s14 LCA wont come off spindle

[chlatboy]

Okay so heres the problem i have. Went to West co nissan. They told me my LCA ball joint was messed up. LCA was ball joint wasnt threaded all teh way down causing wheel to wobble. Said i needed new LCA and charged me 470. I said hell no and decided to change it myself.

Problem I have now is that I cant take the nut off hte top of the ball joint. When i try to remove it, the whole ball joint assembly turns (bolt and half way threaded nut. Just so you get a visual. Half of the hole where the safety pin goes through is visible. I tried jacking up the LCA to push the balljoint into the spindle in hopes that it would work but nothing. Even tried using my compressor and an impact wrench and no good. I cant fit a torque wrench in there so im out of ideas.

Anyone have anything in mind?

[krappy]

you have to use a ball joint seperator and a hammer to knock it out.....

[chlatboy]

when you say knock it out, what are you referring to. I need to get the top nut off before i can knock out the LCA. Im having trouble with the bolt and nut spinning together.

[xdumbxguyx]

cut the nut of witha cutoff wheel

[johngriff]

You need better air/impact gun like what they have at West Covina Nissan. It will come right off. That is the only way to get it off.

Are you replacing the whole LCA, or just the ball joint? Pressing the ball joint in and out requires a press and a ball joint press kit, which is expensive.

Ball joint kit at harbor freight is $100. Press? $200, ball joint $40, labor.. your time spent online... then hammering that upright off (oh... its a party). Believe me, you would be so much better off going back to the dealer.

[chlatboy]

replacing the whole LCA. Not just the ball joint. I just wanna get the LCA off but the nut it not budging. Worse comes to worse ill just grind it off.

[projectRDM]

Slip the boot all the way down and vice grip it tight, then go to town. If that doesn't work, sawzall it off from below the spindle. You can get a good $20 easily for the LCA even without a ball joint so don't damage it.

[SochBAT]

Freaking Chlat.

You shoulda asked me. The same shit happened. Threaded it up as high as possible, push the living shit outta the LCA, get some kinda vice in the piece, and breaker bar that bitch.

The ball joint itself is still spinning around whilst wrenching, just isolate the movement, and you're gold.

Chlat is actually @ Lowes or something right now, lets see if i can monkey it off before he gets home.

*Edit* He got it off by grinding the bolt on the balljoint off. the knuckle is slightly jagged now. He FUBAR'd the bolt that holds onto the balljoint, thats why he's at lowes.

[chlatboy]

okay, another problem i have. LCA does not come with a nut. What size nut and thread patter will i need to find that will fit the top of the ball joint?

[projectRDM]

IIRC, M12x1.25. I can czech tomorrow.

[DriFTech]

use a torch and torch the nut off.. it'd be way faster than a grinder... make sure you don't blow anything up and have a buddy with a fire xtinguisher next to you... and make sure you dont fuck up the spindle itself which is hard to. We do a lotta this stuff at my work place... IF you're not comfortable with a torch.. then yea, grinder is the best thing... gotta cut it off.

GOOd luck.