tie rod end ball joint

xsspeed · Post by **xsspeed** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 4:49 pm

ok so as some of you may no i was having trouble with this a while ago, and its still giving me the shits.
I have played around with it and given it the odd hit with a hammer, but now having bashed the shit out of th left hand one for an hour, without it moving, (only result was a copious amount of sweat), i have figured i must be doing something wrong.

If anyone can take the time to show me, i can email a photo of what I am dealing with and you can tell me the best approach.

If i cant detatch the ball joint can i just unscrew it from the rack end?

My aim is just to get the cvs out of the way for gearbox removal, so i am guessing it shouldnt be this hard

79rolla · Post by **79rolla** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 5:25 pm

question, what bit are you hitting? your supposta hit the bit it goes into...

but yes on most cars the actul bar bit (whatever its called) will tern if you back the nit off first, alot of them have a hex section to get a spanner onto aswell if its a bit tight

rxtoy · Post by **rxtoy** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 5:37 pm

they do get quite a seal on them, very hard to separate sometimes. the 2 best ways i've found are invest in a ball joint splitter (they're not expensive but to be honest i've never either bought or used one, just heard good things about them) or use two hammers.

you need to hit the bit the ball joint is mounted in from both sides at the same time, a bit of practice and you'll get it as long as there's room to get to them.

basically by hitting both sides at once you're deforming the circle its mounted in, creating an oval and popping out the ball joint.

the other way (the hard way) is to lock the hub in place somehow (if its bouncing up and down with the suspension then most of your energy is just moving the suspension), put a nut on the thread of the ball joint but not on all the way (don't use a castle nut, you'll wreck it, i found out the hard way) and smack the hell out of it. usually works eventually.

hope it helps
Matt

ezy10s · Post by **ezy10s** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 6:02 pm

you dont actually need two hammers- just a good swing with one for a few minutes and itll pop from its captor. if you do get a splitter youll still wanna hit the arm that the joint is stuck in- as you hit it more just crank the splitter a bit more each time.

xsspeed · Post by **xsspeed** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 6:43 pm

ok i had been hitting the underside of the tie rod arm (NOT the thread) to try and force it back thru.

So i should be bashing the actual ball joint?

Post by **Mr Revhead** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 6:52 pm

post that pic up mate.... i think your bashing the wrong bit...

Zak · Post by **Zak** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 6:53 pm

Whack the steering arm part of the hub, side on to the tappered part of the ball joint.

Don't whack the ball joint what ever you do.

xsspeed · Post by **xsspeed** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 7:06 pm

[img=http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/3600/rackendhi9.th.png]

xsspeed · Post by **xsspeed** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 7:07 pm

xsspeed · Post by **xsspeed** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 7:10 pm

Zak wrote:
Don't whack the ball joint what ever you do.

if only id read that 5mins earlier. went out and gave the ball joint a wahck on the side and it nearly came off

xsspeed · Post by **xsspeed** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 7:16 pm

i was whacking where i am pointing with no result

rxtoy · Post by **rxtoy** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 7:39 pm

suspension going up and down while you were doing it??? will absorb most of your power. try and jam it with something (last time i put a spanner on top of the hub and jacked the hub up til it locked in place) then put nut on thread and hit nut.

cheers
Matt

Bling · Post by **Bling** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 8:15 pm

try hitting that horizontally, I had trouble with one of mine so a member on here brought over his BIG hammer and 10 whacks later it was free

xsspeed · Post by **xsspeed** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 8:28 pm

rxtoy wrote: then put nut on thread and hit nut.

cheers
Matt

wouldnt that f*** the thread?

like i said i gave the side of the thing a good whack and it nearly came off, guess i might have now f***ed the ball joint, but tie rods are cheap anyway.
"Its all a bit of denial and error" - for anyone who watches trailer park boys

AE82 FXGT · Post by **AE82 FXGT** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 8:29 pm

Yep, thats where I hit them (BZG Bling) and most come free within two or three good hits.

Zak · Post by **Zak** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 8:37 pm

Since you've probably bent the tierod any way, you might just have to whack it striaght out.

It should come out though, just find a bigger hammer.

79rolla · Post by **79rolla** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 8:40 pm

AE82 FXGT wrote:Yep, thats where I hit them (BZG Bling) and most come free within two or three good hits.

agreed... its also how micanics do it :wink:

just try not hit the thred or ball joint wen doing it (bit late for you now tho i think..)

Post by **Mr Revhead** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 9:13 pm

one more tip

count the turns when you take it off :wink:

so it goes back on in same place

Ae92typeX · Post by **Ae92typeX** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 7:11 am

Half the time I just put the nut back on the balljoint so it is 90% on but has a few mm gap from being tight. One big hammer on the nut and the tierod pop's off. Have never damaged the thread doing this. If it does not come off in the first hit do/undo the thread a little to make sure it is still ok and give it another wallop.
This said, its not the correct way, but has worked for me for 15 years.

or, as you suggest, if you give up taking it off, you can just unthread it from the rack end, or just unthread the tierod by turning the shaft if it had a spanner attachment. Just keep the nut at the end of the tierod one flat off tight so you can return it to the proper position.

xsspeed · Post by **xsspeed** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 8:55 am

79rolla wrote:(bit late for you now tho i think..)

lol i think so, i took my frustration out on it.
Anywho they probably need replacing cos i cant remember having them done before. And there were alignment issues to start with.