Don Terrill’s Speed-Talk

2001 Honda Odyssey...

I’ve got a bad ball joint on the drivers side, and I cannot get this thing to separate from the steering knuckle. I have beat 2 pickle forks to death and worn myself out, but it will not budge. I’ve got the lower control arm out now by cutting the ball joint stud off, but I still need to get the remainder of the stud out of the knuckle. Any ideas that doesn’t involve completely removing everything? I can’t seem to attach a pic...says the file is too big?

I’ll try to edit the pic at work tonight

Beat on the side of the knuckle with a big ass hammer. Not on the stud. That'll usually drop it out every time after a few whacks. That's the standard way to pop 'em loose in most every shop I've ever been in. The shock/vibrations break it loose as best I can describe it. Im no Albert Einstein, so... Lol

Next time, loosen the nut but don't remove it. Then do your beating on the knuckle to dislodge the stud. When the stud separates from the knuckle, the nut will keep the knuckle and LCA from just coming completely apart. Then you just unscrew the nut and slide the ball joint out of the knuckle and forgo any cutting.

This also works on tie rod ends, too. The good thing about this procedure is that it also saves your rubber boots from being destroyed by the pickle fork. I rarely use mine. It keeps you from having to replace ball joints and tie rod ends because of busted boots, also. If you're swapping a cv axle, you don't want to have to replace a bj, too, because you busted the boot with a pickle fork. The hammer method is also quick. 5 or 10 seconds, unless you get a stubborn one.


This isn't my video but you get the idea.

https://youtu.be/aNK4ZXf-Quc

I have used the hammer method many times but always with a heavyweight backup on the other side, something like two 3lb hammers, one held against the backside for support and the other hit on the front. Essentially you are momentarily squashing the taper between the two hammers, squirting the tang out of the hole.

Have to say , i had a peugeot brake my balls for over a week then my da makes a complete fool of me aged 65 at the time [so not huge strength behind him] grabs 2 hammers way lighter than i was using and keeps hitting it from either time so both hammers strike at the exact time , takes a few trys to get timing right , low and behold it just dropped out , key was not to just hold the other hammer to the back but use both to strike

But a the point your at weld a bolt to the bottom of it slide a socket over it tighten a nut on it as to apply pressure to pull it out and then use 2 hammers

Thanks for the suggestions.

I did all the hammer tricks (other than whacking it from both sides at the same time...got to try that) before getting to this point. I ended up cutting the ball joint so I could use a c-clamp to put pressure downward on the stud while smacking the knuckle with a hammer. Still no go...and managed to split 2 c-clamps in the process

I’ve done several dozen ball joints in the past...never had one give me this much grief. This is my first attempt on a Honda though. This thing has 242k miles on the factory ball joints...I hope the knuckle isn’t damaged.

The 'synchronized hammers' works great if you can somehow preload the joint. Often times if you position the jack right, vehicle weight or the suspension spring will provide the needed force.
If you're ready to sacrifice the boot, one fallback is the good old gas wrench. Heat the bleep out of the knuckle around the stud taper, lay a piece of bar stock across the top of the stud and whack it with a BFH as close as possible to the stud. Also sometimes you can use the nut like a jack screw and unwind it against a spacer wedged under the curve of the knuckle.

I had to get absolutely medieval on this thing. Broke multiple tools lost way too much blood, and invented several new words, but it is finally out. Then it took all of 20 minutes to put it all back together

Pix! "If it bleeds, it leads!"

I’ll post up a few Sunday night when I get back to the office. Maybe by then I’ll be able to move my right arm again

This is the remains of the factory Honda ball joint. I was saving fire as a last resort because I didn't want to damage the wheel bearing, cv joint, or the boot. So, I drilled it...started with the tiniest carbide bit I had, and worked up a tiny bit at a time until I got as close to the steering knuckle as I dared, then I hit it with a stepped bit so it would take a little more off the fattest portion at the bottom. I still couldn't budge it, so I put a lug nut buster on what was left of the bottom of the ball joint, thinking if I could just break the bond between the 2 then it would fall out. Nope...but it must have weakened it just enough because once I put enough steady pressure on it and hit the side of the knuckle for the 50 thousandth time it sounded like a 22 rifle went off in my face...

It took some small pieces of the inside of the knuckle with it!

Use a rivet gun or an air hammer with a sawn off punch so you're hitting it with a flat punch. The vibration helps pop it loose.