Stuck Spindle

Hello everyone, first post but a long time lurker,
Over the past 2 days I've been trying to R&R my ball joints and what a pain without impact. I've finally gotten every bolt off and the hub bearing assembly (with axle shaft) removed.

In trying to remove the lower castle nut, the lower ball joint shaft just sheared right off, too much torque I guess. So now I am trying to remove the spindle and cannot for the life of me make it come off. I've beat the hell out of the spindle with my BFH, knocked the pickle fork in as far as possible on the top ball joint, but the lower is still stuck firmly in place. Is there any trick to removing the spindle that I'm missing?

Also it's an '89 Jeep Cherokee Limited if that helps.

try heating the spindle with a propane torch right around where the ball joint stud goes throught the knuckle. also keep your pickle fork in there and when you get some heat into it hit with bfh

spindle or knuckle? if you removed the hub/bearing assembly on your dana 30 then all thats left is the knuckle. Unless you have a full size then you do have a 44 with spindles/hubs/lockouts you are probably referring to the outer knuckle. If thats the case, once you remove upper ball joint castle nut (you did not mention that you removed the nut, only trying the pickle fork) hit it with a big sledge, and it should come. pB blaster and some heat in the worst case.

For Some Reason Mine Always Popped Off Way Easier When I Sat The Mini Sledge On The Knuckle And HityYhe Sledge With Another Hammer. Didn't Need Yo Hit Nearly As Hard And Pops Off Pretty easy.

At first I was going to suggest you hit it with your purse, but then I saw you live in a state where vehicles actually do rust.

The two hammer trick is a good one. You could try blocking the axle so the suspension does not absorb any energy from the hammer. If I can't coax a knuckle out with a BFH, I will rap around the side of the inner knuckle where the BJ stud goes through. After that I'll start to think about heat.

As always, PB-blaster is my friend.

careful with heat on a knuckle. propane torch heat is ok but go real easy if you use something hotter like acetylene. I've seen more than one ball joint explode in my day. Try to drive the lower ball joint out of the inner c. a 3/4" drift about 8 inches long and a 48oz hammer should drive it right out.
Then you can work on getting the ball joint out or take the knuckle to a shop with a press.

I've used this technique on a lot of steering joints. A hit on the side deforms the hole a tiny bit and helps break the bond.


bilder upload

Two hammers, a hammer on cast, hammer on punch, grinder, chain saw or hammer on cold chisel, whatever, wear eye protection. Most everybody goes, "yes sure" I can tell you from experience, when a chip comes off of there and hits you in the eye, it is much like getting shot in the eye. I almost lost an eye that way, actually an angle grinder, but no real difference. Happened forty some years ago and I just went through my fourth operation trying to save that eye.

My youngest son (28) is scheduled for an operation, the inside of one eye is full of blood, they are going to have to open the eyeball up to repair it. He has like 10-15% vision in that eye now. I must have told him hundreds of times over the years, wear eye protection. A hard lesson to learn the hard way.

One of those things you get away with, until you don't. Happens all the time.

2 hammers 1 eye....

Ive never broken anything hitting two hammers together, but multiple older guys have shared their horror stories with me over the years.. Dont do it.

"One of those things you get away with, until you don't" Good line 8mud. Fits perfectly.

any recommendations on eye wear? I usually wear some cheap shop glasses and then one of those clear face shields to double up, but it doesn't quite do 100%. any other ideas?

blondejoncherokee said:

any recommendations on eye wear? I usually wear some cheap shop glasses and then one of those clear face shields to double up, but it doesn't quite do 100%. any other ideas?

Click to expand...

Whatever you choose make sure it is wrap around. The one that got me came in through the side of the old school type that wasn't closed on the sides.

What I do is find something robust enough and fairly cheap (not top of the line) and then buy them in bulk for the shop. Tax deductible.

Most times when you catch someone not wearing eye protection it is because the protection is etched, scratched, flash stained or whatever and they can't see through it correctly. A lot of shop tasks require close tolerances, if you can't see, your finished product is going to be less than satisfactory. So the guys discard the protective eye wear so they can see.

I go shopping for a brand at the local tool places, then go on line and find cheaper outlets. Most places will deal, you get some percentage off if you buy two dozen.

Old school acetylene welding glasses, metal wrap around with flat round lenses work for me, then a face shield if I think I'm going to need it. The thing about the welding goggles is the lenses are cheap, clear or tinted for welding. You sacrifice a little in coverage, tunnel vision is a factor, but always having good sight is a plus. I use one protective lens over a prescription lens (sandwich), the prescription lens being standard size makes them cheap and helps save my expensive regular eye wear. And a bonus I happened to find out by accident is, my insurance company pays for most of the prescription protective lenses.

This type doesn't tend to fog like some other styles.

This is close to what I use.



Face shields are also nice, I remember having to pull a metal wire out of one cheek with a pair of pliers. Rotary wire brush on an angel grinder. At around 1300 RPM that wire came off of there somewhere near the speed of sound and really embedded itself in my cheek. If you get in a hurry bad things tend to happen.

Speaking of face shields, when you wipe them off, only wipe in one direction, either horizontally or vertically. never in swirls. It doesn't take much light to make the swirls impossible to see through.

Thanks for all of the suggestions guys (It's always good to have a saftey glasses reminder). I'm about to just cut the ball joint shaft right inbetween the actual BJ and the outer knuckle. I tried heat combined with the BFH and nothing. I can't attach a picture, but the hole where the shaft goes into the knuckle is solid rust.

Is there any reason for me not to cut the BJ shaft at this point?

hacksaw won't do it... just sayin'

Ive found these to be very useful on stubborn joints

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-4-quarter-inch-forged-ball-joint-separator-99849.html

Like anything HF, put a rag over it while in use, and wear eye protection