so i am taking apart most of my suspension during my 383 rebuild, and I want to paint it. but I want to remove the A-arm assembly from the k member completely so i can clean it easier and then paint it.

I am having trouble removing the bolt stud that comes from the tie rod to the A-arm shown in the pic. I remove the bolt, but then the stud sticks up through the A-arm and I can't figure out how to get the stud to go back down. I hammered on it a little but it didn't work. Is there something else I am supposed to do??





And then also the top part where the top of the spring/shock assembly is, there is another similar stud that if i remove the nut I can't seem to remove that top piece. Any ideas or help with that one is also appreciated.

 

take a 3lb sledge or so and hit the metal that the stud goes through, it will vibrate it loose.

 

would a baseball bat or something else work, I don't think I have a sledge at all. just trying to find something that most people might have that would get the job done. can't try it till saturday since I work a 48 hour shift thurs/fri.

and thanks for the advice, i will try to find something like that if i can. I was thinking it should just go through and probably is just stuck in there.

 

Loosen the nut several turns, but don't remove it completely. You need a big hammer to back up one side and a smaller hammer to hit on the other side of the flat area where the stud goes through. A baseball bat is not going to work, lol.

 

Go rent a Ball-Joint / Tie-Rod seperater... AKA Pickle Fork. That's the proper tool for seperating those parts. IF you use the hammer method on the stud you can destroy the ball-joint/tie-rods.

Any auto parts store will have that tool; normally they're like $10 to buy one.

 

we are not recommending him to hit the stud with the hammer, the method is to hit the surrounding area that the stud goes into which will not damage the tie rod end... as long as he doesnt miss. personally, working on semi trucks, i have never needed a pickle fork to remove a tie rod end.

 

A pickle fork tears up boots. There are other separator tools that work better if he wants to rent something. Nobody said to hit the stud with a hammer. That would be pretty stupid. Most people have hammers in their tool collection. I guess this guy is an exception.

 

He needs one of these:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...0070921x00003j

Autozone might even have one to rent or loan-worth asking. It can separate ball joints without damage.

 

I need to return a tool at autozone anyways so I will see what they have. Appreciate the suggestions. Thanks. And yes, I might be the exception in regards to owning several different sized hammers. I only have one pretty small one. Never really needed them for anything other than hammering nails.

And I will let you guys know when I do this on Saturday since that is when I will get home.

 

Just wanted to say thanks to all of you guys that gave me ideas. Got it all apart with a few hits on the side using a small hammer. Nothing crazy needed. Disassembled the whole k-member assembly and cleaned it up. Going to paint it soon.

 

glad we could help

 

I wish i knew this 2 months ago

i ended up getting the pickle fork set at sears HERE

but i also tore the boot a little, as shoebox said.
It was a PAIN to get apart, noting i tried on it worked, until i got the pickle fork set.

i had 108k on the odo. when i did it.

 

I do this all the time at work... Use a length of 2x4 or something similar thats stiff enough to support the 'arm' of the knuckle (what the stud goes through), but soft enough to not damage it. Use that 2x4 to support that arm, and then with the nut just a few threads onto the stud, give it a sharp whack with something heavy - hammer, etc. It will knock it loose pretty easily in or two shots if the knuckle is supported.