Control arm wont let go of the spindle. Everything is disconnected only thing keeping the spindle on is the control arm. Bolt from the LCA is off I tried using this 2 fork like tool, wont move.

How do I get this bloody thing off?

haynes offers no help besides a "pickl fork" which doesnt seem to be working, nick's write up makes it seem like it shouldnt even give this much trouble.

would a gear puller work?

 

So let me get this straight... you got the ball joint nut off, but can't get the ball joint/LCA to break free from the spindle right?

Just give the top of the ball-joint a few hard thumps and it should pop right out.

PS: nick's writeup is based on the work we did on my car - upload a pic and we'll get you some ideas.

 

I used a fence post as a breaker bar, but my BJ was already separated, it got :bill by a curb.

 

I hate it when I'm driving and the curbs jump out in front of me...

 

if that is the case just hit the part between the ball joint and the spindle and it will come loose. just like you do when you remove the tie-rod ends from the spindle.

 

thats correct the ball joint nut is off but it still wont free itself from the spindle.

I dont understand why it wont free itself, I gave it some encouragement from my hammer but no luck. I even tried to megiver a nice little setup and it didnt work

(megiver setup = Flor jack underneath ball joint, stock jack places between the spindle so that it will press against it and the other end touching the control arm so it should push it all right out. . . . still no luck)

I just drove and got a gear pulley (the one with the 2 arms and the middle part that srews down to push bolts out - suppost to be used for tie-rods) but its arms arent wide enough, I'm going to give it some more encouragement from my hammer, if that doesnt work I'll get a gear pulley with wider arms.

its always something. . . .

 

It was a NEW curb in a place where there was never a curb before... :st00pid city people.

 

I Had the same thing happen with both of mine. Bags and I spent a couple hours trying to get it off, and it still wouldnt budge. I die Grinder and 2 cutting wheels, and a hell of alot of banging with a sledge hammer finally got it free.....

 

Man the pickle fork thing SUCKS..... just us a big hammer and beat the crap out of it... it worked for me in 3 different cars.. (maximas)

 

You can definitely use a gear puller. You have to find one where the arms/prongs fit in between the ball joint and spindle and then the middle screw sits on top of the ball-joint, and then just push it out... that will definitely work - you just have to find the right tool.

 

The roads around here are cos of winter/snow plows.. I'm always driving on the local streets like it's an obstacle course just trying to avoid 1-foot deep potholes...

 

Ok here is how to fix this.

First douse it with PB Blaster.
Let that soak for a good 15 minutes.
Then heat up the spindle with a torch around the ball joint area. Careful not to burn any rubber parts.
Then really smack the heck out of the spindle right around the ball joint with a hammer. You need to really hit it hard. Try to find some way of protecting the ball joint stud. Maybe leave the nut on there to cover the threads. It will pop out it just needs to be hit harder.

 

MDeezy, I just remembered this.

Didn't you just replace something in that area recently? the LCA or axle or something? or was that the other side of the car?

And on soaking everything with PB blaster and letting it sit for a few mins.

 

pickle fork adapter with an air hammer works wonders......few good pulls of the old trigger and shes free

 

I will try all suggestions. I was just pulling and tugging, and hammering (hard) and still no go.

I'm going to soak it, go get a gear puller while it soaks. use the gear pulley then if that doesnt work, hammer the sh*t out of it. When I was hammering ealier I was seeing damage starting to show on the stud so I stopped and was trying other methods.

The rubber of the ball joint is all F**ked up, greese everywhere. I will have to replace that control arm but I need to get this damnspindle off and get the car up and running by the end of this weekend. I will order a control arm for the passenger side, next week when I get paid.

the part that sucks is everytime I'm working on my car or someone elses, its always one bolt, that holds up progress. Just One F__kin bolt. . . .

here I go again. . .
Driver side got a new axle a few weeks back. I have a new control arm to go on the driver side but didnt do it yet, was going to wait and get all the bushing end link, and passenger side LCA just to have everything fresh and new. . .

. . . now I really do need a new passenger side LCA, cause I jacked this one up!
I wish I had such tool . . or could afford them right now. . .

 

I hear ya - when we did my LCAs, tie-rods, everything was done, except we couldn't get the old swaybar endlink off the old LCA (I hadn't thought of replacing both endlinks at the time)... so we had to reassemble the passenger side with the old LCA (luckily we didn't damage the ball-joint or bushings) and redo the job in a week.

