removing spindles from a 72 malibu

[60ratrod]

so i'm doing a disc brake conversion on my wife's 72 malibu and i'm having a hard time getting the ball joints separated from the spindles. so far i have gotten the driver's side spindle off but couldn't get the upper joint to separate from the spindle so i pulled the entire upper a-arm. so what's the trick to getting the spindles out with out pulling the a-arms??

[way2lo2]

Originally Posted by 60ratrod

so i'm doing a disc brake conversion on my wife's 72 malibu and i'm having a hard time getting the ball joints separated from the spindles. so far i have gotten the driver's side spindle off but couldn't get the upper joint to separate from the spindle so i pulled the entire upper a-arm. so what's the trick to getting the spindles out with out pulling the a-arms??

Loosen both ball joint castle nuts, just don't take them all the way off. Smack the back of the spindle where the ball joint taper is with a BFH and you'll hear them pop after a few hits, load the suspension by putting a floor jack under the LCA out near the BJ, you'll know its loaded enough when you can get the castle nuts off by hand. On the side you have already removed, put the UCA cross shaft in a vise with the spindle hanging and go through the same procedure minus the loading of the suspension of course.

[60ratrod]

ok, and if i don't have a bfh?? or is my answer gonna be to go get one? so what you are saying is to loosen, not remove, the nuts enough to where when i smack the spindle the nuts will still catch and then jack the lower arm and loosen the rest by hand? the ishty part of all of this is i'm dealing with a 6oz(i think) ball peen that i got for free. and i think another ishty part of this is i only have a 4" clamp/screw on vice that i got for doing work to my RCs that i used to have(tiny work). i might have to take it to the auto hobby on base then and use their vices/hammers

[N2TRUX]

Yes, your going to need a BIG hammer. By loosing the nut and letting it hang your using the down force of the suspension to put pressure on the balljoint. By smacking the snot out of the "side" of the spindle you force the joint to separate. It sometimes requires two big hammers. By holding one on the back side of the spindle and wailing on the front side you coumpond the blows and the joint pops free.

[60ratrod]

well i didn't tear the drums down to just the spindles. i basically took just the drum and hub off. mostly cause i'm lazy. well that's good to know for when i go to the local wrecking yard and get the disc brake setup. and i'm only paying $35 per side. after that i need an MC, lines and a prop valve. would a disc brake MC from a square body work on the booster of this malibu? the more stuff i can source from the yard the better. i'd get the one off the 2 door i'm robbing the discs off of if it wasn't already gone

[cdowns]

how can someone work on old cars with at least 1BFH ???

[60ratrod]

the majority of my tools that i got aside from my craftsman rollaways and tool set is from when i was living in the barracks and i could only fit so much in there. that and when ever i did work i either didn't need it or i was at the auto hobby and they had it. well today once i get off i'm definitly making a stop at the hardware store to get one. the only thing that i'm wondering is whether to get a 3lb bfh or a 5lb bfh. decisions descisions. anyone got a preference??

[Tony@AirRideTech]

[cparman]

I agree with the rest of the crew here. I just did a disc brake conversion on a 67 Chevelle ( very similar ) and a BFH, on the uppers, but I used a pickle fork on the lowers.

I had this car on a lift, and lowered it onto two jack stands. Getting the weight of the car on the stands. Stripped everything down to the spindles, thought about someone who had PO'd me recently, and gave the upper part of the spindle a big whack with a BFH. Then used a pickle fork between the ball joint and the spindle and a bit gentler whack and the spindle was on the ground. I did both sides in about an hour. Remove and replace the spindles, nuts tightened, and cotter pins in place.

Then raised the car up so this old man could stand up and finish the work at the wheels. I have done several disc conversions, and probably did not have 3 hours in the work at the wheels. I then did the booster master work, making a couple of new lines ETC. A long afternoon, and you should be driving the 72

[60ratrod]

ok well i went and got a 4lb bfh from lowes yesterday. today i managed to work on the passenger side and wow just a few whacks top and bottom and the spindle popped loose. and for the driver's side i stood on the uca and beat the holy living hell out of the spindle until it popped off. now cparman, can i use the existing steering arms or will i have to use the ones from the donor that i am going to go rob from tomorrow? and if so how do i get those pesky steering arms off the tie rods with out messing them up?? pickle fork? if that's the case then i was going to go get one on my nite out that the boss told me that i had no choice but to take. anyway i'm off to get my daughter, go to sears for some more tools(pickle fork and big a$$ brass punch) and to see the new Resident Evil 4. thanks all