replacing ball joints, having difficulty

Hi, im trying to replace the ball joints on my POS 95 blazer, and i cannot get my front hub assembly off so i can get the halfshaft for the 4X4 out of the way so i can get them out. any tips on how to remove it? no autoparts store ive been to has the right tool to remove it, tried a couple diff pullers, but all it did was strip the threads on the tempered bolt used to operate the puller. i have removed the nut holding the assembly on, and on my old ford ranger when that nut was removed, you could pull it off by hand. on this, ive tried pullers, beat of it with a hammer, and its not moving at all. any tips or ideas on how to get it off? or know what the special tool is called or where to get it? thanks much in advance.

I used an air hammer to remove mine , I had trouble at trying most of what you have done . But I hit it with the air hammer and it fell off in 2 seconds .
There is a special fork shaped tool that you wedge between it and the "A" arm with a hammer . All I know is it is made for ball joint removal . Drilling out the rivots is another story . Have fun , Rob

I used an air hammer to remove mine , I had trouble at trying most of what you have done . But I hit it with the air hammer and it fell off in 2 seconds .
There is a special fork shaped tool that you wedge between it and the "A" arm with a hammer . All I know is it is made for ball joint removal . Drilling out the rivots is another story . Have fun , Rob


You used an air hammer to remove your hub assembly? or your ball joints? I dont see how to get the ball joints out, or even grind the rivets off the lower ball joint, as the front half shaft for my 4X4 is in the way and i cant get the hub assembly off.

i have the rivets for the upper ball joint ground off and its loose, but i cannot get it out. my chiltons manual says something about a special tool to force it up and out, which i dont have, but it says i can make one by using a bolt, socket, and nut, and put the bolt in the socket, and turn the nut to force the ball joint up and out, but the half shaft is in the way to preform this action. any thoughts on that?

if you are trying to remove the wheel bearing hub, there should be three bolts on the back side of it that you also have to remove. this in cobanation to the center nut removed off the front shaft should let you pull the hub.

When I replaced my balljoints, I ended up taking them out in pieces and was able to squeeze the new ones in without messing with the hub. Are you trying to get the threaded end of the balljoint out of the housing? If so, I just used the fork, they sell them at any auto store. Sometimes you have to really beat on it. I used a something like a mini sledge hammer. I don't think that a standard hammer would work(maybe it will), not enough force.

Sounds like your CV shaft is rusted pretty well to the hub.
Here's what I've done in the past. Heat around the spline edges of the shaft and the hub with a small propane torch for a good 10-15 minutes. That should limber the sucker up. With the large nut back on the shaft, turn the nut so that it's ouside is flush with the shaft and wail on that thing with a 5 pound sledge. That should loosen it up.
If you have an acetaline torch, that would be even better.
I've gone through a least 1 propane torch a year for over 25 years now, doing just this procedure, whether it be to remove ujoints, strut bolts, shocks - heck, you name it, I've torched it (except the gas tank).

About $10.00 for a propane set at the hardware store. 5 pound sledge should be about the same in price.

if it don't go, forget the bigger hammer, grab the torch....... lol, love my torch...........

If you have high miles on the truck and have the time, I would recommend changing the control arm bushings also, it's only a few more bolts, but they are rough to get out and put in (special tools needed, but I managed to make my own). Chaning these got rid of my clunking and tightened up the steering.

yea, i cant get the freakin hub off, or the upper ball joint out, if i could get the axle shaft out of the way i could pound it out, but i cannot get it out. i got a ball joint press, but it wont fit because the axle shaft is in the way, my truck is in pieces, and its about to be in a lot more pieces if i cant get it soon. im never buying a pos chevy again. some lying sob told me chevys were easier to work on, but from my experience, ford is alot easier to work on.

yea, i cant get the freakin hub off, or the upper ball joint out, if i could get the axle shaft out of the way i could pound it out, but i cannot get it out. i got a ball joint press, but it wont fit because the axle shaft is in the way, my truck is in pieces, and its about to be in a lot more pieces if i cant get it soon. im never buying a pos chevy again. some lying sob told me chevys were easier to work on, but from my experience, ford is alot easier to work on.

Drag that sucker over here, I'll help Ya.

Those things can be a PITA. Try spraying some penetrating oil on the splines of the half shaft. Let it soak in and then spray a little more. Hold a 2x4 over the shaft to protect the threads and then beat the hell out of it with a BFH. After it breaks loose and starts to move back, remove the three bolts ( 18mm if I remember correctly) in the back of the hub and work it off over the shaft.

yea, i cant get the freakin hub off, or the upper ball joint out, if i could get the axle shaft out of the way i could pound it out, but i cannot get it out. i got a ball joint press, but it wont fit because the axle shaft is in the way, my truck is in pieces, and its about to be in a lot more pieces if i cant get it soon. im never buying a pos chevy again. some lying sob told me chevys were easier to work on, but from my experience, ford is alot easier to work on.

