Hi guys,
Changing a lower control arm and i've gotten stuck at the ball joint. the ball joint nut is rusted onto the bolt and the entire BJ is just rotating and not going anywhere.

i've tried heating it, pb blasting it, screaming at it and hitting the joint with a hammer but it's not going anywhere. the nut is seized tight to the bolt but i can turn the entire assembly by hand.

i've gotten everything else loose so the arm is just hanging by the ball joint- is there anything else i can do short of hacking it off?

can i wack it out of the socket with a hammer?

 

Cut it and be done......those little cutting tools or a chisel...you are replacing it so hurtung the ball joint stud is not an issue.

 

you mean hacksaw the arm itself or the ball joint bolt? i was hoping to reuse the old joint or is that not advisable?

 

Personally, if the "shaft" of the ball joint is spinning, it is telling you something.

I was talking about the nut on the shaft....a dremel (or whatever) to the nut and or start with a light tap on the nut and try again....you were "replacing" the arm, why not throw a new ball joint in. EDIT...or sometime an impact will do the trick...again please check the ball joint and replace if needed.

 

well- i pulled out my BFH and pounded on the arm a bit and it popped out eventually. my question now is, like i said above, what to do w/ the ball joint. the old one stayed with the knuckle... do i pull it out and replace it or just put the new control arm in. i know you are of the opinion that i should replace it but if it was just spinning with the bolt i don't see how i could have done any damage.

i'm not even sure how to get it out since all that's sticking out of the knuckle is the BJ bolt

 

Sorry, I'm getting confused...and I'm sure it is me.

I don't think you did the damage. I think time and that wore out the old one...if you ever tried to move a new ball joint or tie rod by hand, well you are stronger than me...most of the time on the new parts I need help getting the "stud" to move to the proper position so I can get it into the "tapered seat". So if the ball joint stud is spinning, it really sounds like it is worn out...

 

sorry, not being clear. it doesn't spin by itself - i have to wrench it. i can move the joint around obviously but i can't turn it by hand.

 

Your car should be on jack stands, so use your jack on the lower control arm. Lift up the lower control arm until the car just begins to lift off of the jack stand. The weight of the car should prevent the ball joint from spinning. Then try to use an impact wrench on the bolt to remove it.

 

yep - got the arm off but now the joint is stuck up in the wheel knuckle - how do you get yours out?

 

another question is the bolts themselves - should i really be using new bolts or can i just reuse the old ones?

if i do reuse the old ones should i be angle-tightning?

for example the manual says 60n + 90deg angle tighten
is that something you can do to a bolt the second time around?

thanks