The reality is that although our cars may run for 300k, road salt, and weather takes it's toll on the externals and underbody... so much so, that even simple maintenance tasks, e.g. brakes, can end up being 2 or 3 times the work that they should be.

For those of us with time and/or alternate transportation, that is often an ok compromise (since the car is "cheaper" to buy than something newer). For those of us with families, children, jobs, etc., we can't have the down-time without a car, and most of us don't have the time to spend 4 hrs on what should be a 1-hr job...

This is the type of thing that makes me less and less inclined to take on certain projects on my car... MDeezy - hopefully you'll get your car back on the road soon.

On the bright side, at least everything will be easy to undo when you get to the LCAs.

 

You hit the nail on the head there njmodi.

I was driving back from autozone and mubbling to myself "I wish I had a beater car." that way I'd still have transportation to and from work, and can not feel so rushed to get this job done so I can get back to driving my car.

I finally got it loose. I got the wider gear pulley from autozone, and that did nothing except mush the side of the stud in, so now when I go to put the pin back in, it may not even fit in. After giving up with the gear pulley ( I didnt spray it heavily with wd-40 and let it sit for bout 20 mins) I gave it some " I dont give a F**k" ht with the hammer, after the 3rd, I saw it finally came loose. Ball joint rubber boot looks like its been murdered by vicious dogs.
ABS sensor was stuck, gave it some hammer taps, then pryed it off with a flat head. . . it was melted to the spindle.

Thanks for the help guys , all of your suggestions helped and its now off the car. Going to the junk yard for the replacement.



Whatch out for those NEW curbs Flamethrower

 

This will work wonders if you add pressure to the control arm. ie.. downward pressure with a big rod of some sort. Heat area, apply downward pressure near the ball joint, and whack the side of the spindle (not the top of the ball joint). The vibrations + the downward pressure will free it up. This method has worked many times while just hitting the ball joint thread (with the bolt attached) yielded nothing

 

oh man it all turns around.

a junk yard close to me has the whole spindle with hub +abs sensor for $60!!

I feel good again!!

 

Glad to hear it.

Make sure you take a look at the bearing - not sure how much you'll be able to tell visually...

 

Glad you found a way around. I had the same problem you did when Stephen Max and I were trying to replace a wheel bearing. Nothing was getting thad d@mn ball joint to pop loose. Finally I said do you have a big hammer? *wack wack wack* pop

 

Marlon, if your car was a person I'd kick his *** for screwing you over so many times!

 

Damn Marlin.......she was PMSing while surgery huh?

Hope you get it worked out

 

You can replace just the ball joint if the bushings on the control arm are OK.

Also when you re-install put anti-sieze on the tie rod and ball joint studs.

I hate pickle forks I always end up tearing the boot on the ball joint no matter how careful I try to be... I've tried a tie rod seperator tool and it just bent the bolt on the tool.

 

Didnt pick up the spindle today, going to get it tommorow along with my J30 calipers.

I should spend the extra money and get a spindle from a 99 maxima instead of a 96.
I got it worked out, PMS like you wouldnt believe, and for no reason!!

thanks. . . I guess I was given a break when the passenger side axle didnt take too much effort to get free.
how can I replace that bushing? I do need to replace the control arm anyway, there is a lot of play on it, but if the bushing repair is a relatively cheap one, I'll go with it until I purchase a control arm and put the car under the knife again.

 

I meant that if the control arm bushings are good then just replace the ball joint. If the ball joint is still good look in the "help" section of generic parts at the parts store for a pack of tie rod boots for around $4... they're not a perfect fit but should hold grease on the ball joint and keep it clean until you able to replace the ball joint or control arm.

 

Ball joint seperator is what you need, pickle fork won't work. been down this road before

 

That didnt work for me. Just ended up slipping off the side and dorking up the ball joint stud. Time for rethread after that.

 

Hmmm...the one time I tried to remove my control arm I spent 2hrs with a pickle fork, hammer, and every other thing I could find in my garage. After a quick trip to the store for a ball joint seperator it took me 10 minutes.

 

Haha last night it took me 10 minutes and a 4 foot solid steel bar, just pried it until it popped out.

 

so you finally got the axle out? or the strut bolt?

 

i finished lol, http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=449798