"qbeezy" (qbeezy)
08/12/2020 at 15:10 • Filed to: e46
1
39|
"qbeezy" (qbeezy)
08/12/2020 at 15:10 • Filed to: e46 | 1
| 39 |
Edit: it’s off. Thank you all for the help. Just needed a big ass hammer, PB Blasters, and Harbor Freights joint separator tool. This control arm is nasty.
I am trying to remove my control arms on my E46. However no matter how hard I am hitting this damned control arm, it’s not budging loose. Ironcically ingot the middle part loose. I am at a complete loss on how to separate this part of the control arm. And suggestions? I’ve tried heat, seafoam, on blaster, hammer.
Maybe a bigger hammer? Control Arm tool?
If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 15:20 |
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How much heat did we try?
SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 15:21 |
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Puller. Sears used to stock them with a Craftsman brand. Sears used to be a “thing”...
PowderHound
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 15:22 |
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Definitely bigger hammer.
I can’t
see the set up of this but, disconnect
the sway bar? It might help give you more droop to get that out.
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SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
> If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
08/12/2020 at 15:23 |
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More heat.
Thermal lance...
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qbeezy
> If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
08/12/2020 at 15:26 |
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Ha. 2 mins of propane touch each side. I'm almost to the point of getting the cutting wheel out.
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qbeezy
> PowderHound
08/12/2020 at 15:27 |
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I’m thinking that's what I'll go to next. I've been hitting it from the back, abut don't have much swinging room.
diplodicus forgot his password
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 15:28 |
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Harbor freight ball joint removal tool.
https://www.harborfreight.com/3-4-quarter-inch-forged-ball-joint-separator-99849.html
Aremmes
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 15:28 |
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You need a pickle fork.
ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 15:28 |
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Use a fork on the ball joint like this one:
Then hit it with a 8lb hammer. Always works...but you need to hit it with a lot of conviction
Future next gen S2000 owner
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 15:30 |
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Have you considered burning it down and starting over?
MM54
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 15:30 |
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Either a puller or a pickle fork should do it. You do have the arm supported or the strut hanging so it doesn’t explode when it comes apart, right?
DasWauto
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 15:32 |
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Do you have enough space to whack the top of that stud? If so, do that.
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qbeezy
> ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
08/12/2020 at 15:34 |
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I’ve been doing that, I neglected to mention the fork. I’m guessing I need a way bigger hammer.
sony1492
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 15:35 |
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Make sure to hit the spindle rather then the arm, try more bfm, and get a balljoin t separating tool if at all possible
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qbeezy
> Future next gen S2000 owner
08/12/2020 at 15:35 |
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If my wife didn't know how much old bmw car ownership costs, I'd have sent it into a lake lol.
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qbeezy
> MM54
08/12/2020 at 15:36 |
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I have the arm supported. I'll have to see if I can find a bigger hammer and a puller that can fit around as back up.
Michael
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 15:36 |
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I’m a fan of loading them up with a ball joint removal tool like one of these:
or
and then you tap it with a hammer.
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qbeezy
> DasWauto
08/12/2020 at 15:37 |
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Unfortunately no.
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Future next gen S2000 owner
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 15:37 |
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I know a guy........
Echo51
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 15:42 |
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The arm has to come down right? on the escort/mondeo/etc FWD trash my dad made a long fork-ish part that slides on the control arm, and then has 1.5m lever so you can force the arm down/out, since the bushings normally hold it up against the front hub/spindle even at full droop
functionoverfashion
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 15:42 |
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I see from other comments you’ve got a picklefork. Hmm. On mine, I fought with it for almost an hour one night. The next day I bought a fork and three good whacks with my 3lb hammer it came off.
jtso
> Michael
08/12/2020 at 15:44 |
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I used both types on a Volvo with a stuck tie rod ball joint that was probably impacted down (no cotter pin installed) . The 2 claw puller just dug into the threaded end of the ball joint . T he lever puller worked and it came apart with a bang as loud as a gunshot.
Nothing
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 15:46 |
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Pitman arm puller/ball joint separate r.
MoCamino
> diplodicus forgot his password
08/12/2020 at 15:51 |
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This, so very much. Best $20 (minus the 20% coupon!) I ever spent. The last ball joint job I did, I spent a good four hours with a pickle fork trying to get the dumb thing to come loose from the knuckle. It just would not come loose. I was c ussing, sweating, and generally demoralized when my wife came to check on me. She asked the question she always asks me in this situation: is there a different tool you could use that would make it easier? I’d seen these separators before, but didn’t realize how much easier they would make the job. Within 5 minutes of getting home from HF with this tool, it was loose.
