i feel like i must be missing something, but cant see anything in the exploded diagram, the only thing holding the spindle on my 67 dart gt is the upper ball joint, i went and got a pickle fork. took off the nut, and the cotter pin, started hitting the pickle fork and nothing, beat the (insert profanity of choice here) out of it and still nothing. i tried hitting the stud from the ball joint a little with the hammer but dont want to mess it up. i have to switch from the 9" drum spindle to the 10" for the ssbc conversion i am doing right now. i tried for quite a while to hit on the fork and nothing. cant see whats stopping it. the ball joint is old as evidenced the amount of grease on the top of it, but it seems in good shape and im trying to save what money i have for tires for the bigger wheels i will need for this. should i just whack on the ball joint harder or? maybe if i hadnt separated the stuff holding onto the bottom of it (lower ball joint (i think) and torsion bar) then that would pull down on it more and make it easier?
ive tried spraying the underneath with pentrating oil, but didnt help much there...

I drop the tension on the torsion bar so the arm "sags" with gravity... if you pulled the nut and cotter pin. You can use a 5 lb BFH and "rap" the upper part of the spindle that captures the ball joint stud. Usually after a couple of well placed blows the spindle falls off the stud.

-D.Idiot

2 BFH's hitting opposite sides of the spindle simultaniously works far better than just one.

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+1......works quite well for me, too.

Roger

also place 1 ballpein hammer on the collar of the spindle--- use the other bfh to smack the hammer--- works great & no marks , Lawrence

sounds like i shouldve bought another hammer rather then a ball joint pickle fork! haha....ill get a ball peen hammer and see what i can do in the near future, and get back to yall, thanks for the input!

You could also try following the instructions shown in the service manual.

Thread a nut on the end of the stud so you're hitting it instead of mushrooming the stud end.

I've had luck with a two-jaw puller that fits on most tie-rod ends.

I made a tool like the one shown in the FSM out of a threaded rod connector with one end ground off an angle (inch and a half long nut) and a 2 or 2 ½ inch machine bolt & a few washers that will fit over the lower ball joint’s connecting bolt on top of its nut.

Using a jack, rise the lower control so that the lower & upper ball joint’s studs are in alignment vertically. Locate the connector & bolt between the lower ball joint stud shimmed with a few washers and upper ball with its nut run down to the end of the threads, and slowly tighten her up with two wrenches. That upper joint will pop loose with little effort, and no damage to spindle and rubber boot will occur.

Be sure to use jack stands to secure the car before proceeding.

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

I might just have your answer!

From "Chilton's Repair and Tune-Up Guide for the Dodge Dart 5 Demon, 1965-72"

page 185 - 3. "Remove the nut that attaches the upper ball joint to the steering knuckle and, using a suitable tool, loosen the ball joint stud from the steering knuckle.
4. Unscrew the upper ball joint from the upper control arm and remove it from the vehicle.
5. Position a new ball joint on the upper control arm, screw the ball joint into the control arm until it bottoms on the control arm, and tighten the ball joint to a minimum of 125 ft lbs.
NOTE: When installing a ball joint, make certain the ball joint threads engage those of the upper control arm squarely if the original control arm is being used."

I just had my upper and lower ball joints replaced on my 75 Valiant and was surprised to discover that the upper was threaded in! I always thought that they were pressed in like most ball joints...

Check to see if your upper ball joint has threads sticking out and if it looks something like this: http://static.summitracing.com/global/i ... 4002_w.jpg

Good luck!

Sincerely,

Max.

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thank you. thank you. perfectly calm.

if your ball joint is threaded, you might need a special socket big enough to fit, but you might also get away with using a large set of water pump pliers...

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thank you. thank you. perfectly calm.

Suggest you check to make sure that pickle fork is wide enough to swallow the bolt coming out of the UBJ. If not, no amount of beating on it is going make it work. FWIW I have done 3 front ends with my fork. It is heat discolored from use. These dudes are STUCK together. If you're planning on re-using the UBJ, make sure you're not beating the fork into the bolt. It will also screw up the threads. Careful, too, not to puncture the boot.

The idea of using a field expedient press like wjajr suggests is the least violent method I've seen.

Unless you have the specialized socket for removing the UBJ from the UCA, suggest leaving it alone. Those rascals can be in tight, too. Usually I have to use a 4' cheater bar, but the last one came out with a ratchet handle. Go figure. Good luck.

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You can't fix stupid. - Ron White

was able to wedge a wrench in with the pickle fork, making it taller so we could get it off. thanks to oldblue for his help this morning! trying to find the best place for a ball joint socket, found some cnc machined ones on ebay that are 1/2 " instead of the factory 3/4", theyre a little cheaper too. found this one http://tinyurl.com/y5mkrf5 the tool from rock auto et al found here http://tinyurl.com/y7yuoww lists the dimension as being 1 and 15/16th" 15 divided by 16 is .9375, so would the one on ebay (1.915") work? anyone know a cheaper source? rent a took wont work, advance had a complete set of ball joint tools that included a 3/4" drive 1 59/64" socket which would also be close (deposit is 160 though) also cant really take it anywhere to have it fixed because its all apart and up on stands....
so in short:
thanks oldblue!
would that cheaper tool work?
anyone know a cheaper one?
thanks!