When I was replacing right UCA, I used the pulman tool to separate the upper ball joint from the steering knuckle. However, the pulman barely did anything as it was holding by less than a hair and kept slipping off. It was so frustrating to use the damn thing, but luckily I noticed that the joint separated - my feeling was it would have separated if I just gave it a mean look....

So today I wanted to do my left side UCA and didn't rent the pulman tool, thinking - I will just give it a tap or two with a hammer. Well, I have been hitting the damn thing for half an hour and it would not separate!
I even jacked up the suspension a little, or a lot, to try and get the angle right so that it just slides out, and nothing. It's as if it is welded in there. I really don't get it. I mean, to put in the new arm, you just slide it in. But to pull it out, even banging it with a hammer, it will not budge.

Finally I just gave up and put the whole thing together without replacing it. I will rent the pulman tomorrow, but I am not sure how it will work when it really has nothing to grab onto.

Have others experienced the same problem with the pulman not having enough there to grab and hold? Mine literally has a hair, it is not even a 1/32 of an inch. If the tool was a little narrower it would be a lot better. BTW I rent it from O'reilly.

 

if you are cool with tools, take the knuckle together with the UCA off. You will need to take the caliper and speed sensor off. Then you can smack the heck out of the UCA with a hammer. It is a 5min job if you have tools.

 

Try spraying some silicone on it. I did not have a problem when I was changing my shocks, it is a tight fit like you said but you just have to position the tool correctly.

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You have to hit te knuckle like a beast and it will just pop out. Don't hit the ball joint or the threads, just the cast knuckle. Try it with a small sledge hammer if needed. I have used this technique my entire life and never had one not pop out. Just takes some real oomph sometimes lol.

 

When I installed my coilovers I bought this from HF

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-4-qua...tor-99849.html

but had trouble with it grabbing on enough so I grinded down the inside to get it more into the balljoint and it worked like a charm. You could always use the pitchfork seperator kind and just hammer at it

 

Rent the tool again and take your time when placing it on before tightening it. Now that I think about it the damn thing kept slipping just like you mentioned but once I got it on there it came right off. FYI it was the same one in the pic above.

 

Yup, that's the tool I used last time. I will try it again this weekend.
Thanks for all the suggestions, I hope I don't have to take the whole thing out and bang the heck out of it.

 

spray penetrating lubricant (pb blaster), put some tension on the joint using the tool pictured above, and hit the knuckle (not the tool) in between the tool with a hammer. the shock should separate the stubborn joint.

i usually keep the castle nut in place but loosened so the joint doesn't fully separate immediately, hitting me in the face! don't put the tool on the castle nut however.

hammer the red spot!

 

1- go to autozone
2- rent/buy puller 27022
3- use it
4- thank me.

 

He said that what he used PD in lexls pic above.

 

he said he used the harbor freight press, which won't work for the UBJ. Neither will other similar pullers to the lexls pic as the opening is too wide.

The one I mentioned, specifically, works perfectly fine on LS400 UBJs.

 

^^^^ Ok, I bought that puller from autozone so I guess that's why I did not have too much of a problem with my UBJ.

 

I've used a better version of the harbour freight tool on my UBJ and it worked perfectly fine....
This is like mine:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/att...icture073.jpeg
I think I even detailed it in the coil over install how-to I did (that PD keeps forgetting to put in the FAQ )

It helps to run the nut down so the tip if the bolt is flush with the top of the nut.
Also helps to use a hammer to get the puller a little deeper onto the top of the knuckle.

If that doesn't work, there is a little nipple on one edge.corner of the knuckle. Strike that with a BFH and it will pop the joint. You don't need to hit it more than once or beat the living hell out of the knuckle. One good strike is all you need, just don't be a f'ing pansy... hit it like a f'ing man!

 

I just found that local Napa has exact same part and was going to ask if anyone has tried it! So, I will be getting it today.
BTW, Shmee have you tried using the same tool for lower ball joints? I would imagine it should work right?
I appreciate all the other input, and was going to get the Autozone tool, but the nearest autozone is some 40 minutes away, one way, so that's 1.5 hrs... and Napa is only around the corner from me.

Thanks!

 

It'll work for any balljoint situation as long as you can fit it on there good enough, I used mine again the other day when I changed out the rear toe arms.