It's also important to orient the pickle fork so that the angled side of the
fork tongs (the side more
unparalleled to the fork is engaging to the disposable component, such as the
ball joint). This will
minimize dings (minor damage) to the permanent components.
Gary Boone
Thomas Walter wrote:
> Eddie,
>
> Two things it took me way to long to learn:
>
> Spray the joint down with penatrating oil the night before
> popping it off.
>
> Use a 4# sledge hammer (12" handle) and WHACK that pickle fork.
> I had used a 1# hammer for years, finally noticed a friend would
> pop those suckers loose with a one or two blows with the 4# hammer.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Tom
>
> Eddie wrote:
>
> > I bought a pickle fork from Sears Craftman. But my problem was that I
>wasn't using the tool
> > properly.
> >
> > I was using the pickle fork as a "prying" tool. I pounded the fork in
>horizontally and then tried
> > to pop the ball joints off by applying a "vertical" force on the pickle
>fork. WRONG!
> >
> > All it took was pounding the pickle fork (horizontally) into the ball
>joint. and it popped free!
> >
> >
> > good luck!
> >
> >
> > --- Pam & Paul Bauman <plhbauman@earthlink.net> wrote:
> >
> >>Fred:
> >>
> >>A pickle fork works great, but don't skimp on quality. I went through a
> >>couple of ball-joint separators before getting a quality tool for about $20
> >>that popped everything apart with no problems.
> >>
> >>Paul
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>>Howdy all!
> >>>
> >>>How do I separate ball joints and tie rod ends without damaging them?
> >>>The only way I know is to beat them apart with a pickle fork. They are
> >>>all good (only the seals need to be replaced) and I don't want to damage
> >>>them during disassembly.
> >>>
> >>>--
> >>>Best regards,
> >>>
> >>>Fred Schroeder
> >>>Denison, TX
> >>>'70 SRL311-13359
> >>>
> > Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger
> > http://phonecard.yahoo.com/
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