Upper control arm removal issue

So I’m replacing ucas today. The head of the spindle that connects the upper ball joint is stuck inside the coil over. My puller is too small so going to auto shop to rent one now. Will some finesse with a crowbar or pickle fork get this thing free? The t bolt at the top of uca is loosened but no up and down movement at all in the control arm. Will try to get a pic up soon

 

Heat and hammer

 

I mean it's too late, but just remove the coilovers when you do suspension work.

Just use a pry bar to get the spindle outta the CO. You're not going to hurt anything.

I use a 3 arm puller on that sometimes. Get it nice and snug, and then give the upper arm a solid whack with a BFH, and it will pop out. They are taper fit- You need to distort the metal ever so slightly (with the BFH) to get them to seperate.

If you plan on reusing the UBJ, place a 1/4" chunk of metal between the point on the puller and the post on the UBJ, otherwise, you'll collapse the cotter pin hole or distort the threads. And leave the crown nut on, flush with the end of the post.

 

Jack up on the bottom of the LCA to make the UCA angle less severe.
Thread the nut backwards on the ball joint stud so you have a flat surface, then hammer away with the biggest hammer you got.

 

I'd hit the control arm if youre gonna reuse the balljoint

don't wanna chance messing up threads

 

Hammering on the ball joint stud isn't going to move it. That force is just going to be wasted cause the arm is gonna move. Ya gotta capture the arm and put some pressure on the stud with a puller, then hit the arm and break the taper lock. Hitting the arm itself without the puller would eventually work, but you'd mare up the arm a lot. Puller + BFH makes quick work of it.

 

Just smack the tar out of it

 

thanks I got some tools and confident I’ll get it off with some effort.. one thing I’m confused about is on the freedom off-road ucas I got, there’s no castle nut. Just a regular nut on the end of the ball joint that doesn’t seem to thread all the way down the stud. Do I use that nut or switch it out with the old castle nut? My cotter pin was stubborn so I couldn’t salvage those.

 

Is that a preloaded, blown, 5100 with a 3" lift spacer?

I would just take a BFH and hit the UCA upwards.

 

Yep you saw it correctly lol. Got it like this and fixing to take that spacer out and get a new coil over shock I’ve tried slamming that thing up hard as I can but no dice. Prying with the pickle fork just compresses the coil spring

 

You could try putting a jack under the uca, lifting it a little bit and hitting the balljoint stud. Might need to replace the ball joint though.

 

I just go to autozone or o'reilly and rent the 5 ton gear puller. Pops out the ball joint from the UCA pretty easily. The pitman puller won't work -- they're not big enough to fit around the UCA.

 

tried that. I think I need a bigger hammer..the new control arm came with a ball joint so I’m At the point where I’m gonna grab an angle grinder lol.

I’m mad at myself for not grabbing it today. I got a 3 arm puller but there’s no lip for the arms to grab onto on the pen control arm. Everything’s rounded and it keeps sliding off. The 2 arm might work better..

I did end up just taking the coil over off. Might as well replace that rn too. Still not budging that ball joint though.

 

You really need to understand whats there, and what you're trying to separate. You need tension between the arm and stud, AND shock from a hammer to break the taper fit.

 

Yeah I can’t get enough tension on it with the jaw puller I have. Arms keep slipping on the rounded part of the control arm. I think with a 2 arm puller I can get a good grab then I’ll be able to break it free.

 

Need a 3lb+ sledge hammer, hit on the spindle. Toyota left a flat spot there for a reason.

That huge spacer is making life much harder for you. Spacers suck.

 

You should be able to hit the UCA with a dead blow hammer to release it from the BJ. From there the spindle should be much easier to move around.

 

I got the strut out . Still hard to move. I believe my Hammer isn’t big enough to budge the thing.. need to bring in some heavier equipment, and like you said, whack the spindle instead of trying to hit the control arm. No turning back at this point. Going to put a new strut in too while I’m at it as my shocks were leaking and of course, binding on the spindle. Might as well do it all now but she’ll be on stands for a week it seems until the struts come in. Thank you all. I’m terrible at preparing for jobs like this but I’m learning the hard way.