How to remove LCA from upright on S14?

[chuonthis]

So I took off the stock rear LCA and upright together, connected at the ball joint. Took off the cotter pin and 22mm nut. Hammered the stud a hundred times (with the nut flush at the top) and it's not coming apart. Any tips?

Also, it's weird that there is almost no definitive information about swapping in the Z32 uprights on an S14. Just to make sure, you don't need the conical insert like you do for an S13 right? *Everything* is bolt-on except for the shock mount?

Thanks for the help.

[5t341tH]

hit harder. or u can get a balljoint seperator. that works but i've never used it, to tell u the truth

[SlideWell]

yeah, buy an FSM, Factory Service Manual.

[MrMcgarrett]

Hit the upright around the balljoint not the ball joint itself. You can damage the threads.
You do need the insert.

[irax]

hit harder. or u can get a balljoint seperator. that works but i've never used it, to tell u the truth

I have, and it works GREAT! :snoop:

[slidewaysmn]

Hit the spindle, where the bolt from the ball joint goes through, to break it loose, if that doesnt work, get a pickle fork..or a ball joint separator.

[thefro526]

I've found out that when you use a pickle for to separate ball joints you run a high risk of damaging the ball joint boot. I guess if you're careful and knock it out on the first hit then you're good. Other than that go to your local advanced auto or autozone and they should be able to loan you or sell you the tool you'll need to do it right.

[projectRDM]

Yes, the conical insert is required for both S13 and S14.

[Ninjabread]

Doing tie rods or ball joint, I've NEVER needed a pickle fork, even on rusty 240sx that had original ball joints of 180 miles stuck on there.

Just hit the spindle there the stud for the bj goes through. Should come out easy.

[Bumnah]

thread the castle nut on flush with the end of the ball joint. grab a 4 lbs hammer and go to town. with the castle nut sitting flush against the ball joint you minimize your chances of mushrooming the ball joint.

[s13boy89]

just get a bfh and go to town the ball joint separator never worked for me it just messed up my ball joint

[projectRDM]

thread the castle nut on flush with the end of the ball joint. grab a 4 lbs hammer and go to town. with the castle nut sitting flush against the ball joint you minimize your chances of mushrooming the ball joint.

But you can easily crown it enough to seize the nut on the stud. I've done that a dozen times before buying the right tool. Now I always use a proper ball joint splitter, one that threads down and presses the stud out. If you're not reusing it you can beat it to hell but otherwise there's no need risking it. You can buy a whole front end service tool kit on Ebay for like $70 that comes with 5-6 nice splitting tools for all types of rod ends and ball joints. As shown here: eBay Motors: PITMAN ARM BALL JOINT FRONT END SERVICE REMOVER KIT (item 330274026771 end time Oct-01-08 20:15:28 PDT) (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PITMAN-ARM-BALL-JOINT-FRONT-END-SERVICE-REMOVER-KIT_W0QQitemZ330274026771QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item3 30274026771&_trkparms=72%3A727%7C39%3A1%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245)

All your friends will want to borrow it, charge them $5, pay for it in a month. You can even press the ball joint out of a control arm on the car.

[SoSideways]

Or you could rent the tool from Autozone.

I rented it but never used it.

[chuonthis]

Thanks everyone.

I've been hitting it with the nut at the top but I guess my hammers just aren't "big freakin" enough. Haven't tried hitting the spindle on the side of the hole though. That might help to loosen it up.

Anyway, I'm gonna go pick up this separator from Harbor Freight (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=99849) after work. Hope it does its job, at least for my two ball joints. Then I can throw it away. Seems safer than the fork-style separator.

[ae13bravo]

Good luck!

[upSLIDEdown]

I have good luck hitting the actual upright around the ball joint. It shocks the hole enough to let it come out, and you don't have to worry about messing up the threads, or as Russ said, seizing the nut on the ball joint, which I've also done a few times. Smack the knuckle hard, and if possible, use a pry bar under the tc rod to pry down on the LCA while you do it.

[sillyvia13]

whack it with a hammer with nut on threads like 5 threads deep... so if you hit it by accident it kinda safe BUT YOU DONT HIT IT AT ALL! hit the cast part below it...
pm me for more info if needed... lol

hammer on cast as hard as you can, get postal on it! its on there... lol

[upSLIDEdown]

whack it with a hammer with nut on threads like 5 threads deep... so if you hit it by accident it kinda safe BUT YOU DONT HIT IT AT ALL! hit the cast part below it...
pm me for more info if needed... lol

hammer on cast as hard as you can, get postal on it! its on there... lol

What he said. I forgot to mention that. I do still put the nut on , just incase I miss the cast knuckle and hit the ball joint. That was it doesn't booger the threads up if you do hit it.

[On2]

I used a pickle fork. That was easy, but my boots are shit now. :(

[chuonthis]

Went to Harbor Freight and they didn't carry that separator in stores, online only. Boo. Checked Sears but they only have that type of separator online too. Bought a bigger freakier hammer though.

Whacked the sides a bit with said new hammer, then whacked the top. Both came out no problem. Got everything bolted back up but getting rubbing noises now. I think it might be my brake pads or brake shields since I bent them during the process.

Oh well, I'll work on that tonight. Thanks for the help everyone!

[sillyvia13]

when in doubt big fucking hammer!
Ball Pien is my pick! sp?

yea I removed shields... my are NH rusty!