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I think i screwed myself, got carried away with sawzall, any bright ideas??

B

Black97GTP2dr

New member
Replacing LCA's today and my ball joint was giving me problems so i decided to cut it with the sawzall, well i think i screwed myself because now i got the stud stuck in the knuckle and i can not get it out... wondering if anybody has any bright or clever idea as to how in the hell i can get it out???

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put a block of wood or a jack under the knuckle, and pound the threaded part down. it should come out, also put the nut back on leave it at the top so you dont mushroom the threaded part and then it dont fit in the hole.

you want to hit it as straight down as possible.

if room is limited a C clamp may work, you just have to off set it on the bottom so the ball joint can pop out.
 
well in that case its best to just unbolt the axle, and drop the strut then pound it out. its only a few more bolts to clear it up.

when you take them off next time you want like a 4 foot pipe, you lay it over the lca, and then under the car, then jump on the free side, this pops them right out.
 
messed up part is, i got the dang castle nut off, i shouldve just used the pickle bar i have but last night i was a little inebriated and got carried away...lol
other side has gone smooth except for the bolt holding the lca to the frame is being a pain to get out.
 


the 36 mm is for the axle nut, break it free, (you can stick a ^ inch socket extension in the fins of the rotor and let it rest up on the caliper then break it loose) leave the nut flush with the end of the treads and give it a few taps in. once thats free, take the 3 bolts off the top of the strut mount ( under the hood) you will want to take off the brake caliper as well. you may also want to take the caliper bracket off too. that way the rotor will come off.

with the ball joint cut off, you should be able to pull on the strut and slide the axle out, but make sure you have it supported from under the knuckle or the strut mount could be damaged. that's why i recommend removing the knuckle to work on it.
 
Yah I figured that out too late, funny part is I had your write-up on my phone the entire time... Just didn't take my time...
I don't feel comfortable taking the axle out myself, gonna end up payin some1 to come to my crib and help me.
First time doin ball joints n junk... Learned my lesson the hard way.
 
you dont need to take it out of the trans, just slide the hub off it, so you have a clear shot at the ball joint with a hammer.
 


3 little bolts and its off, you do need at least the caliper off, nothing to hard.

you took out the saws all, its now time to pay the piper lol 6 bolts more wont hurt you or the car.
 
Ok so I gotta get this right,get caliper off, I know how to do that.lol. take the three bolts at the top of the strut tower under the hood off while I have support underneath the knuckle? 36mm axle nut, get it out to flush with the bolt and give it a few smacks and pull the axle off the hub... Then I'll have a clear shot at the Bj stud.
Do I have to mess with the strut to get axle off hub? I feel I could just get the 36mm nut loose and pop the axle off and I'd have a good enough angle at the stud to hit it out...
 
with the control arm out of the way you can take the 34/36mm nut off and I use a 3 jaw pulley puller to get the cv joint out if it's stubborn. Then you can pull the axle out of the way and whack the **** out of the ball joint stud.
 
break the 36 mm bolt first, this may be a challenge with the ball joint cut off, some one can stand on the brakes, or the socket in the fins of the rotor to hold the nut from spinning, you don't want to crank the nut against the trans parking brake.

take the nut to the end of the threads, hit it with a hammer it should brake free. if not you can use a 3 gear puller to push it through.

then remove the caliper.

if you pop the tie rod end you will have a lot more play in the knuckle and strut too. take the nut off the tie rod, then hit the flat part of the knuckle where the tire rod passes through it with a hammer, hard, it will pop out. then pull the whole strut out towards you, and slide the axle out of the hub.

then beat the ball joint out.

in that order
 


good lord its late.

you try giving that a good shot with a bfh? (big fvcking hammer) leave the nut flush with the end of the threads so you dont kill the threads, and hit it as square as you can. not like chopping wood hard, but a good firm shot or two usually does it.
 
I beat the F_CK out of it!!! Won't budge another millimeter.

Yeah it's later than I want it to be, been going at this project since 8am and it only took me til 9 to get everything off except this damn ball joint... So that makes 15 hours of scratching my head, punching walls and sometimes wanting to cry.lol. Worst part is; car has full tank of gas, xterra is empty and she's alot thirstier than the Gtp... Oh well, learned a lot today. Won't be afraid to tear into my front end ever again... Pretty much know all I need to about it now.

Thanks so much for the help again man, much appreciated.
 
rest up, find a puller and that will push it out for ya.

look at the bight side you'll have it all back together in 30 minutes or so.
 
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