I spent almost 4 hours tonight trying to remove my steering knuckle and HUB. I need to remove the whole thing so I can take it to a shop to have the wheel bearing replaced. I got everything done except I can't get the ball joint that connects the control arm to the steering knuckle to sperate. I have slighly torn the ball joint boot in the process ....I need some help.

I am currently trying to use a huge flat head screwdriver to pry the ball joint loose but it's not working. It seems to me that there is no way to do this. I still have the strut connected to the steering knuckle which seems to cause no room for the control arm to flex up or down, making it seem impossible to even to able to seperate the ball joint.

I am done fuking with it for the night but I need to get it to the shop in the morning...I need help. The below freezing temps are not making it much fun either.

 

I've heard of a special tool you can get for this. You might want to head down to Autozone/wherever and pick up a ball joint separator. They look like a tuning fork, but are wedge shaped...you basically bang it between the joint and it pops it out. These have a tendency to tear the boots, though...so be forewarned.

Personally, I'd give Nissan a call to see what they use to get the damn things separated.

 

Thanks.....but that is how I put the hole in the boot already. Haynes says just to pry it apart but that just is not working for me. I am going to go tackle it again this morning. Any more help would be appreciated.