upper ball joint removal

[bucannon]

ok so i grinded off the 4 rivet heads and this upper balljoint is not moving. the rivets are not moving, ive used a BFH and air chisel and a few other tricks. still no movement.


so is my only option to drill them out completely?

and do i have to remove the upper control arm to do this?


thanks

[ds350]

I had to drill them the rest of the way out. It did not take that much time.

[Cherub]

they have a press that you can rent from an auto zone that will help. as a side note i dont like to grind the rivets off with cause them to get stuck. I X the head and use an air chissel with great results.

[bucannon]

Originally Posted by Cherub

I X the head and use an air chissel with great results.

thats what i did, and i did end up drilling them out and it worked!

thanks guys

[hugger6933]

If you used a air chisel to knock off the rivets do you have a punch for the air chisel? That is what I have used many times . The ball joint press mentioned above will not help in this case as the joint as you know is riveted. If you don't have that punch run a grinder over the surface where the heads were as the actions taken may have swegded the rivets again causing basicly a "lip" on the top. Jim

[tazman87]

seperate the ball joint its self. did mine the other week. chisel and hammer. then it will pop right out

[bucannon]

now i just need to safley re install the coil spring......

[bucannon]

any tips for doing this without killing/injuring myself haha?

i have a spring compressor and a floor jack....

[85_C10_Sleeper]

Use a tie down to keep the springs in the perches, be very careful and make sure the tie down is pretty tight. also be sure to line the spring up before you put the tie down in. Ive done it this way several times w/o any problems.