'88 Legend Coupe lower ball joint removal

Hello all,

I've had my '88 2dr 5spd for 7 years now and have done almost all my
own work on it. I don't have much experience with suspension work,
however, and now it's time to dive in. I need to replace the front
axles, and I figure I might do the shocks since I'm in there already.
(They don't seem too bad, but they are original.)

Anyhow, I'm having trouble separating the ball joints from the lower
arm. These were replaced a couple of years ago, so I'm trying not to
trash them. The shop manual talks about a gear puller on lugs on the
arm, but they always seem to slip off. I also tried a puller with the
arms seated on the top of the arm, outside the boot. But it's very
difficult to keep the puller straight, and it still seems to pull off
at the slightest provokation. I got frightened I was going to tear
some parts up in a serious way trying this method.

Seems like maybe a lever type ball joint remover might do the trick,
but the biggest jaws on these seem to be about 22mm. Using a caliper,
I found that the smallest jaw that would fit easily without forcing it
under the boot is about 30mm. I'm a bit afraid to try to ram anything
under that boot! Also I hear about various ways to separate the works
with creative use of a hammer, but this seems dubious when separating
good parts.

I know this can't be that impossible, so obviously I'm just missing
the secret trick. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Ryan

 

yes, go to tegger.com and look at the tools this job requires. he's got
pics. they're not too expensive and don't ruin your boots.

 

Excellent resource! I haven't been able to track down your premium
tool, but the FAQ points out the obivious solution of grinding down
the jaws of one of the cheaper tools...

If anyone else has some bright ideas feel free to point them out...

-R

 

generic tools are perfectly usable in this situation. google "ball
joint separator". i wouldn't grind anything down unless it's absolutely
necessary, and in this case, it's not.

 

The OTC tool was a bit tight to go neatly around the boot enough for me to
feel comfortable with its "bite". It fit fine around the steering tie-rod
boot, though.

I'm sure the Honda tool fits perfectly. Of course.

If you open up the jaw, you don't have to take much off, and you have to
make sure you smooth it all off after so as not to risk cutting the boot
with sharp edges.

 

Yeah, this was my concern. A little light working with a dremel
grinder would probably do the trick. I understand the hesitation to go
grinding on a highly stressed puller like this though. Looks like
Stahlwille has some of the right jaw size, if I can find a US
distributor...

Any other tricks for using these other than those listed in
tegger.com, or just slide 'em on and crank?

-R

 

generously oil the threads, but not the forks!

 

Makes good sense; thanks a million guys!

-R

 

Found one that looks like Princess Auto's on eBay for $29. Guess I'll
be getting that one and taking the grinder to it. The ones from
Stahlwille look perfect, but at $150+ are a little steep unless the
cheap solution fails utterly... Hope things work out. Thanks again.

-R

 

---------------------------

The one you showed the eBay link for is IDENTICAL to the Princess Auto
version ( http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/disconnect.html ). One thing
you should know: Grind a little groove where the tip of the screw
touches the other half. It will keep it from torqueing sideways when you
start tightening. I noticed some of the finer ones have a groove there.

'Curly'