How to Remove the Lower Ball Joint on Trucks

Replacing the upper and lower ball joints in your truck may seem like an intimidating, tedious task. With a little patience, know-how and the right tools, though, you will be on your way to taking care of your own truck repairs, saving you time and money.

Instructions

1

Secure the truck using a floor jack and set of jack stands. Make sure the front end of the truck is secure by placing the jack stands in the middle of the frame, do not use the control arms as you will be working in that area. Do a shake test to make sure the truck is secure.

2

Remove the wheel by first breaking all the lug nuts free, then removing them and lifting off the wheel. Place these items out of you way in an accessible place for use in re-installation later. Make sure they are not in an area that will cause them to be lost or damaged.

3

Notice the lower ball joint stud is convex and the spindle is concave; they fit together in what's called a mechanical weld. Even after the nut is removed, the ball joint will not come out without breaking the mechanical weld.

4

Slide a pickle fork onto the back side of the mechanical weld and hammer it through until the weld comes free. It takes quite a bit of hammering to do this, but once the weld is broken, you can step down on the spindle to free the lower ball joint and remove it.