Broken ball joint pinch bolt

1997 LGT sedan. I recently replaced my axles, and that involved installing a new (junkyard) knuckle. This knuckle had a balljoint in it, which I kept. It ended up being a busted ball joint and I tried replacing it today, immediately breaking the pinch bolt. I understand that a solution to this is to drill out the hole and use a long bolt and nut? what size drill bit / bolt should I use? Also, should I leave the knuckle in? I seriously don't want to take the thing off and get it aligned for the second time in the past month.

Leave the knuckle in.

In the few times I've had to drill it, I started with a 1/8 for a half inch so the large size would center well and have something to bite on.

Just measure the dia and use the same size bit.

 

O.

After putting this off for a month, I decided to give it a shot today. Does anyone have any tips for drilling the pinch bolt out? It seems pretty hardened, either that or my small bits are all very dull.

 

edit: nevermind about drilling, it just needed cutting fluid and some elbow grease. However, now I can't get the ball joint out of the knuckle. Would air hammer / pickle fork be the easiest way? I don't want to remove the knuckle and I don't care about destroying the boot.

I've used a chisel on the rim that holds the boot. Working it at a tangent in a few places.

Took me 5 minutes to break the tension. after it starts to rotate put the lower arm back on and the nut.

Use as long a pry bar as you have and pry the control arm down. It'll bring the bj with it.

Of course if you have an air hammer it'll loosen in no time.

 

O.

Okay, so I went out and tried that method. I didn't see any signs of movement but maybe I didn't try long enough. I soaked it in more blaster and I'll go back out there once I regain my temper. When you're hitting the chisel, should it be angled downwards, or to the side in order to rotate it? Also, will a propane torch make this easier?

Heat is good since you are not trying to save the boot, but use something to deflect the heat from the axle boot.

I use the chisel going straight in to make a dent then hit that dent to make it rotate.

Some take longer than others. Some less than 5 mins and at least two more than 15.

If you use heat, heat the knuckle side. You can also try to spread the pinch hole just a LITTLE.

When you finally get it out. Clean the socket with 800 or finer grit paper and antiseize on install

 

O.

Thanks for your help. Tomorrow I'll give it another shot and update.

PB it especially in the pinch bolt.

Tie a small rag around it, soak it in PB, give it a couple of whacks and finish tomorrow.

leave rag attached

 

O.

My patience with the chisel was slim today, so I borrowed an air hammer from a friend of mine. I beat the hell out of it, and the joint rotates in the knuckle when I use the air hammer from the side. However I still can't pry the the thing out. Is there anything else I can try with the hammer? People say to hit the knuckle, but judging by how easily it chewed up the joint, I don't know about that. Any insight?

Now that it rotates push the control arm up and tighten the castle nut (it doesn't have to be torque tight).

Use the longest pry bar you can find and pry the control arm down. It will bring the BJ with it.

Insert the bar under the pinch bolt area.

You've done the hard part.

 

O.

I've been rotating and prying but it won't come out. It rotates freely and I can pry down on a screwdriver with very little effort, and the joint will come out a couple millimeters but no further. What's the best way to pry down the control arm? I have little ground clearance.

Is it possible that I didn't drill out the pinch bolt all the way? I doubt it because of how loose it is, but could it be a cause?

Can you see any metal from the bolt in the hole?

A screwdriver won't do. You need something at least 3 ft long.

A tire spoon with a length of pipe over it. You need leverage.

Don't know what you have available.

At last resort you can try a chisel hitting the ring downwards in different spots about the circumference.

 

If you have the room, use the air hammer going downwards on the BJ or some plate on the control arm itself as long as you are not hammering directly onto the arm.

 

O.

Oh I've been using a 3 or 4 foot pry bar, I was just saying that's how loose it is. I'll make sure I got all the bits of bolt tomorrow.

Are you saying the balljoint is stuck in the control arm or in the knuckle? If it is stuck in the control arm and there is any of the pinch bolt still in there it will not come apart no matter how much prying or turning you do. The ball joint has a channel around it that the pinch bolt sits into to keep it from coming out even if the bolt is very loose. Do you have the new ball joint so you can see that channel? It really isn't hard at all to get the control arm off the vehicle so you can work on extracting that bolt properly. Or, last I checked, you could buy a control arm with bushings and balljoints already loaded for a reasonable price.

The joint is stuck in the knuckle. The pinch bolt head sheared off, so I drilled it through. I'm saying that the joint can rotate freely in the knuckle, so I know it's not seized in there. How can I tell if there are pieces of pinch bolt left, and should I just drill it out some more?

 

I do have the new one ready, and I can see the channel. I can also see the ball joint rotating in the pinch hole when I shine a light in there and hit the joint from the side

If the pinch bolt is clear and it sounds like it is from you looking in the hole and seeing the joint rotate, then Osei's description applies for leaving the control arm on the car. I was confused about what was stuck. If you were taking the control arm off the car then a shop press would make short work of it.

I still can't get it out, and I'm deeply frustrated. I detached the control arm, and with the joint hanging on the knuckle, I can spin the joint freely with just a pair of pliers, and I can pull the joint out 3mm or so and push it back in with my bare hands. I've drilled the living $#!% out of the pinch bolt hole, but it still seems to be stuck on something, and besides the initial 3mm movement, heaving on the 4 foot prybar yields absolutely nothing. Is there some kind of threaded pulling or prying device I could use? What's the best way to make sure there's no trace of the pinch bolt?

 

I'm at my wit's end with this rat bastard ball joint.

Drill it out a little larger to make sure there isn't a ring of metal holding it in.

You can put something on the threaded end that you can pry against, then the castle nut.

Then a block of wood to pry against.

 

O.

I didn't think about that, thanks. Should I use a larger bit, it just put lateral force while I drill? I ask because the chuck on my drill is stuck with the bit I drilled out the pinch bolt with.

You don't know anyone with a hydraulic shop press? You could take it to a shop and have them press it out, but I don't know how much they might charge for that. Anywhere from nothing to insane.

Whatever to drill that hole.

Just make sure that you use the largest bolt you can fit into the hole on install. The less slop the better.

 

O.

You can buy or build a puller to remove the ball joint from the knuckle. Building one requires a piece of 3/4" threaded rod, a 12x1.25 metric tap, a couple of hardened washers, a short piece of exhaust pipe big enough to clear the socket of the ball joint but small enough to still sit on the knuckle, and a lathe.

 

Plan i used was from this thread: https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1989958

 

I have made a couple of them over the years.

 

These days it's much easier to just order the Company 23 tool.

 

https://www.ebay.com/p/Company23-C23-532-Ball-Joint-Removal-Tool-for-1993-15-Subaru-Only-Once/1467097876?iid=262113460660&chn=ps

 

All of that said, I'd guess any Subaru shop in Massachusetts would have one and would probably be willing to pull yours for a few nice words and a picture of Andrew Jackson.

Thanks for the advice everyone. No shops are gonna be open today so I'll give drilling + prying another shot. If I can't borrow one of those tools I'm gonna pay someone to do it. I don't have a lathe and don't have time to wait for stuff to come in the mail.

Patience is a virtue.

 

and in this case it's one of the better ways to avoid messing up your knuckle. Prior to owning that tool I have broken a few of them trying to air chisel stuck ball joints out.

 

The knuckle typically grows a ring of rust around the groove in the ball joint that gives space for the pinch bolt to live. That's what makes them so difficult to remove.