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#1
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'88 Legend Coupe lower ball joint removal
Hello all,
I've had my '88 2dr 5spd for 7 years now and have done almost all my own work on it. I don't have much experience with suspension work, however, and now it's time to dive in. I need to replace the front axles, and I figure I might do the shocks since I'm in there already. (They don't seem too bad, but they are original.) Anyhow, I'm having trouble separating the ball joints from the lower arm. These were replaced a couple of years ago, so I'm trying not to trash them. The shop manual talks about a gear puller on lugs on the arm, but they always seem to slip off. I also tried a puller with the arms seated on the top of the arm, outside the boot. But it's very difficult to keep the puller straight, and it still seems to pull off at the slightest provokation. I got frightened I was going to tear some parts up in a serious way trying this method. Seems like maybe a lever type ball joint remover might do the trick, but the biggest jaws on these seem to be about 22mm. Using a caliper, I found that the smallest jaw that would fit easily without forcing it under the boot is about 30mm. I'm a bit afraid to try to ram anything under that boot! Also I hear about various ways to separate the works with creative use of a hammer, but this seems dubious when separating good parts. I know this can't be that impossible, so obviously I'm just missing the secret trick. Any suggestions? Thanks, Ryan |
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#2
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'88 Legend Coupe lower ball joint removal
Ryan Biggs wrote:
> Hello all, > > I've had my '88 2dr 5spd for 7 years now and have done almost all my > own work on it. I don't have much experience with suspension work, > however, and now it's time to dive in. I need to replace the front > axles, and I figure I might do the shocks since I'm in there already. > (They don't seem too bad, but they are original.) > > Anyhow, I'm having trouble separating the ball joints from the lower > arm. These were replaced a couple of years ago, so I'm trying not to > trash them. The shop manual talks about a gear puller on lugs on the > arm, but they always seem to slip off. I also tried a puller with the > arms seated on the top of the arm, outside the boot. But it's very > difficult to keep the puller straight, and it still seems to pull off > at the slightest provokation. I got frightened I was going to tear > some parts up in a serious way trying this method. > > Seems like maybe a lever type ball joint remover might do the trick, > but the biggest jaws on these seem to be about 22mm. Using a caliper, > I found that the smallest jaw that would fit easily without forcing it > under the boot is about 30mm. I'm a bit afraid to try to ram anything > under that boot! Also I hear about various ways to separate the works > with creative use of a hammer, but this seems dubious when separating > good parts. > > I know this can't be that impossible, so obviously I'm just missing > the secret trick. Any suggestions? > > Thanks, > Ryan yes, go to tegger.com and look at the tools this job requires. he's got pics. they're not too expensive and don't ruin your boots. |
#3
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'88 Legend Coupe lower ball joint removal
Excellent resource! I haven't been able to track down your premium
tool, but the FAQ points out the obivious solution of grinding down the jaws of one of the cheaper tools... If anyone else has some bright ideas feel free to point them out... -R On Mon, 27 Mar 2006 16:46:29 -0800, jim beam > wrote: >tegger.com |
#4
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'88 Legend Coupe lower ball joint removal
Ryan Biggs wrote:
> Excellent resource! I haven't been able to track down your premium > tool, but the FAQ points out the obivious solution of grinding down > the jaws of one of the cheaper tools... > > If anyone else has some bright ideas feel free to point them out... > > -R > > > On Mon, 27 Mar 2006 16:46:29 -0800, jim beam > > wrote: > > >>tegger.com > > generic tools are perfectly usable in this situation. google "ball joint separator". i wouldn't grind anything down unless it's absolutely necessary, and in this case, it's not. |
#5
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'88 Legend Coupe lower ball joint removal
jim beam > wrote in
t: > Ryan Biggs wrote: >> Excellent resource! I haven't been able to track down your premium >> tool, but the FAQ points out the obivious solution of grinding down >> the jaws of one of the cheaper tools... >> >> If anyone else has some bright ideas feel free to point them out... >> >> -R >> >> >> On Mon, 27 Mar 2006 16:46:29 -0800, jim beam > >> wrote: >> >> >>>tegger.com >> >> > generic tools are perfectly usable in this situation. google "ball > joint separator". i wouldn't grind anything down unless it's absolutely > necessary, and in this case, it's not. > The OTC tool was a bit tight to go neatly around the boot enough for me to feel comfortable with its "bite". It fit fine around the steering tie-rod boot, though. I'm sure the Honda tool fits perfectly. Of course. If you open up the jaw, you don't have to take much off, and you have to make sure you smooth it all off after so as not to risk cutting the boot with sharp edges. -- TeGGeR® The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ www.tegger.com/hondafaq/ |
#6
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'88 Legend Coupe lower ball joint removal
On 28 Mar 2006 01:49:46 GMT, "TeGGeR®" > wrote:
>The OTC tool was a bit tight to go neatly around the boot enough for me to >feel comfortable with its "bite". It fit fine around the steering tie-rod >boot, though. > >I'm sure the Honda tool fits perfectly. Of course. > >If you open up the jaw, you don't have to take much off, and you have to >make sure you smooth it all off after so as not to risk cutting the boot >with sharp edges. Yeah, this was my concern. A little light working with a dremel grinder would probably do the trick. I understand the hesitation to go grinding on a highly stressed puller like this though. Looks like Stahlwille has some of the right jaw size, if I can find a US distributor... Any other tricks for using these other than those listed in tegger.com, or just slide 'em on and crank? -R |
#7
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'88 Legend Coupe lower ball joint removal
Ryan Biggs wrote:
> On 28 Mar 2006 01:49:46 GMT, "TeGGeR®" > wrote: > > > >>The OTC tool was a bit tight to go neatly around the boot enough for me to >>feel comfortable with its "bite". It fit fine around the steering tie-rod >>boot, though. >> >>I'm sure the Honda tool fits perfectly. Of course. >> >>If you open up the jaw, you don't have to take much off, and you have to >>make sure you smooth it all off after so as not to risk cutting the boot >>with sharp edges. > > > > Yeah, this was my concern. A little light working with a dremel > grinder would probably do the trick. I understand the hesitation to go > grinding on a highly stressed puller like this though. Looks like > Stahlwille has some of the right jaw size, if I can find a US > distributor... > > Any other tricks for using these other than those listed in > tegger.com, or just slide 'em on and crank? > > -R generously oil the threads, but not the forks! |
#8
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'88 Legend Coupe lower ball joint removal
On Mon, 27 Mar 2006 18:13:44 -0800, jim beam >
wrote: > >generously oil the threads, but not the forks! Makes good sense; thanks a million guys! -R |
#9
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'88 Legend Coupe lower ball joint removal
Found one that looks like Princess Auto's on eBay for $29. Guess I'll
be getting that one and taking the grinder to it. The ones from Stahlwille look perfect, but at $150+ are a little steep unless the cheap solution fails utterly... Hope things work out. Thanks again. -R |
#10
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'88 Legend Coupe lower ball joint removal
Ryan Biggs wrote:
> > Found one that looks like Princess Auto's on eBay for $29. Guess I'll > be getting that one and taking the grinder to it. The ones from > Stahlwille look perfect, but at $150+ are a little steep unless the > cheap solution fails utterly... Hope things work out. Thanks again. > > -R --------------------------- The one you showed the eBay link for is IDENTICAL to the Princess Auto version ( http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/disconnect.html ). One thing you should know: Grind a little groove where the tip of the screw touches the other half. It will keep it from torqueing sideways when you start tightening. I noticed some of the finer ones have a groove there. 'Curly' |
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