My strut change nightmare

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#21

05-23-2016, 07:20 PM

zak

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Join Date: Jun 2012

Location: Southern New England

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Anyone else used W83021 tie tod puller on the ball joint?

Quote:

Originally Posted by QuikCat

My local Auto Value store did have a front end service kit, part# W89303, available for free rental (deposit returned upon return of undamaged tool) that included the Wilmar separator, so I picked that up.

Back under the car, I was able to get all the nuts loose without issue (amazing). I made sure to mark both sides of the nut and bolt on the inner part of the control arm, as this is a concentric bolt for camber-caster adjustment. While using the special tool to get the lower ball joint out, I ran into a problem in that the jaw wouldn’t open far enough to get leverage on the top of the bolt. Great. IF the OTC tool did open larger, I’m sure it would’ve worked. Thinking for a moment I was going to have to hammer on the part to get it free, I looked at the rest of the tools in the kit, and found that the Tie Rod Puller (available individually as well, part# W83021) might work. With a couple turns of the ratchet and a loud pop, it worked perfectly and the ball joint was free without damage.

I crossed tool part number W83021 over to NAPA BK 7769170 and bought one (appears similar to the picture Quikcat posted). The problem is the threaded portion sticks up too high and interferes with the upper portion of the spindle, preventing the tool from sitting directly on the stud of the ball joint. Not sure whether to undo the upper control arm to make room, or try the Harbor Freight Item# 99849
3/4" Forged Ball Joint Separator

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