Ball joint separation for centre tie rod

30csl

30csl

Well-Known Member
Site Donor
Messages
1,345
Reaction score
15
Location
London/Herts
I'm trying to change out the centre tie rod and given the lack of a gap between the steering arm and tie rod which has a felt washer between it there seems no way to get my ball joint splitters on it. The obvious is to start whacking with a big hammer but i dont want to damage the steering box. The joint is clean and hasnt many miles since it was assembled so shouldnt be too well stuck - is there a trick to this!?

Thanks,

Rohan
 
Those 2 joints are tough. I use a hammer but only after you pull the whole assembly out.
In other words- ball joint tool where you can and hammer where you have to.
\Without a gap on those 2 I think it is hammer only ..
 
Not sure this is the best technique, but I used a short piece of 2x4 wedged under the pitman arm to hammer against.
 
Well an unsuccessful evening in the garage. Hitting the joint isntvworkingvfor me. It's soaking for the night but isn't rusty I dont think. I broke the steering arms but boy did they go bang and no rust! They must have been tightened very hard! Tomorrow I will go armed with heat. I hate ball joints!
 
Yeah I feel your pain. Working with a pickle fork is a true humbug. The thing to realize is that there seems to be a certain threshold of effort you have to surpass. If you are below the magic energy level, you'll be hammering on it all day and night, and get nothing. But itf you get past that level, one good strike will do it all.

Therefore (and this is the hard part) line things up the best you can, then after a few target rounds, take careful aim and give it the big one... or two. But be patient and don't mash your hand... DAMHIK!
 
hammer technique

Use two hammers, first loosen the nuts about two turns, then hold one hammer head on one side of the arm where the tie rod end goes through and whack the opposite side a few times and it will pop right out because it is tapered. I hate pickle forks because they ruin the rubber seals and can deform the tie rod end. This method will also work on ball joints but takes a few more whacks. Good luck, Leroy
 
The center link joint needs to be on a solid surface. In the field I use concrete in the shop it's the vise.
Strike solidly and hard on 2 surfaces or sides. Keep the nut on loose so you don't ruin threads.
 
The two hammer approach will be the next approach. The frame is in the way a bit but i will have an extra beer this evening and try harder. I had a go with the pickle fork but it feels like i will do damage to the steering box if i hit it much harder. Thanks for all the ideas guys!
 
Always good to have a few good hammers in the shop

Get two compact head driving/striking hammers. I'd do a 3lb-er and a 2lbs-er.
Much better than a ballpark or claw
 
You may be not understanding the technique I use.
Never use a pickle fork.
Release the 4 easy ball joints with your tool.
With the entire assembly on the ground use the hammer
on the 2 joints at the center link only.
 
sfdon said:
Never use a pickle fork
Release the 4 easy ball joints with your tool
With the entire assembly on the ground use the hammer
on the 2 joints at the center link only.
Click to expand...

Wow, that's beautiful! I don't think I have every seen a repair procedure written in Haiku before!
 
my (acquired) technique

I'm not sure that it was clear yet from this thread so far, but the way to get them off without damaging the ball joints is to give a sharp blow to the outside of that part of the ball joint, exactly where the tapered hole sits. First you loosen the nuts a few turns, of course. That way everything doesn't fall apart when the tie rod ends break free. You shouldn't ever have to even pound on the actual tie rod end.

I use a smaller body work hammer with a long head as an extension (or some sort of large drift if you dare) and hold it right in the spot that I want to hit and then use a 5 pound hammer to give it a sharp , hard blow. What this does is that it deforms the tapered seat just enough that it releases the ball joint enough to free it. I removed a drag link on an e34 at a junk yard yesterday and I had to get the sway bar links and swap bar out of the way enough to get access for a good enough swing with the sledge hammer. It a tough job, but it works better than any other way. Having a very well-fitting and strong (and thin) screw type tie rod end remover already pre-tensioning the tapered pin of the joint makes it easier, but isn't necessary.

I wanted to check if that drag link could be used on an e9, so that it clears that aluminum cover for the rear portion of the oil pan that is open to the flywheel. The e34 drag link dips down quite a bit and it always bothered me a bit that we aren't able to install that aluminum cover when doing engine conversions. It's not that big a deal, but it always bothered me and so I though I'd see if that works. Has anyone tried the e34 or e23 drag link? They have the same distances, eye to eye as the e9 link, but are more massive and both dip down quite a bit to create more oil pan clearance. After 1/2 hour of hard work getting the drag link out, I discovered that one joint was loose so I didn't want to spend $20 to take it home...
 
Last edited:
Well guys, in the end i took the box and idler arm out of the car. The centre tie rod is bust so I managed to get a different splitter in between the gap where the fibre washer would be and it popped. I also had trouble with a track rod end and swapped the ball joint splitter to a different make (Draper) and it popped right away!Thanks for all suggestions and help!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top