Ball joint separator

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CitroJim
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Post by CitroJim »

AndersDK wrote:
citrojim wrote:If it is still not clear I'll try to do a picture of it...
Thats defo a new method to me very diferent from what I thought you did 8)
Please picture it. I cant see how to do it not damaging the threaded part of the bolt.

PS : could you do it in a new thread - then I can move it to handy T&T forum.
I will do Anders! I'm not a very good artist though :oops:
Jim

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alan s
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Post by alan s »

The trick using that kind of puller is to set it up and put a fair bit of pressure on it by tightening the bolt, but rather than just keep on tightening, give the bolt a smack on the head with a hammer and you'll find that with the pressure applied by the bolt more often than not, the jolt will spring the joint free.


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Post by DaveW »

Alan,

Yes, that's the technique I always use but the old puller had been ground out and also had many years of service on BX's so I'm not too surprised it finally succumbed.

The two hammer method as described by citrojim, using two hammers to simultaneously strike both sides of the taper boss, is one used by many 'pro' mechanics and sometimes works for me but not on this occasion. This was the first time I had tried to dismantle the hub carrier on this car and I found that whoever had done work on it in the past had whanged everything up really tight - probably didn't have a torque wrench so just made extra + extra sure :?

I bought another separator of the same type and ground it out. This, plus a little judiciously applied heat, worked - job is now done.

Many thanks to all who replied.

Dave.
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CitroJim
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Post by CitroJim »

DaveW wrote:The two hammer method as described by citrojim, using two hammers to simultaneously strike both sides of the taper boss, is one used by many 'pro' mechanics and sometimes works for me but not on this occasion. This was the first time I had tried to dismantle the hub carrier on this car and I found that whoever had done work on it in the past had whanged everything up really tight - probably didn't have a torque wrench so just made extra + extra sure :?

Dave.
That's it Dave, you explained my method far better than me :D Thanks!

As for tightening they had used the "FT" dictum to set the torque. I'll leave to your imagination to deduce the "F" bit but the "T" stands for tight. Disturbingly, I have seen reference to doing things up FT just to be on the safe-side on other forums, not realising what damage may result from doing this :twisted:

If in doubt, get a Torque Wrench. Money well spent and it helps train in feeling for correct torque when not using a Torque Wrench as in some critical paces you just cannot get one in.
Jim

Runner, cyclist, time triallist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
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