What am I doing wrong here? I'm trying to remove the lower ball joint from my T100. I've got a pitman arm puller clamped to it and as you can see the puller does not push the bolt far enough to slide the thing out. Should I remove the lower control arm? or is there a trick that I'm not getting?

 

OK I'm not understanding how to post pictures here. . Here it is on my Album https://www.yotatech.com/members/rec...-img-2920.html

 

The 4 bolts on the LBJ are out? It looks like they are which is good. You should be able to lift the upper suspension arm and the steering knuckle a bit to pop the LBJ out.

Take a look at the FSM in my sig if you are not using the FSM as the guide.

Here it is for a 4Runner, but yours will be very similar:
http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/1996/SIL/.../flbj/remo.pdf

 

When I got to that point I unbolted the lower end of the shock from the control arm and use a bottle jack between the upper and lower arm to spread them apart. Came apart and went back together like butter. The lower control arm was able to droop another 3 inches or so after the shock was unfastened.

 

Thanks guys, I'll try spreading the upper and lower arms. If I can figure out how with just one jack. Either way, I'll try disconnecting the shock and seeing if I can get more play.

 

U dont nees a second jack.... lidt the truck, and place on jackstands... allow both control arms to fully droop.... seperate lbj w a pickle fork, unbolt 4 bolts, then use a long pry bar, or 3"diamter tree/branch to pry the lower control arm far enough to remove the lbj :-)

 

Ok, It pretty much fell out when I un-bolted the shock. Mental note for the next side: Do not unbolt both upper and lower joints together unless you want the rotor to come crashing down on your toes :p

 

glad it turned out ok. Unbolting the shock helps a lot.

 

Use photobucket to host your pics.
Copy and paste the [I mg] code into your post

 

Much thanks, I'll do that next time.
Everyone responding was very helpful. I've learned a lot about with first BJ job (LOL!) Tomorrow the other side will go much smoother thanks to everyone's help

Peace

 

So issues with mine is the lower ball joint is spinning with the but that keep me from taking it off the lower control arm...suggestions? I was thinking about cutting it cause I don't need the part any more but it's on there pretty tight...and I don't have anything to cut it with...

 

Well the only thing I could think of that would help would be to rest the rotor (wheel off) on a jackstand to put some load on the bj then try loosening the castle nut. Make sure it's on the jackstand securely, I did this last time and it worked well. Maybe having the vehicles weight on it will cause enough pressure to keep it from spinning.

The lower bj I did the other day was the original, and the castle nut was not going anywhere! I ended up cutting it off with my sawzall. I used one of the Milwaukee "The torch" blades being careful not to touch the knuckle and got it cut off in about 3 minutes.

 

My LBJ was seized into the knuckle... i had to remove the knuckle and use a 2-jaw puller to "push" the LBJ out of the knuckle... what a PIA....

 

borrowed someones sawzal but...the blades went dull...it's a chicago saw i wonder if other blades will fit it...

 

most likely they will. reciprocating saws don't really have different types of blade shanks these days (like a jigsaw would have). cutoff wheel on an angle grinder is probably faster though

 

see if my dad has one...

 

If you use a grinder with a cut off wheel and don't have much experience be careful to keep the blade and cut nice and straight. When those things break they can be very dangerous. Use safety glasses!

 

I bought some for that reason lol.
Looks like I won't be using the grinder though since it's rusted tight...bent the tool and broke another one trying to get the bottom off...-_O

I took off the lower half of the ball joint off with a sawzal but I can't hammer it out. I am not cutting the top end. The bottom end was so thick! It took me...a good 45mins of off and on cutting since I am in an awkward position. I would have to say persistence is key in this situation...I just hope I can get all this done by tomorrow...Would like to go on this LA trip ha.