Of course then you need a proper press to get the ball joint loose from the control arm itself. THAT tool is a bit more expensive if you buy one, even from HF. I usually get the press as a loaner from O’Reilly or AutoZone, but they can be had from HF as well.
https://www.harborfreight.com/ball-joint-service-kit-for-2wd-and-4wd-vehicles-63279.html
TheRealBicycleBuck
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 15:57 |
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If you have a hammer drill, you might be able to use that to get some rapid percussive force on it. The big socket would rotate around the end of the fork while rapidly hammering it in. It might be worth a try.
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Michael
> jtso
08/12/2020 at 15:59 |
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The gunshot has been my experience as well. The important part is to get some amount of force on it, as high as you’re comfortable, and then start whacking.
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qbeezy
> MoCamino
08/12/2020 at 16:00 |
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Thanks for the tips! I am just gonna upgrade the whole control arm after this mess. With this car, if it’s coming off, I am gonna replace it with something better.
Sovande
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 16:01 |
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If you don’t care about saving the ball joint (which it seems like you don’t!) Get a pickle fork - it will come apart in no time.
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MoCamino
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 16:15 |
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Sometimes that makes the most sense, especially if a loaded control arm isn’t too expensive. On my wife’s DD, it just made no sense to upgrade the control arm because of what it is. On my El Camino, I was tempted to replace the whole thing. I needed new ball joints and control arm bushings on the uppers and lowers on both sides (41 year old car FTW), but it was just too much money for me to bite off at the time. They can be bought, but it would have been around four times the cost of the bushings and joints on their own. It was a major pain, but my dad and I got it done thanks to his ownership of a 10 ton press. :)
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ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 16:18 |
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Aah ok, i saw a bunch of marks on the CA and thought you were just hitting that...ya a big hammer and a lot of swing...also the fork needs to fit in there very tightly or else it doesn't work in my experience
jminer
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 16:22 |
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I’ve used one of these very successfully for this sort of thing.
https://www.harborfreight.com/tie-rod-and-pitman-arm-puller-63684.html
It works great for tie rod ends, ball joints and things along that line. Crank it down and then whack with a hammer and it’ll shock the joint loose.
Victorinoo
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 16:37 |
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Take your hammer and hit the side of the knuckle (yes you read the right the SIDE of the knuckle) where the ball joint bolts through. Repeat 10 or more times and it causes a shock that pops the ball joint free. This method has always worked for me.
This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja:
> diplodicus forgot his password
08/12/2020 at 18:02 |
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Came here to say exactly t his. 100%
Just watch your you don’t bang your head out o f surprise when the joint pops free.
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This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja:
> MoCamino
08/12/2020 at 18:07 |
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I usually push it through and get the nut started, then use a needle nose vice grip to retain the top of the threaded bit while I continue spinning the nut. I can then usually remove the vice grip after a bit and there is enough pressure from the joint to keep it from spinning any further as it’s torqued down. Ymmv of course, I’m not actually a mechanic but I do own a BMW.
Urambo Tauro
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 20:15 |
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I don’t suppose you have an air co mpressor handy - one big enough to run an air hammer? Pretty sure that’s what a shop would use in this situation , if there’s enough room to use it .
Otherwise, yeah a remover tool should do the trick. You might even be able to find one that a local auto parts stool might loan out . I would use it to put pressure on the stud, then use a hammer to give it a few shocks. It shou ld pop out.
scooteraccident
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 20:40 |
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I used a combo of a pickle fork, pitman arm puller, torch, PB blaster and hammer all at the same time and eventually got it to pop. Took me like 3 hours of pulling and bashing. Do you still have the nut on the inner ball joint? I found that with that removed, slot of my force applied to the outer stud just flopped the arm around.
old-busted-hotness-still-cant-comment
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 22:08 |
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Use two hammers, one on each side of the stud
. Do it right and the ball joint will drop right out.
Dogsatemypants
> qbeezy
08/12/2020 at 22:12 |
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You can try fucking it with a pickle fork till it’s good and done, you could probably even use a wedge of wood and a decent size mallet. Do not use a bottle jack unless you have a reaalllly good grasp on where solid surfaces are and a desperation born of madness.
brianbrannon
> qbeezy
08/13/2020 at 13:13 |
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Sometimes holding another hammer against the other side while hitting it works