I'm in the middle of the shock install I started last night, and of course I can't get the ball joint on the spindle and upper A-arm to seperate. Does anyone have any good methods for doing this? I saw the pickel fork method on JMX's install page, wondering if there was anything else (otherwise I'll have to go out and find a place that sells them).

 

A good solid whack with a hammer on the knuckle, where the shaft of the ball joint goes through, should seperate it.

 

Just get a pickle fork, you are less likely to break anything, and it works great.

Tommy

 

I have yet to not tear a grease boot with a pickle fork.

Trust me ... a solid whack on the beefy part of the knuckle will not not tear anything up. Now don't use a 10lb sledge ... but a 2lb hammer will pop it loose

 

hammer it a few times... you won hurt it..

 

I tried a pickle fork first, but It did not work. I then hit it once with a hammer as stated above and it popped right off.

 

I was whacking it with a rubber mallet last night, but I'll give the hammer a shot, and see if the sharper blow helps it a bit. But I also went over to autozone at lunch and rented their pickel fork for good measure.

 

A rubber hammer absorbs a lot of the impact and makes it less effective. Trust me a whack with a solid hammer (not a nail driving hammer either), a big meaty headed hammer will knock it free.

 

The hammer method is best for the upper, pickle forks don't seem to fit nicely on the upper ball joint.

 

BFH does it without effort.

 

I left my forks and hammers in the toolbox for my front shock install.

https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspension-brakes/116793-f-bod-front-spring-shock-how.html

 

I can do mine without seperateing the ball joints.

 

Sure.

 

Seriously. All you have to do is unbolt the upper shock tower bolts and the lower two on the shock, flex the lower a-arm down a little and the upper bolts will pull away from the top, then you can rotate the upper a-arm to the rear and slide the shock assembly out between the lower a-arm and brake line. Easy as cake, don't make it harder than it is. Goes in just as easy.

 

Seriously. All you have to do is unbolt the upper shock tower bolts and the lower two on the shock, flex the lower a-arm down a little and the upper bolts will pull away from the top, then you can rotate the upper a-arm to the rear and slide the shock assembly out between the lower a-arm and brake line. Easy as cake, don't make it harder than it is. Goes in just as easy.

 

Sorry, I misread you post to say "Can I do mine without removing the balljoints". I was saying "sure". Because that is the way I do them. I wasn't doubting you, the post glitch77 listed is how I told him to do it (the same as you).

 

Awsome! Just misinterpreted the "sure"

 

why use a pickle fork when you could use a balljoint seperator (aka pitman puller)

 

That is what I used...pickel fork was just the nickname for it.

 

no, pickle fork is the piece w/ two prongs that you wedge in between the two pieces and wedge the two apart. a pitman arm puller is more like a pulley puller type piece. It's got two arms that lock onto the piece w/o the balljoint in it, and a bolt that pushes against the end of the balljoints stud to pull the one piece off the other.