What a day I'm having! I was out riding with some buddies this morning, and my lower ball joint sheared off causing my a-arm to drop free, my half shaft pulled loose of the diff and mangled the boot. Luckily I was only doing ~10mph so I didn't go flying or anything. We were able to rig the a-arm up with a ratcheting strap (keep one in your toolbox if you don't already), and I was able to limp home at 5mph.

What I'm looking at now is a lower ball joint replacement (maybe I should replace both sides while I'm at it?) and a new replacement Gorilla boot.

I was reading some threads on how to get the ball joint off, and most of them required some threads still on the shaft which I don't have. Any advice on any of this?

Thanks guys!

 

Mine was busted off also (darn tree), anyways the dealer said that they welded a piece of metal onto what was left and pulled it out using that.

 

Thanks for the advice. I was reading some similar posts with that removal method. I see what I can rig up, and maybe use that as my last resort.

Maybe the only useful thing I learned in high school, was how to weld. Maybe I can borrrow my friends mig welder if I need to do that.

Thanks!

 

Unless you crash ball joints don’t just break, they get real loose first. Even if you grease them religiously the trail take a toll on them. You probably were unaware of how worn it was before it broke. I’m betting your other side isn’t far behind.

Heat up the lower portion of the strut housing to get the remains out, and heat it up to get the new one in. It’s a pressed fit and aluminum expands well when heated. Be careful you don’t damage any other parts with the heat but within a short time you should be able to get it warm enough that the remains will almost fall out.

 

It totally sheared off. What I think may have contributed, is that I rolled my quad about a month ago, and that is the side that it rolled over on. I bet all that weight on my front ball joint may have contributed to a weakening of the ball joint (at least that's what I'm telling mysefl). I'm going to order two new ball joints, and I'm going to replace both sides just to play it safe.

I can't imagine what would have happened if that thing failed and I was doing 45mph or something. My wife would probably be collecting my life insurance right now. I consider myself lucky I was not going very fast!


Since I don't have access to an acetylene torch in my garage you think a small propance torch might do the trick?

 

Definitely. I would be VERY careful about using oxy/acetylene on that part. Propane is much safer, MAPP gas is safe too and will get you there faster. I have oxy/acetylene in the shop but I use MAPP gas for this application. If it’s stubborn you could try drilling a tapping the stuck portion for a bolt as a “handle” too if you don’t have access to a welder. Heat is the key, just don’t damage that soft aluminum.

 

Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely give that a try first. If it's stubborn, I'll just pull the whole strut assembly off and bring it to my buddies house and we'll tack a nut or something on to the end of it, but I'd rather do it all myself in my own garage if I can.

 

Sounds like you have the right idea, good luck!