I am trying to replace the right rear knuckle that has the wheel bearing in it. To do this the ball joints from the suspension arms need to be removed. I was able to remove the upper arm ball joint and the lower arm ball joint (the one closest to the front of the car. But my problem is that the rear lower arm ball joint that is closest to the rear of the car I cannot get off. This is the arm that the bottom of the shock is mounted to. I cant use the pitman arm remover (not enough room and it keeps slipping when I try to tighten it up) and the just bought a $30 set of forks from Craftsman and they didn't help either. I am not worried about preserving the ball joint. I just want to replace this knuckle for a used one I bought that still has a good wheel bearing. Anyone know how to remove that ball joint. Or any tips. Its the right lower rear ball joint closest to the rear of the car. Thanks. I have tried this 3 different times and its very frustrating.

 

Once you find a way to release the stress by removing the shock and or propping up the hub then with a little tension from the pitman not too tight that i slips take a 2lb hammer and extension and hit the bolt till it comes out of the hub connection.

 

get the biggest sledge you can comfortably swing with accuracy...

I use a 5 pounder...

hit the knuckle in the exact spot on the side that the ball joint goes through... no need for pitman tools, pickle forks or any of that BS...

it helps if you can push up on the hub, and use the shock to push down on the LCA at the same time... this is how I remove all ball joints... one or two good, accurate hits is all it takes... do not hit the ball joint itself, hit the side of the knuckle...

 

Make damn sure that the car is securely on four jack stand and not on just a jack when you do this. Unless you have access to a car lift like Cody

 

yup... always a good idea