[reng1230]

I have been banging my self to death here with a hand held sledge and not getting anywhere. I have watched this procedure on line and was very optimistic going in and now I’m not so happy !!
If there is someone out there in Benzworld that can offer a resulting procedure for this I would be soooooo grateful.

 

[Heikkif]

A tool like this might do the trick for you:

https://www.gearwrench.com/auto-specialty/steering-suspension-drive-train/gearwrench-3916d-universal-ball-joint-separator.html

Buy the genuine one. If it says made in china or taiwan leave it to the shop.

 

[kevdupuis]

Have you jacked up and supported the lower control arm, it needs to be in a raised position so that when the ball joint releases the spindle and joint drop from the lower control arm when you separate them. Also you should put the ball joint nut on enough so that the ball joint is held captured to prevent possible injury or damage from suddenly releasing.

This is from when I did mine, you can see how far down the spring pushes the lower control arm it's why you need to support them when trying to release the ball joints.

 

[Pinecreekman]

Have you jacked up and supported the lower control arm, it needs to be in a raised position so that when the ball joint releases the spindle and joint drop from the lower control arm when you separate them. Also you should put the ball joint nut on enough so that the ball joint is held captured to prevent possible injury or damage from suddenly releasing.

A tool like this might do the trick for you:

https://www.gearwrench.com/auto-specialty/steering-suspension-drive-train/gearwrench-3916d-universal-ball-joint-separator.html

Buy the genuine one. If it says made in china or taiwan leave it to the shop.

 

[John350]

What kevdupuis said: you need some of the weight of the car trying to pull it apart, otherwise, each time you hit it, it comes loose than goes back. It doesn't take much pressure to make it seem stuck; that's the nature of tapered fittings.

If that doesn't work, go to Autozone and borrow (free) a ball joint separater.

https://www.autozone.com/searchresult?searchText=ball%20joint%20separator

 

[Pinecreekman]

Definitely a yes on the nut in place. Do a little grinding on the separating tool so it slides in place far enough... Quite a bit of force on the tool then did a blunt bit with a air chisel. Make quite a bang when it releases! Good luck and stay safe!

 

[reng1230]

A tool like this might do the trick for you:

https://www.gearwrench.com/auto-specialty/steering-suspension-drive-train/gearwrench-3916d-universal-ball-joint-separator.html

Buy the genuine one. If it says made in china or taiwan leave it to the shop.

well, thank you so much for your reply. Actually that’s exactly what I did. I went to Autozone and was able to secure that same exact tool and it popped right off, after teaching it a lesson with a few more BANG, BANGS, I put that tool on there and POP, BINGO, you hit it right on the head

thank you

 

[reng1230]

Thank you all so much for you input. Everything Worked out very well in the end I understand what you mean about keeping the nuts on while doing this procedure however I wasn’t able to grab the top of the bolWorked out very well in the end I understand what you mean about keeping the nuts on while doing this procedure however I wasn’t able to grab the top of the ball joint with a note on it but it all worked out well in the end thank you again.

Now I have to put it all back have together

 

[alydon]

I just did this job last weekend. Driver side - same issue - used a genuine MB tool and just could not get the ball joint to separate. Finally bought a similar tool from what is shown above from China Freight - Pittsburgh brand that is forged steel. Put that tool on the ball joint and used a propane torch about 5-10 minutes to really heat up the lower control arm that surrounds the ball joint stem and left the car alone for about 20 minutes with the intense pressure of the tool and the heat from the torch. Went back to the car and whacked the LCA a couple times and it finally released. P side only took 20 minutes to separate using the same technique - apply tool and torqued down a good bit, heat with torch, let it sit for 20 minutes and whack the joint.

Of course - getting the ball joint out of the spindle is another story....

 

[reng1230]

I was thinking about using the heat but I didn’t need it. But it does sound like a good idea