[malinois1983]

I have sent Everett a PM but I will ask it here in case he is busy. I took out the pin that held the nut of the ball joint in place, loosened the nut just fine but not all the way off. I took my Ball joint fork and hammer but seem to only get half way in. As you can see my sleeve deal is smashed all to hell but it was like that when I started. Any ideas? Is my hammer not big enough or am I swinging like a girl? No offense See pics below...

[malinois1983]

or is my fork in the wrong place.....youtube is not helping me

[Luwi67]

I'd give it a whack or two on the knuckle instead of using a fork.

Or hit the fork harder to drive it all the way in.

[malinois1983]

thanks ill try that.... Maybe i need a bigger mallet

[Moonpie]

Back the nut out even with the top of the stud so you don't ruin the threads then hit the top of the nut like a man with a 2lb hammer.

[malinois1983]

Thanks I had already done that. I actually only have a small hammer used for hammering nails etc so I guess I will have a reason to go to lowes tomorrow....

['68 Camaro]

If you have access to an air compressor, a air hammer with a pickle fork adapter is the way to go. I got mine for a local Northern Tool and it buzzed through mine in 30 secs...I had been whacking it previously with a hammer and pickle fork with no success.

[Everett#2390]

As I suggested in the reply message, have the floor jack under the lower control arm and lift up a little, this action will keep the spring in place, use a three pound hammer, aim the swing, as in become the hammer, and take a good hearty swing. Don't be afraid, swing it.

Shouldn't take more than two swings to pop it loose.

AIM

[buzzworth]

The bottom one can be tough. You will probably need to put the torch to it, let it expand a bit and then beat the schlitz out of it.
Are you replacing any other front end components while you have it apart? Do you have disc brakes.....yet? If you're changing those, then take the steering arms off now to gain a little more room for the fork.

[malinois1983]

No just the springs and shocks right now... Then to the rears....Eventually I would like to change out more but for now this is it....

[Steiner]

You're gonna need a hand sledge. Some antisieze on the new studs will keep that from happening next time if you ever need to get it apart again.

[Steptoe]

top of the stud so you don't ruin the threads then hit the top of the nut like a man with a 2lb hammer

Dont stretches threads ans stuff same with application of any heat to suspension bits dangwerous practice

occassionally a ball joint will not pop which leaves one trearing hair out
Wack thr fork in real hard...then get someone to hold a dolly behind the other side up hard ...a dolly soldid bit od steel , another big hammer head...then wack your side real hard..2 or 3 rd the ball joint will drop out....
If one doesnt have a fork handy, simply using the dolly method 9 times out of 10 will drop any ball joint even with no pressure.

[Geezer]

Originally Posted by malinois1983

I actually only have a small hammer used for hammering nails etc so I guess I will have a reason to go to lowes tomorrow....

YES! You need a minimum of a 2 lb ball peen hammer, better is a 3 lb mini sledge. You shouldn't have to hit the fork more that three times with one of those if you "HIT IT LIKE YOU LIVE!" (What an old boss of mine used to yell at me.)

[2x1968muscle]

Originally Posted by malinois1983

Thanks I had already done that. I actually only have a small hammer used for hammering nails etc so I guess I will have a reason to go to lowes tomorrow....

NEVER use a carpenters hammer to hit metal with. You could end up getting seriously injured from a piece of flying hammer !!

Thats why they make different types of hammers.

Don't take a chance...if you get hurt it takes away time that you can be working on the next project on the Camaro

[novaderrik]

Originally Posted by 2x1968muscle

NEVER use a carpenters hammer to hit metal with. You could end up getting seriously injured from a piece of flying hammer !!

Thats why they make different types of hammers.

Don't take a chance...if you get hurt it takes away time that you can be working on the next project on the Camaro

holy crap.. i should have been dead years ago.. all i have are carpenter's framing hammers ranging from my 16oz baby hammer of unknown origin to a 28oz Estwing, and about 12 different hammers that fall in between those... i have beaten the living crap out of many, many different parts made of many, many different kinds of metal with them and never broken one.. i like them better than the "proper" ball peen hammers because they have better balance and i can swing them more comfortably.

regarding the problem at hand- loosen the nut until it's flush with the top of the stud.. hit the spindle right next to where the balljoint stud passes thru the spindle as hard as you can with your biggest hammer.. it should pop loose in a couple of hits unless you swing a hammer like a 13 year old girl. when you get both the upper and lower balljoints loose, jack up under the lower balljoint until the upper arm starts to swing up, which means that there is no load on the balljoints.. remove both nuts and drop the jack. the spindle will fall out of the upper balljoint and you can lift the spindle off the lower.. to get the spring out, keep dropping it until the spring comes out- don't worry, it won't fly out at you..

install is exactly the reverse of removal, except you won't need the hammer..