Hey guys...I'm in the middle of a repair and need advice. I'll keep searching, but wanted to throw out there for any quick response.

Replacing control arms & air shocks. Driver's side went quick. Passenger side not so much. Can't get the lower arms out of the steering knuckle. Tried to press them, with no joy. Soaked them overnight with WD-40 and retried press (see pics)...no joy. I'm stuck. I got the other new parts back in, but I've got to have the knuckle. Any advice to get this thing out?



This is me trying to press it out while on the vehicle


I sprayed it with WD-40 and let it soak overnight, tried to repress...no joy

 

Do you have a compressor? Air hammer will rattle that off in a few seconds.

 

I do have a compressor, but no air hammer. I found a quote to invert the castle nut before pressing or hitting the bolt. Good tip, little late for me to find it. Now the threads won't let me put the castle nut on at all now. Great. Headed to find a thread repair

 

Even if you had the castle nut on it tends to deform and get stuck on the threads. I never use ball joint separators. Even if you don't have an air hammer hit where I've highlighted in red with a swing hammer usually works.



Another way to do this is lower the car with something under the control arm not sure that will work in your situation.

 

WD-40 won't work, use a penetrating oil and air hammer like shown above. Don't use anything on that stud if you don't want to be forced to replace it, since you already damaged the threads you may be screwed.

 

Abject Failure. Bought air hammer bit. No joy. Penetrating oil wait 4hrs. Try again. No joy. Got frustrated and took a grinder, cut the spindle in half since the arm was being replaced.


Castle nut did deform. Tried hitting on the side with no joy
Pressed out the ball joint, and ordered new ones. I have more damn trouble with that ball joint than anything else. My second time to press them out.

so prep question…thoughts on anti-seize on the ball joint spindle to prevent this next time or for the next guy?

 

Yeah......you are now buying a knuckle most likely, alum doesn't like to have stuff pressed in and out and it will likely be loose. Use anti-seize on everything you take apart and put back since you may be the next guy. Air hammer would have prevented this if used to start with, if you must hit a stud from above use a normal nut that is only 1/2 on the threads to guide the hammer bit/totally guard the threads. It is nearly impossible to hurt the threads if you do it that way

 

No guarantee this won't happen again. Next time hire a mechanic. They are better prepared to deal with difficult repairs like ball joints.

 

Yeah, air hammer did not work.

 

The main issue is due to the use of two dissimilar metals (aluminum and steel). Best to use anti-seize or even grease to provide a thin layer of "protection". I was able to press out both lower rearward arms with no problem. And I also pressed out and installed both ball joints. I placed a thin layer of grease on the inner part of the control arm and did the same on the ball joints.

 

Really SWFLA...That's your response...hire a mechanic? I did this changeout 60K miles ago and I knew what I was getting into and was 90% prepared to deal with problems. In this case I learned something for next time from good people (thanks go out to them). I had a problem and wasn't sure of all the options, so I asked. Appreciate the responses, but the help wasn't successful in my situation.

Know that every business is overcharging for services these days in the name of inflation, because they can. Lexus dealer wanted $8000 for air shocks/control arms replacement. WTF? Local mechanics wouldn't touch it for less than $4900 and I had to buy their marked up parts. I'd rather buy the parts for $1800 and try myself. Worst case, if the $25 ball joint I ordered turns out to be too loose, then I'll buy the $338 knuckle on eBay that comes with the ball joint and keep going. Compared to your "mechanic", all I lose is time, but still save a ton of money.

One of the great things about this site for all the years I've been on it is the good people helping each other. Now I could have gone about this differently, but I damn sure learned with the good help of others. Would it have hurt you so badly to not make a demeaning comment like "hire a mechanic" in a forum discussing DIY? Or are you one of those trolls that try to run people off good sites? Either way, thanks to everyone else

 

​​​​​​​Sounds like good advice...thanks

 

Sounds like good advice...I will

 

It will if you just use it properly, you need to shock around the whole taper fit area while lightly tapping the protected stud with a rubber dead blow. I have done literally 100s of ball-joints and they all are convinced to release with an air hammer no matter how badly stuck they seem at first

 

I like to use anti-sneeze mixed with Fluid Film. Side note: WD-40 is the worst penetrating oil and general lubricant ever made I'm baffled why people buy it.