not my original idea, found this on a forum for newer Dodge Trucks,,,
for a socket to remove the upper ball joints from a D-150,,there is a special 2 9/64th upper ball joint socket, available on e bay for about 42.00 + shipping.

the idea I found was to take a 12 point 2 1/8 socket, and grind down every third crown to make it fit the large ball joint. I had the new ball joint in hand to use as a size master. It really fits nice.

cost for the 2 1/8 from a local tool ware house was 18.00 and about 20 minutes with a die grinder. Time well spent.
here are some photos. On the photo of the socket, I marked with black marker where to grind, basically at 12,3,6 and 9:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13718356@N ... 686636940/

What brand or make of socket is that? Looks to have rounded "points".
Last time I removed suspension I used a large crescent wrench on the ball joint. I used a bicycle handlebar head for a torsion bar removal tool. Whatever it takes to keep it on the road , right.

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ifyoubegintothinkyou'relosingcontrol...it'salreadygone

A pipe wrench with a 3' handle works great too...

the 2 1/8 socket is a Chrome Vanadium brand

got it at Wholesale Tool

http://www.wttool.com/info-exec/view/about_us/

lots of good stuff,, If HF is geared towards the cheapie DIY guy
WT looks to be for the small to mid size commercial accounts,, rows and rows of tooling, bits, taps, cut off wheels of all sizes,,,

for the socket that I bought they had two other higher priced options,, I went with the cheapest as I was going to grind on it and probably just use it once or twice in my lifetime...

Great tip John.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

An alternative is this wrench for $14.96 from here.

Another approach is to remove the arm, put the flat edges of the ball joint in a vice, and turn the whole A-arm, with the help of an extender if nescessary.

I have used a socket myself, but the previous owner of my car obviously thought the ball joints were press-in...

Olaf

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Aspenized

Olafa,,
that's a good find,, I did not see that one when I was looking....

isnt that smaller than the size you needed? may be the right size for mine

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Aspenized

i ordered one that was marked for all darts on ebay, and it was too big, i think i measured it and told him what it was close to and he made another one that worked. that wrench would be cheaper, but harder to check torque specs, not sure how important that is on this application.