s13 rear knuckle removal question

[dropkickmuppet]

i'm pulling the rear knuckles of my s13, and converting to the z32 aluminum version to save some unsprung weight. i've got the RUCA/knuckle, shock spindle/knuckle and toe arm/knuckle bolts out no problem. hit the lower control arm nut with an impact wrench and it came right off -- but i cant seem to pull the knuckle off the lower control arm? am i missing something? i thought it would pull right off, but i can't even seem to knock it off with a deadblow hammer.

also, while i've got the knuckle off, should i go ahead and replace the ball joints on the control arm? i know the front ones seem to go bad, but i haven't read much about the rears and i'm new to 240s. i'm already thinking that this would be a good time to do most of the bushings in the rear end while i've got it apart.

[projectRDM]

Rear ball joints are not offered unless you buy the entire arm.

Get a ball joint press tool to get it out.

[SirWarrior]

mine were on there pretty good too.
I just hit it a few times, came out pretty easy once i positioned the knuckle right.

[dropkickmuppet]

nobody carries press type ball joint removal tools around here. i did pick up a tie rod seperator/ball joint removal tool, hopefully that'll take care of it.

[projectRDM]

Don't tear the boot.

[dropkickmuppet]

ha, right. the boots were torn before i even started working on the rear end of the car. right now, i'm planning on replacing pretty much every single bushing under the car, since most of them are pretty rotted.

[jy116]

man, im havinn the same prob on my front tie rod end ball joint. I got the seperator from AutoZone and its just a wedged fork thing. I hammered it in as good as I can, sprayed some penetrating oil, used rubber mallet, and hammer... neither works. Im thinking I might need a bigger hammer? But dont want to damage the steering rack :/

SirWarrior, how did you position the ball joint seperator relative the the knuckle? Or did you hit the knuckle itself?

[kandyflip445]

Keep hammering. Hard. It will "pop" off.

[dropkickmuppet]

put a length of steel pipe over the handle end of the fork, and then hit the pipe. thats how i finally got mine off. its easier to hit the 1" diameter pipe than the thin handle of the seperator tool, so you'll hit it harder. you can also get a better angle with it for a more powerful swing.

[jy116]

MAN! its soooo simple [for tie rod end removal at least]! Remove cotter pin, loosen the bolt 1cm above the origianl position, hammer down on the nut. It will pop down 1cm afte ru hit it hard. SUPER EASY!

SCREW THOSE STUPID BALL JOINT SEPERATORS! That wedged fork thing just tore up my boot [more] and put 2 dents on the the ball joint seat where it was wedged in!!!