On Fri, 16 Aug 1996 KMNTR6@aol.com wrote:
> Last night after the RTR meeting I got inspired and decided to try and
> install my new ball joints on my 1974 TR6. I removed the nut off the bottom
> stud. Then I took off the two bolts holding the ball joint. I know that the
> bottom stud is tapered and I thought that I could just tap it out with a
> hammer. Well.... it is so tight in there that I couldn't get any swing with
> the hammer. I understand that there is a ball joint separator or fork tool or
> something that I can use to finish the job. What kind do I need and where do
> I find one?
Ken, what might be easiest to locate locally would be what's often
called a "Pickle Fork"; just a big drift with a two-pronged (forked)
end, and the tines of the fork are wedge-shaped. They're cheap and
suitable for this use, as you're not trying to save the old ball joints.
There are also ball joint presses, but they are less apt to be available
locally or as cheaply.
An alternative is to tap sharply NOT on the tapered, threaded end of the
ball joint but where it mounts in the vertical link. Caveats: you might
not have much room to do this; and it often requires both practice in
knowing where to hit, and tonal quality in uttering the proper mantra in
homage to the gods Quentin Hazell Alford & Alder. ;-)
--Andy
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* Andrew Mace e-mail: amace@unix2.nysed.gov *
* *
* Mrs Irrelevant: Oh, is it a jet? *
* Man: Well, no... It's not so much of a jet, it's more your, er, *
* Triumph Herald engine with wings. *
* -- The Cut-price Airline Sketch, Monty Python's Flying Circus *
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