trying to replace ball joints on a ram 2500 2 wheel drive, not my everyday driver so i have the luxury of taking my time, however i have spent several days trying to remove the upper ball joint from the spindle/knuckle with no luck, have tried pickle fork, ball joint seperator, still no luck, any ideas on how to get this step done would be greatly appreciated, thanks

 

Go to your autoparts store and rent the balljoint press. Are you talking about getting the ball joint separated from the spindle or the ball joint from the control arm?

 

Spray the lower part of the joint with PB Blaster and let it sit a bit. Then come back with a pickle fork and a large, heavy hammer and whack the *ell out of the pickle fork with the hammer and it will come loose. You can also use some heat in the knuckle to help, too, but I rarely need to.

 

Trying to separate knuckle from control arm.

Two BIG hammers. Hold one against one side of where the ball joint stud goes thru, and SMACK the other side with the other hammer good and hard. Usually, three or four good whacks and it will pop out.

 

i have a ball joint press, i cant get it removed from the spindle, removing the ball joint from the control arm hasnt come into play yet, i do have a torch but dont want to use heat if i dont have to, i will continue it try to beat it out hgowever my fork has bottom out,theres not really much leverage left as it has pretty much destroyed everything in the boot

 

Don't forget to spray the area where the joint goes into the knuckle with a good penetrating oil, such as PB Blaster. Are you using a pickle fork made for a ball joint or a tie rod end? I ask, as a tie rod end pickle fork isn't typically large enough to wedge in to separate the ball joint from the knuckle.

 

i do what heyyou said to try. except i use one big hammer. (two would be better), and hit where the balljoint stud goes thru. few good hits should do it

 

Make certain the ball joint isn't held in place with a few spot welds. Apparently, the factory sometimes did that.