sharp blow from the hammer already has the joint loose.

The advantage to the hammer technique is that the joint is not stressed and the possibility of damage to the boot is reduced. It's an old time practice and best of all, it's free! Of course, flipping the castle nut and applying loosely prevents the joint assembly from dropping completely.

JT

Stephen H wrote:

There must be a trick to that. The last one I did without the tool didn't give way even with an air hammer on one side and a 4-lb hammer head on the other side to buck it. It makes sense to me, but I can't seem to make it work.

Mike