Ball joint woes.......

Special K · 06-12-2002, 07:20 AM

Wanting to install my shiny new, PP purchased ball joints. Tried the "brass drift punch" to loosen the castlated lock ring on the bottom of the ball joint, no luck. Anyone know any other tricks for getting that SOB off?

jabb · 06-12-2002, 08:13 AM

The trick I have requires you replace the nuts.....
Get a dremel with the small cutoff wheel and cut at least 2 vertical slices throught the nut opposite each other.... Then
hit them with the punch they should come off..... Be careful not to cut into the Lower A arm

dman · dman's Garage

I soaked mine for a day or two with some Worth penetrating oil (great stuff!) and applied some heat with a small torch. Mine wouldn't move without heat. Good luck.

Special K · 06-12-2002, 08:22 AM

Hmmmmm.....Jabb's method would definitely work, but at $15.00 each, I think I'll try the 'heat' first and see what happens.

maf 914 · 09:14 AM

The Haynes manual shows how a Porsche special tool can be made to grab the grooved nut (as named in the Haynes Manual). When I removed mine I used a lesser known special Porsche tool, also known as a big pipe wrench. I placed a strip of scrap rubber around the nut to pad the teeth of the wrench jaws, tightened the jaws, applied force to the wrench handle, and that was it. It came off nicely. Very little marring of the nut surface. Strangely enough, you don't see many pipe wrenches in the Porsche garages? :-)

Another tool that might work is a strap type wrench, similar to a strap type oil filter wrench. I've seen these advertised on TV recently. I don't know if you can apply enough torque, but there would be less danger of marring the nuts.

Mike

jabb · 06-12-2002, 09:13 AM

I used heat and the Porsche tool but could not budge them, thats when I resorted to cutting the slices in them.... came off with no problem. Careful when you are pulling that you do not slip off the nut and inflict bodily damage to yourself it is tuff to get a lot of leverage if you are working on your back

Special K · 06-12-2002, 09:21 AM

I've got a Affeschlüssel ( Porsche monkey wrench) laying around somewhere. I think I'll soak it down with some liquid wrench and let it set until tomorrow and then give it another try. Just in case it's still won't budge, does anyone know some good German swear words?

maf 914 · 06-12-2002, 11:15 AM

Joe, your comment about bodily damage reminded me that I did suffer a bit during that task. The space is tight under the control arm. After the first set of bashed nuckles I put on a pair of leather work gloves. You can still get bruised, but it reduces the chance of cut and torn flesh! Yeow!

Mike

BenI · 06-12-2002, 12:20 PM

A big ass pipe wrench does wonders-chews up the outside of the nut a little though. I welded up a tool using box end rod as the lever and key stock to fit into the nut, but still needed the wrench to help work one loose.

philinjax · 06-12-2002, 01:02 PM

BenI,
I'm with you. I have used a 14" pipe wrench to remove and
replace the big castilated nuts on a bunch of struts. Works like a champ.
Phil

Jim Smolka · 06-12-2002, 06:17 PM

PP sells a socket that fits on the ball joint nut.
Also a good reason to buy that 3/4" impact wrench you always wanted with 800 Ft-Lbf of Torgue

Special K · 06-14-2002, 10:38 PM

Just to let you know, the BFMW did the trick with minimal gouging. A piece of 1"x12" pipe on the handle didn't hurt either!

Thanks once again guy's!!

Kevin Powers · 06-15-2002, 06:20 AM

how does one attach a pipe wrench to a torque wrench when you put them back on?

Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

With a welder!!

--DD

philinjax · 06-15-2002, 12:58 PM

When installing the ball joint castellated nut using a pipe wrench,
one must use a little common sense to judge the appropriate
torque, its called experience. I think most of us have that. After all, we are not talking about engine fasteners. How many of us ever used a torque wrench to tighten an axle nut or wheel lug nuts/bolts?
Phil

1bad914 · 06-15-2002, 03:42 PM

It's called farm torque! Do you think a farmer carries around a torque wrench? Naahh!!

Zeke · 06-15-2002, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dave at Pelican Parts
With a welder!!

--DD

Recently, you said you needed to *refresh* yours sense of humor, or something like that. I guess I need to refresh mine. That was a JOKE, wasn't it? I mean you wouldn't ruin a torque wrench by welding a cheater bar on it would you.

Kevin, find a pipe length with an ID a little bit larger than tha OD of your breaker bar to tighten high torque nuts/bolts. I think it was even DD who explained how to use your own known weight at the right point on the bar to achieve proper torque.

Kevin Powers · 05:41 PM

dave, i guess neither you or i will be getting any work as standup comedians. i thought my smiley with the hammer and yours with the grin were a clue to the mirth.

Zeke · 06-15-2002, 07:15 PM

No, but you guys will do OK on the BBS. I got caught sitting down stupid. Sorry.

Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

Don't worry, Zeke--it happens to all of us. (As was so recently obvious...

)

On a more serious note:
How many of us ever used a torque wrench to tighten an axle nut or wheel lug nuts/bolts?

I use a torque wrench on the lug bolts on my 914 and the lug nuts on my CRX. Every time, without fail. 95 lb-ft on the 914, 80 on the CRX. Those are fasteners that I want to be really sure are on there correctly. And over-tightened lug nuts on CRXes are known to help warp brake rotors. (Not sure about on 914s, but I don't want to find out the hard way.)

I haven't done the rear axle nuts yet, but those will get the "known weight and known length" treatment to torque them. (No, that wasn't me who explained it, BTW.)

...I only wish that the 914 manuals listed the torque for all of the fasteners instead of just the "more important" ones. That's another thing I really like about the Honda manuals; torque specs for just about everything!

Call me anal if you like.

--DD