Pickle fork or hammer technique?

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Going to be doing some suspension work and have seen both a pickle fork used or a hammer used on the side of the part to loosen ball joints/tie rod ends.

What seems to work best for you?
 
The pickle fork is basically guaranteed to rip the ball joint boots. Don't use one unless you're planning on replacing the joint/boot anyway.
 
Rebuilt the front end on my Toyota pickup this past Spring, and a pickle fork along with a 4 pound baby sledge was fast and easy work.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
Neither. Go rent the ball joint separation tool from AAP like I did and make your life easier.

Agreed, or just buy the one from Harbor Freight that looks like this one. I've used it to separate large ball joints on my BMW that hadn't been dissembled in 20 years. It worked just fine:
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Once upon a time I was replacing CV joint boots on a 2002 or 2004 Buick Century , Which necessitates pulling the half shaft .

( Caught the problem soon after the boots split and it had just began to sling grease . The CV joints were still OK . :) )

I found this to be easier if I took the tie rod end off the spindle . One came loose using a hammer . ended up using a pickle fork on the other side . Naturally I messed up the rubber boot .

Being cheap , I did not wish to purchase a new tie rod end just to get the new boot . I did some internet searching & found NAPA had a new boot in stock , separately . Problem solved .

But , while using the hammer , I had screwed the castle nut back on the ball joint shaft / stud & pounded on the nut . Well , I had messed up the thread at the top of the " castle " .

Had to wait until the next day and purchase a new castle nut at a nut & bolt store .

Best of luck to you all , :)
 
You can rent those balljoint removers at Autozone and simply return them when you're done. Just don't expect anything to exotic.
 
Originally Posted By: exranger06
I've had really good luck loosening tie rod ends using a pitman arm puller. You can sometimes use them for ball joints too.
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Heh heh, compared to a 2 LB hammer That IS exotic
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I'm a pickle fork user. Its always worked better and with less pounding than any other method. My experience with the puller-type separators is that they usually bend and pop off.
 
Originally Posted By: kschachn
Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
Neither. Go rent the ball joint separation tool from AAP like I did and make your life easier.

Agreed, or just buy the one from Harbor Freight that looks like this one. I've used it to separate large ball joints on my BMW that hadn't been dissembled in 20 years. It worked just fine:
2708.jpg



I had one like that, snapped after about 10 uses. I did really crank it down. My suggestion is as it starts getting tight(and after each rotation) strike it hard with a hammer, or an impact. The compression and impact will release even the worst stuck joints.
 
Originally Posted By: ford46guy
I had one like that, snapped after about 10 uses. I did really crank it down. My suggestion is as it starts getting tight(and after each rotation) strike it hard with a hammer, or an impact. The compression and impact will release even the worst stuck joints.

Well you should strike/tap the ball joint head, not the tool. Sometimes that releases it with very little pressure from the separator.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
Neither. Go rent the ball joint separation tool from AAP like I did and make your life easier.


I agree with this but the hammer approach may be even better for parts looking to be reused.
 
If you end up forking anything try using a pneumatic air chisel with a $10 HF separator on it. We beat a couple hours on a gmc steering arm with a pickle and finally a pipe and 10 lb sledge. 5-10 minutes hammering while tapping on it and the rusty thing just popped right off. And it was a very wimpy HF air hammer I used to boot. Makes the job so much easier........
 
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+1,000

I bought this one for $20.00 at Harbor Freight. At the time I bought it they had a coupon special that also included a free multi-meter. I don't know if the meter is any good as I put it away and never used it but the deal sure is great. I've used the Harbor Freight ball joint remover on ball joints and tie rod ends. I think it's really been money well spent.
 
I will use the pickle fork when I don't want to reuse the joint and the hammer method when I don't want the boot torn up. I'll sometimes spray a little Blaster on the tapered part and this seems to make a tough joint come out easier. I'll whack the steering knuckle itself.
 
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So really you just whack the steering knuckle/lower control arm as hard as you can numerous times until it pops free?
 
Like mentioned earlier, a cheap air hammer with the pickle fork adaptors works wonders. Multiple mini-blows just rattle it apart with minimal damage to the boot. I'll never use a hammer again.
 
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