E350 Ball Joint - Wheel spindle removal problems

[theoldwizard]

Originally Posted by BroncoJoe19

LOL... So I guess he should start practicing swinging a hammer!? for a couple of weeks?

I have seen a 12 lb, full size sledge used to removed wheela or rotors that were rusted on !

[syncmaster]

I found a good write up on replacing ball joints.
it is for a 4 wheel drive but it is still very helpful.


http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/86...ml#post7674608

[syncmaster]

I rode around trying to find a 1-5/8" wide pickle fork.
sears has a set of 3 the largest is 1-1/4" (not big enough)

I finally found a set of them in a plastic case for $44.00
the largest is 1-5/8 (perfect)

got home and took the largest fork put it in the knuckle hit it 10 times then "THUNK"
broke loose
went to the other side hit it 10 times then "THUNK" broke loose.
it is so easy with the right tool.

[BroncoJoe19]

When I installed my ball joints, it was a bit more complex because it was a 4x4, and I had to pull the 4x4 hub, and axles to get access to the nut for the lower ball joint. At any rate, I thought I would be clever and put a little anti-sieze on the stud to make removal easier next time around. That was NOT a good idea! I couldn't get the nut to torque more than 30-40lbs, and I needed to be around 100 lbs!

So I took it off, cleaned it and re-installed it. This time I used a little trick a front end mechanic told me to use. Place a jack under the spindle where I put the blue arrow in this picture. It (hopefully will bind the stud tightly enough so that one can pull the needed 100 lbs torque on the nut without it spinning.

E350-BallJointSpindle.jpg