[Karim]

Hi

I'm not averse to paying a mechanic to do the work for me, but if I can save £50 doing a job myself in a couple of hours I'm willing to do it.

I got the drivers side done for £50. I was a bit short sighted and didnt do the other side, and I need an alignment done on the car and putting it off because I know soon the nearside balljoint will go.

I watch two mechanics hammer away with those big 2KG hammers to get the ball joint off, effing and blinding a bit. I dont have the fork, or lump hammer or the ball joint press or any other tool.

Wanting to know if there is a single cheap tool I can but to pop the ball joint out and replace it. I think there was an issue of holding the ball joint in one place so the nut can be unscrewed off.

Is it a faff and better off paying £50 to do the other side?

 

[ttg4l]

If you go at the nut on the top with an open ended wrench, the nut will eventually touch the driveshaft. Keep turning the nut and the force of that pressing against the shaft should pop the ball joint out of its hole. Then you can grab the bit that gets pushed out the bottom with vice grips and keep undoing the nut all the way.

Alternatively, pop the end of the shaft out of the hub and you can put an allen key into the top of the ball join to hold it while you undo it. This way would require the fork or a big hammer to separate the ball joint though.

 

[adam-]

Remember that if the nut is tight it'll pop the ball joint out first and it'll spin and you'll have to jack the arm to put it back into the hub.

They can be an arse, needing a torch, jack, etc.

 

[Karim]

Arrgh, too cold for all this. I'll order the part and pay a mechanic to do it.

 

[adam-]

If you don't have a large array of tools, £50 is actually not too bad.