Finally back in the garage for a bit. Got one side all apart except the lower ball joint will just not come out: hammered it with a pickle fork, tried a regular ball joint separator, PB blaster, heat, and a jack under the ball joint stud.
Before I break out the grinder and the sledge, has anybody had this problem?
Thanks
lower ball joints STUCK
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- Posts: 34
- Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2012 9:48 pm
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- Years Owned: 69 Olds Toronado W-34
Re: lower ball joints STUCK
I just did mine and it was not easy. I bought a ball joint tool from harbor freight. I started to strip it because I had tightened it so much. Once I got it that tight I started hitting it as hard as I could with a hammer. It eventually came lose after a good hour or so. I don't know if that was the best way but it worked for me. Good luck
- xgecko
- Posts: 454
- Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2010 9:21 pm
- TOA Membership Number: 831
- Years Owned: My first Toronado was a 1968 W-34 with the bucket seats and center console... (weeps gently) It was a New England rustbucket in 1982 after less than 14 years. So sad. But it is what infected me and before I knew it I had another '68, a '69, a '70 and eventually inherited a friend's '67 and another friends '73. After buying my brand new Grand Prix in 1988 I retired the last of my Toronados and pulled the 455 I had rebuilt along the way and put it into storage in a friend's barn where it is to this day.
In Mid September of 2010 I happened to see a repeat of the show where Jay Leno did his 66 Toronado and had an instant remission of the disease which resulted in my purchase of a 1969 in very good condition. I am now in the process of fully rehabilitating it and hope to have it on the road in the spring of 2011. - Location: Gig Harbor, WA
Re: lower ball joints STUCK
Have you tried a pneumatic fork? I find that they break any stuck joint eventually although adding some heat often helps.
Basically it is a pneumatic impact hammer typically used for concrete with a fork tool installed:
http://www.harborfreight.com/medium-barrel-air-hammer-with-chisel-69866.html
Fork:
http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-5-pc-pickle-fork-kit/p-00930308000P?prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2
Basically it is a pneumatic impact hammer typically used for concrete with a fork tool installed:
http://www.harborfreight.com/medium-barrel-air-hammer-with-chisel-69866.html
Fork:
http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-5-pc-pickle-fork-kit/p-00930308000P?prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2
I have my Fuel Injected Toronado. Life is good!
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- Years Owned: 1966 toronado owned since 1984!
Re: lower ball joints STUCK
Here's the best way to do this...... WOrks like a charm. With the suspension jacked up, wheel removed etc... take the cotter pin out of the ball joint. Loosen the nut about 4-5 turns. DO NOT support the lower arm as the torsion bars tension will help the joint come loose as its a big spring. Now put the ball joint spreader in the joint and give a few good taps with a heavy hammer. You will hear a big BANG and the joint will separate and the nut you loosened will be all that is keeping the arm from swinging down. You must now place the jack under the lower arm and jack up the arm to relieve the torsion bars tension. Once you do so you will now be able to completely loosen and remove the nut on the ball joint stud. Hope this helps! I do it all the time and works like a charm! WHY? If you have the lower arm jack up your relieving the tension on the suspension so the only force that can apply to separate the joint is whatever you are able to exhert on it with your spreader and hammer. But if you jack the car up from the frame the suspension will be under load (tension from the torsion bar) and this force will naturally want to separate the joint and thus adds a LOT of force to the equation! Been there done that! I too have struggled with this type of problem on other vehicles!
- xgecko
- Posts: 454
- Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2010 9:21 pm
- TOA Membership Number: 831
- Years Owned: My first Toronado was a 1968 W-34 with the bucket seats and center console... (weeps gently) It was a New England rustbucket in 1982 after less than 14 years. So sad. But it is what infected me and before I knew it I had another '68, a '69, a '70 and eventually inherited a friend's '67 and another friends '73. After buying my brand new Grand Prix in 1988 I retired the last of my Toronados and pulled the 455 I had rebuilt along the way and put it into storage in a friend's barn where it is to this day.
