Upper & Lower Ball Joint Removal

[Linusrp]

Okay, I have removed the upper and lower A-Arms, the cotter pins, and the 'castle' nuts from both ball joints. How do I remove the ball joints from the spindle without damaging them. Do they just push out, in which case mine are locked in sold from poor maintenance. Or do they screw out, and in this case where do a put a wrench or socket to do this? I have looked under the grease boots but can't seem to find any leverage points. All comments are welcome. Thanks.

[oilleak]

I use a pickle fork - It'll tear the boots.

[Linusrp]

I'll give it a try. I intended on replacing the boots anyway.

[DatsunBucky]

What I sometimes do with a recalictrant bolt is to put the nut almost all the way back on, and in the case of a castle-type nut, upside down, so the head of the bolt is a couple threads below the top of the nut, have something solid holding the piece the bolt goes through, and WHACK it a good one with a hammer. By not beating on the bolt itself, the threads shouldn't be affected. The shaft is tapered, and once it starts to go, it usually falls right off. Having the nut still on will keep the part from falling out and landing on your toe, too.

I used this method when I replaced the tie-rod ends on our Ford van, and it worked just fine. I'm too cheap to buy the picklefork tool.

[Linusrp]

I rented a set of pickel forks for a couple of bucks this afternoon and three of the four ball joints came out pretty fast. I am still working on the' forth castle nut, which won't budge, before I can take off the final ball joint. I hope the penetrating oil works. Thanks again for your suggestions.