I have a 95 f150 4X4 that I am replaceing the ball joints. I have the nuts off of the spindle but I can't get it to come off. Is there a puller or something I can get?

 

try hitting it with a sledge hammer, i saw that done in a magazine before.

 

Get a Pitman Arm Puller...that's the best tool to separate your spindles with. You can get get one at any auto shop or even rent one I am told. The puller will make it clean and simple to separate without damage to any other part of your suspension. Be careful with the sledge hammer.

 

I think I can rent one at Auto Zone but I was trying to figure out what you would hook it on to? There isn't enough room between the spindle and the knuckle!

 

The "teeth" on the puller should slip in there. If just the tension from the puller will still not get it loose, you can tap the puller bolt with a hammer. Hitting the joint without a pulller will do nothing except ruin your ball joint.

(You have somehow relieved the tension from torsion bar or spring, right?)

 

are you haveing trouble getting the spindle off or the knuckle. the spindle is where the bearings ride. the knuckle is behind that. and that is what the balljoints are bolted to. if knuckle then just hit it. they will come loose. hit the knuckle. at where the ball joint stud goes trough. and you need to take the spindle off first and the axle out. good luck. hope this made sence.

 

Hit it with a sledge hammer.....yeah that'll work

Once you have the bolts off the spindle usually a screwdriver or chisel will work. They're usually a bitch to get off without screwing them up. I had to replace the u-joints and weld the diff in my trail ranger this weekend and the spindles were a bitch to get off. They usually sieze on there pretty good. A gear puller usually won't work, or at least I've never seen one with teeth fine enough to slip in between the spindle and the knuckle. Whatever you do don't hit it with a sledge or you'll screw it up. You'll either bend the spindle, ruin the threads, or ruin the bearing surfaces.

 

It is the spindle off of the kunckle. I went up to ford and talked to them and they told me to get one of those big plastic hammers and hit it. They said that they could relly be tough and not for the faint of heart sometimes. I did that and finally got a big enough space to pry it apart. This is my first time doing any front end work (on vehicles that is) and I am having fun doing it! It doesn't seem that hard, just time consuming. I have a 95 F150 with 163,000 on it and nothing has ever been replaced. I was wondering if I should replace all the bearings even if they look ok? The hardest part so far is matching up the correct seals. The spindle has a metal ring above the bearing that no one has. It looks like it has been replaced by a rubber one. Oh well, I will learn as I go!

 

It really depends on how old the bearings are. If they're fairly old replace them, or if they have any slop at all in them. When you do all this work replace the seals regardless. They're cheap and easy to do so might as well while its torn apart.

 

Hammer works like a charm, done it several times myself. loosen the nut on the balljoint and leave the nut on to protect the threads. Don't use a sledge hammer, but a medium large ball peen hammer. Strike the spindle where the ball joint goes through with the rounded side of the head. One or two medium hard pops with the hammer will pop it loose without any damage. It's pretty difficult to bend a spindle, has anyone here ever done it?,,,,98