In Mid September of 2010 I happened to see a repeat of the show where Jay Leno did his 66 Toronado and had an instant remission of the disease which resulted in my purchase of a 1969 in very good condition. I am now in the process of fully rehabilitating it and hope to have it on the road in the spring of 2011. - Location: Gig Harbor, WA
Re: lower ball joints STUCK
Combine the above comment with my suggestion of using the pneumatic hammer and it will almost certainly pop apart. It might even go with just a few hammer taps as he suggests.
I have my Fuel Injected Toronado. Life is good!
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- Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2010 8:29 am
- TOA Membership Number: 839
- Years Owned: 1982 Chevrolet El Camino
1986 Pontiac Fiero
1966 Oldsmobile Toronado
Re: lower ball joints STUCK
Yeah, they were stuck on mine too... I used a balljoint separator, tightened as much as I could, then wailed on it with a mini-sledge... They both came off, but took some doin Great for getting out any pent up rage XD
TOA #839
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- Years Owned: - 1967 Toronado
- 1978 Eldorado
Re: lower ball joints STUCK
Where did you get the balljoints? Rock auto does not have them. For my 67
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- Posts: 475
- Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2010 8:29 am
- TOA Membership Number: 839
- Years Owned: 1982 Chevrolet El Camino
1986 Pontiac Fiero
1966 Oldsmobile Toronado
Re: lower ball joints STUCK
I got mine in a front suspension rebuild kit from Kanter:
http://www.kanter.com/catalog/content/O ... 86581.html
Down at the bottom there is the 66-72 Toro kit. Rebuilt my whole front end with that kit last winter, been holding up great so far...
http://www.kanter.com/catalog/content/O ... 86581.html
Down at the bottom there is the 66-72 Toro kit. Rebuilt my whole front end with that kit last winter, been holding up great so far...
TOA #839
- xgecko
- Posts: 454
- Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2010 9:21 pm
- TOA Membership Number: 831
- Years Owned: My first Toronado was a 1968 W-34 with the bucket seats and center console... (weeps gently) It was a New England rustbucket in 1982 after less than 14 years. So sad. But it is what infected me and before I knew it I had another '68, a '69, a '70 and eventually inherited a friend's '67 and another friends '73. After buying my brand new Grand Prix in 1988 I retired the last of my Toronados and pulled the 455 I had rebuilt along the way and put it into storage in a friend's barn where it is to this day.
In Mid September of 2010 I happened to see a repeat of the show where Jay Leno did his 66 Toronado and had an instant remission of the disease which resulted in my purchase of a 1969 in very good condition. I am now in the process of fully rehabilitating it and hope to have it on the road in the spring of 2011. - Location: Gig Harbor, WA
Re: lower ball joints STUCK
I concur. I got the Kanter kit and it is by far and away the best deal.
I have my Fuel Injected Toronado. Life is good!
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- Posts: 191
- Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2011 7:52 am
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- Years Owned: restoring a '66, have Moto Guzzi motorcycles, an Audi convertible and a bunch of other junk
- Location: Massachusetts/Rhode Island
Re: lower ball joints STUCK
I finally got the ball joint out of the lower A arm by sawzalling the spindle off, removing the old spindle / hub and drilling out the side and top rivets and then using a die grinder to remove the rest of the rivet heads on the inside of the arm.
The taper is still in the spindle. it may be there forever, but I'm putting disk brake spindles on so it does not matter.
This was after soaking it with PB blaster and heating with a torch occasionally since May, using a pickle fork with a hand sledge as well as a ball joint separator ( have been spending most of my garage time learning to weld by patching the floor pan)
I have loosened lots of stuck stuff in my time, but this was pretty far beyond what I have seen...
David
The taper is still in the spindle. it may be there forever, but I'm putting disk brake spindles on so it does not matter.
This was after soaking it with PB blaster and heating with a torch occasionally since May, using a pickle fork with a hand sledge as well as a ball joint separator ( have been spending most of my garage time learning to weld by patching the floor pan)
I have loosened lots of stuck stuff in my time, but this was pretty far beyond what I have seen...
David
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