90 steering dilemma

Hi all

My 90 was weaving about all over the place so i decided the ball joint on the drop down arm needed replacing (where it meets the steering rod / damper assy). Having done a quick search on here, i found a very useful linkl to a LR4x4 article on how to do it in situ, which made it look like a piece of proverbial.

I duly got the required replacement kit off haddocks and set about dismantling this morning. The nut and split pin off the top of the joint were relatively easy and i thought i was in line for mechanic of the year award. Then it said "give the end of the arm a few sharp taps with a hammer and the joint will pop apart" - this i did, and nothing. I then throught it might be easier if i took the rest of the joint apart, giving me a bit more leverage with the hammer. This happened but still no movement in the joint between the old pin and the steering rod.

I then spent the next 3 hours bashing the top, side, underneath etc of the joint with hammers increasing in size to what i could get in the tight spot under the front x-member. I then got a clamp on to it (worried about the damage all this bashing was doing to the steering) which promptly snapped (good old Trago! Memo: Get what you pay for).

I am now fairly convinced that the steering rod and the pin from the drop down arm are hewn from a singular block of tungsten, but i know this can't be. The pin is tapered but i don't really want to get heat on it due to the abundance of highly flammables in the area. The guts of the kit are now all over the place so i can drive a short distance fairly safely (although if it suddenly decided to dislocate itself at 60 on the A30, i'd be in the Fenton Pits before you could even say Snorkel), but i dont really want to have to go to Kwik-Sh_Fit cap in hand tomorrow!

Has anyone had a similar situation with a good outcome, or can you think of a way to split the two? (if the worst comes to the worst, does anyone know the size of the hole i would need to drill out in the rod?)

Many thanks, and Happy Excesses of the Season to all
OD

yer need one er these
Clarke - CHT221 Ball Joint Separator - Automotive Tools - Machine Mart
av got wun ear if yer wanna borrow - pm me if yer dus.

oh and one er these too...
Clarke - CHT510 Club Hammer (Fibre Glass Handle) - Hammers, Nail Pullers & Pry-bars - Machine Mart

dunt need an ammer with this one

Clarke - CHT222 Ball Joint Remover - Automotive Hand Tools - Machine Mart

The usual method involvesTWO heavy hammers, and two people.

You want a 7 pounder (sledge hammer) and a two-pounder with a long-ish handle.

The idea is to use the 7-pounder (with the head longways) behind the steering-arm where it sits on the taper of the output shaft, and then belt the other side of the steering arm dead opposite the sledge hammer with the two pounder. One of you is holding the sledge hammer hard against the steering arm during all this, with the nut slacked a couple of turns but NOT removed. This helps to stop you mashing the threads in your enthusiasm

Basically you are squishing the steering arm between the 2-pounder and the sledge hammmer, and the sledge hammer acts like an anvil, and stops damage to the steering box. You should NOT need to knock seven bells out of the steering arm working this way . Half a dozen sharp smacks should do it as long as the sledge hammer is being held firmly against the opposite side.

Try it, why not?

CharlesY

Thanks all, unusual score i've never really seen before which is: Brute force: 0; intelligent use of the right tool: 1. Got a screw on ball joint remover and it popped off in about 20 seconds, as opposed to my 3 hours wellying it yesterday. Problem was mainly lack of space to get a decent hammer in and some swing behind it.(and me being a numpty and thinking i knew all the tools available!)

Only problem now is the joint was so warn the upper cup (which the pin goes through) has chamfered virtually level with the lip of the housing, which means i can't stick anything in the top to force it out the bottom!

Unless anyone has any brainwaves (Do Machine mart do a tool for this?) i think i am going to have to fork out the £26 for a new steering arm, which i understand will be an absolute bu99er to get off as i think the nut is tightened to about a million lb ft (job for a pro me thinks).

So unless anyone has any clever ways of getting the upper cup out (there really is no lip, so i can see why i was driving like a frenchman!) haddocks will be getting their sweaty mitts on another £26 of mine. All suggestions to avoid this will be gladly welcomed!

Cheers