Just pickup the fork tool at the autostore and you won't need to remove the hub. I think they call it a ball joint remover.

heres my situation so far.

caliper is off, 3 bolts out of back of hub, lower ball joint removed, tie rod end removed, nut is off of the end of hub, upper ball joint is cut off, but still stuck in the hole, with no way to pound it out as the half shaft is in the way, and its tappered, so basically the only way im getting it out now is to get the halfshaft out of the way so i can pound it out. i had a pickle fork, but it didnt work, so i resorted to a sawsall.

ive been without my truck for like 3 days, and if i cant get that freakin half shalft out of there soon, im taking the sawsall to it, and after i get my ball joints back in, ill take it somewhere and have them fix the rest of it, im going insane.

if i use a puller, pushing on the shaft, and pulling on the hub where the lug nuts go, will that pull it off the shaft? or will it break something?

Sorry I did not get back sooner . I don't have time on the weekends to play online . The fork is what I was refering to earlier to remove the ball joint , but if you have already used the sawzall you have more problems . Heat the section witha propane torch until cherry red and hit the balljoint upward with a big hammer . The axle may have a "C" clip hidden in the grease that you are missing . But I did not have to remove it , if you do you might have to replace its bearings too . Rob

I just went through all this over the weekend, myself. Whern I had problems pulling the passenger side hub assembly I used a three jaw puller and was able to break it loose. Make sure that you have the three 18mm bolts removed from the back and the 36mm hub bolt that is on the axle. Spraty the threaded axle down liberally with penetrating oil, and then put the three jaw puller on the hub with the bolt on the axle shaft. As you tighten the bolt on the puller it will pull the hub assembly off. It isn't the easiest job, but it gets it done. I also had to help the hub assembly along with a little pursuasion from a hammer on the back of the hub assembly.
Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

I have never had to remove the hub or the shaft. Loosen the axle nut but leave it on the shaft. Use a piece of wood and a big hammer or a brass mallet to get the shaft loose. With the ball joints separated you should be able to work the axle shaft in and pull the knuckle out until there is enough room to get the joint clear. This has always worked for me.

Well, if you can't get the hub out, then I would suggest drilling out what is left of the balljoint, from the top. Make sure you get a strong bit and maybe pickup 2 or 3.

I just went through all this over the weekend, myself. Whern I had problems pulling the passenger side hub assembly I used a three jaw puller and was able to break it loose. Make sure that you have the three 18mm bolts removed from the back and the 36mm hub bolt that is on the axle. Spraty the threaded axle down liberally with penetrating oil, and then put the three jaw puller on the hub with the bolt on the axle shaft. As you tighten the bolt on the puller it will pull the hub assembly off. It isn't the easiest job, but it gets it done. I also had to help the hub assembly along with a little pursuasion from a hammer on the back of the hub assembly.
Good luck, and let us know how it goes.


thanks, this was exactly what i was needing to know, i did try a small puller, but it wasnt working, got a diferent type that bolted to the lug nut studs, but it stripped out the bolt for the puller, i just got a bigger 3 jaw puller and will give it a shot and let you know, thanks again.

thanks, this was exactly what i was needing to know, i did try a small puller, but it wasnt working, got a diferent type that bolted to the lug nut studs, but it stripped out the bolt for the puller, i just got a bigger 3 jaw puller and will give it a shot and let you know, thanks again.

That's what I used. Like I said, you may need to give it a little help with a hammer on the back side every once in a while. I alternated side to side when I was "persuading" it off, and it came loose. :banghead: :banghead:
Good luck and let us know what happens.
Bill :icon16:

That's what I used. Like I said, you may need to give it a little help with a hammer on the back side every once in a while. I alternated side to side when I was "persuading" it off, and it came loose. :banghead: :banghead:
Good luck and let us know what happens.
Bill :icon16:

well, the puller worked good, with a little hammer persuasion. got another one of my more competant friends to help me finish it after my first "friend" left me high and dry, and we finished the first side, and did the second side quicker than it took to take the first side apart. the drivers side hub came off considerably more easily than the passenger, no puller required. thank you all for all your input, i was quite frustrated, as my ford ranger was considerably more easy to work on, and ive had a few friends tell me that chevy was easier to work on, but from my experience, from this point on im stickin with fords:) this 95 blazer has been nothing but a money pit. it has 130,000 miles, ive owned it for 6 months and had to put a 1800$ tranny, all ball joints, and still have a leak in my gas tank somewhere, presumably at the sending unit, or so i was told. it seems to be leaking from the top of the tank, slowly. havent had the time or money to fully investigate yet.

I'm glad that the puller worked for you.
I am sorry that you are so unhappy with your blazer. I have had mine for about four years now, and other than what I consider routing maintenance, which includes replacing worn out parts after over 110,000 miles, I haven't had any major issues.
In every other vehicle I have owner, and at over forty years on this planet that has been quite a few, I have had to replace trannys, cv joints, brakes, radiators, ball joints and other "wear" items at regular intervals. On the two dodges that I've owned I had to replace the trannys twice in less than 110K. Never will I make that mistake again.
Overall I've had a pretty good experience with Chevy, and I am VERY happy with my Blazer.
Glad to hear that you were able to get everything done. I would think that now that you have some of the more expensive repairs done you would want to keep it for a while.
Bill

I think of it this way...Once all the wear and tear parts are replaced, the truck is good for another 100,000 miles, although it is a pain because all that stuff needs to be replaced around the same time.

yea, i have a 90 ford ranger, xlt with auto trans, and i pulled another ranger with it, both fully loaded down, about 1000 miles. the tranny is original, and it was loosing fluid becuase i tried to pull it in overdrive, like an idiot, but the tranny is still fine, amazingly, with 198,000 miles on it currently. i love that truck;)