Hi Having a hard time to separate steering knucke from the arms..what ball joint puller would you recommend?..bear in mind I need to go to shop as no time to order online.. Cheers Arek Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My recommendation is a heavy duty/commercial vehicle ball joint splitter approx £100. Maybe cheaper on ebay. The photo isn't obvious but these are many times the size of the standard tie rod splitters. Some people have the knack of clouting them with hammers...not me.
Yeah..I have been trying a really heavy stuff inc hammer but no success..the ones I have managed to find are entirely useless so need to invest in something that’s up to the job..I will pop to the chequered flag tomorrow to see if they got something like this one..cheers Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
All of the cheap ones .. With a 1 kilo club hammer ... Bang bang bang .. oops bent splitter.. bang bang bang splitter back in shape .. repeat... And in the process you chew up the boots so completely you are forced to complete the job.
Well..I finally managed yay..for now no need for the puller but will defo get one sooner or later..it took lot of penetrating oil, swearing and...with little help of 1kg hammer they finally decided to split so happy days cheers Wysłane z iPad za pomocą Tapatalk
Do you know how big these splitters are @Zed ? I'm needing to get the right tool for the job but finding it hard to judge size from internet photos! Would a set like this work well or are they the wrong type...? https://fjwsales.co.uk/product/welzh-werkzeug-ball-joint-splitter-set-3-piece-heavy-duty
Here's a photo of a standard type splitter for tie rod ends and the bigger one for the suspension ball joints. Maybe it will help at least give an idea of the different scale of the job!
I think that the set in the kit shown are all a bit small and also the wrong design - the type that work - the large serious ones from somewhere like Cromwell Tools , like @Zed shows are about £130 each .. the smaller style about £33 each, and almost defeated by sticky track rod ends. I had another even weaker example bought back in the 1980s that worked with a Morris Marina and that got defeated by track rod ends in its old age. Also needed hammering back into shape.. ... I used a cheap "Pickle fork" style on my ball joints, about 300mm long or so and a with a 1kg hammer hitting hard on the end. The ball joints almost defeated it and it needed hammering back to shape (the ends of the fork separate) .. to make it work again. Problem with the pickle fork is you will be replacing the boots..
If it helps I use this on pretty much every ball joint on my vans. I use this with an impact socket and a breaker bar. I sometimes use a 4’ scaffold pole extension on it, if I have to. Had it for over 30 years Think it was about £12.00.
Super helpful responses, thanks all! As always, seems like there's many ways to tackle a job As for getting them back together, is one of these the best option...? (A ball joint press)
If you have a search on YouTube, a fellow in the US has had good results with those. He's a bit of a beginner, but managed to get all four out, and new ones pressed in. Rattle gun helps.
Thanks Snotty! I like it when I don't have to buy new tools for a job I will only do a few times, so this sounds appealing to try! Cheers
What are you trying to do, btw? Just popping the ball joints out of the arms, or pressing the ball joints out? I'd say if the current ball joints are ok (VW allow you 2mm of play, from memory), just leave them. The replacements available don't seem to have a good reputation.
You appear to be conflating two separate jobs. Job 1 Separating the steering knuckle from the ball joints. Job 2 Removing the ball joints from the arms.
We were typing in stereo. From my own experience it doesn't always end well in the non-centring stiff steering department. Tis why I deliberately kept my old ones despite being 1 minute from a chap who'd press them out and in for a fiver a time. If they rattled on rough roads I'd replace them, until then...
