I am going to replace the bushings on my LCA and I can't get the thing off of my Ball joint.... I've heard there is tool like the one in the haynes manual or you can hit something but I'm not sure what to beat on and I checked with the guys at auto zone and Bump2bump about this and they just said hit something.
What to I hit to get the LCA off?

see civicexracer's pic of the part that im talking about (i have removed the bold and codder pin(grr)

 

im guessing the problem is nut is just spinning when ur turnin it? or is ball joint just stuck to the lca? if its the nut just spinng, apply pressure to the lca, i dont remember if its under or above(try a jack under the lca, if that dosnt work then apply pressure downwards on the rotor) and then try turning it. if its just stuck,u need to wack the hell out of it with a mallet or hammer just like the manual and ppl have been saying.

EDIT: hit the lca just right next to the ball joint, dont hit the actual screw or u could bend/break it.

 

thx for the quick reply,
The nut is off the LCA. The LCA is stuck the the ball joint bolt. . . are you saying that I could take my jack and use it to put pressure on the Ball joint bolt to release the LCA? And at this point I would be glad to hit something with my hammer I just dont know what im supose to hit...

 

You have to use a ball joint seperator. It looks like a fork with 2 prongs on it. Its pretty simple. You stick the fork between the ball joint and control arm. Then you back the back of the fork until it gets seperated. You have to be really careful not to break the boot on the top of the ball joint. If you go to AutoZone, they will loan you the tool for free, you just have to put a $15 deposit on it. When you return the tool you get your $15 back.

 

So I take this seperator(i have one) and beat the snot out of it with my bfh untill it falls off?

[IMG]local://upfiles/20611/3B71C63EFEFE4FBC926DDEA19D739505.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/20611/C914E92F9C1B4BCF9480B5139A0FBB3C.jpg[/IMG]

 

note should I be replacing the nut that had the codder pin on the bottom?

 

u prolly dont need a balljoint puller. a couple good wack with a hammer should knock it out. i remember thats what i did when i replaced my axels. u can re-use the nut but u need to use new cotter pins. whenever u remove an old cotter pin, u need to replace it.

 

So I have been hittin here to no avail.
Do I use the seperator now, and will that damage my ball joint, Id rather not have to replace it as it is good and it appears to be even more work that I have no real clue how to do as I have never done it before.

 

well depending on the milage.... but if the milage is over 50K miles it sure wont hurt swapen out the whole ball joint.....
BUT the fork shouldnt hurt it as long as ya have the fork in thier even and dont actualy strike the ball joint...



just start off soft and start hitting harder until it pops

 

It's a lot easier if you just use one of these...



Autozone rents them