When repairing the steering and chassis, almost every car owner is faced with the problem of removing ball joints (steering rod ends), which cannot be solved without special tool quite problematic.
Reason – design features of the named elements: their fingers have a cone-shaped shape, with which they enter the mounting sockets; over time, the place of this entry becomes dirty, oily, rusty, making the connection of the surfaces too dense, almost uniform, that is, one that cannot be separated by simple physical force. You need an assistant - a ball joint remover - a tool that greatly simplifies pressing out.
It is not difficult to become its owner: to do this, you need to go to the nearest auto store and purchase it there, or make a ball joint remover with your own hands using any of the methods presented below, which we have grouped depending on how the force is created in them.
Screw pullers.
The force in these types of pullers is created by screwing the bolt into their body: the tool body is put on the eye of the ball joint, the bolt rests on the pin and, when screwed, presses it out of its seat.
These types of pullers are quite compact, therefore they are considered universal, that is, suitable for any car, although such mechanisms are most popular among VAZ owners.
Let's look at how to make a ball joint remover with your own hands using examples of screw options.
Option No. 1 – screw expansion.
- Take a 7-centimeter 4- or 6-sided rod with 17 or 19 key edges.
- Using a drill tank, make a hole inside its body and cut a thread for an M8 bolt.
- Screw this bolt into the hole prepared for it. The puller is ready.
Let us explain how it works using the example of pressing out the upper ball joint of the “seven”.
- Unscrew the lock nut. We unscrew it, but do not remove it.
- We install the made puller between the pins of the supports, the bolt in it is screwed in until it stops and the head rests against the pin that needs to be pressed out.
- We take 2 keys: with one we hold the puller body, with the second we unscrew its bolt. Unscrew until the support pin is pressed out of the socket.
If it is necessary to dismantle the lower ball, all actions are performed in the same way, only with the puller turned upside down.
Option No. 2 – screw L-shaped.
- Take a 15-17 cm round metal rod with a diameter of 10 mm or more. Using a vice and a hammer, bend it into an “L” shape (the length of the short arm should be 5 cm).
- Cut a thread on the long arm of the workpiece and select a nut for it.
- Take a metal plate half a centimeter thick and cut a hole in it for the support pin using the wedge puller technology (it will be given below).
- On the thickened part of the wedge, opposite the slot, make a hole for the L-shaped blank and insert the long part of the rod into it, only after that screw the nut onto the “improved” rod. Do not tighten too much - the wedge-shaped plate should move well.
- Insert the plate into the gap between the eye and the support. The short arm of the L-shaped element should rest against the finger.
- Start tightening the nut and do this until the pin is pushed out.
Option No. 3 - a screw puller of ball joints made from a corner.
- Take a 7-8 cm metal corner, half a centimeter thick, maybe a little less.
- Make a cut on one side; with this cut, the tool will be attached to the eye.
- From metal plates equal in thickness to the metal of the corner, cut out 2 identical triangles and weld them on the sides of the corner.
- Take a 17 nut, select a long bolt for it, weld spacers to this nut on both sides, they will help in the future to position the puller bolt on the same axis with the support pin.
- Screw the bolt into the fixed nut and press out the pin using the technology described above (in other types of screw pullers).
As you can see, to create a ball joint remover you can use almost all available materials, the main thing is to understand the principle of operation, the drawing will help you:
Lever pullers.
Lever pullers are a tool consisting of a pair of levers connected to each other in the middle. They also have a coupling bolt on one side. In the process of acting on the ball joint, this bolt is unscrewed, bringing the ends of the levers together, one of which is located between the support and the eye, the second - under the finger.
Such pullers are also quite effective, but they are larger in size, so they may not be applicable everywhere.
Wedge type puller.
The simplest in its design, however, it also copes well with the task assigned to it. To make it you will need:
- take a small metal plate (enough size for a matchbox);
- using a grinder (angle grinder)/machine with an abrasive wheel, give it the shape of a wedge, the resulting workpiece in profile should take the shape of a triangle;
- Using the same grinder, starting from the upper corner of the triangle, you need to make a vertical cut in it at 2/3 of its height, a width slightly larger than the diameter of the ball joint pin;
- To make working with the tool easier, it is recommended to weld a metal rod to the middle of the base of the wedge, although you don’t have to do this if you don’t have such a rod at hand.
This is the kind of bracket you should end up with.
- insert the wedge you just made between the ball body and the eye;
- Hitting the rod (the base of the wedge) with a hammer, hammer in the homemade support puller until the finger pops out of the socket.
IMPORTANT!
When using this type of puller, there is always a risk of damage to the boot, so this tool can only be used in the event of a planned replacement of tips or supports. If the repair of the steering mechanism or suspension does not require such a replacement, it is better to abandon the “wedge” type puller.
Puller directly for ball joints.
Used for cars (Citroen, Peugeot) whose ball joint is screwed into the lever. And since it is screwed in and not pressed in, it is impractical to use the above tool options; you need a special puller, which we suggest you make from an 8-centimeter thick metal pipe on 2".
- At one of the ends of this pipe, equidistant from each other, using a grinder or a hacksaw, make 4 rectangular tenons 5x7 mm.
- At the second end, using the same tool, again, cut slots equidistant from each other to a depth of 3 cm so that you end up with 8 petals.
- Use a hammer to slightly bend these petals towards the center of the circle, thereby reducing its diameter.
- Take a 24mm nut and weld it to the narrowed side of the workpiece. The DIY ball joint remover is ready.
It’s simple to use: put it on the support so that the spikes fit into the existing grooves of the ball body, then use a 24mm wrench to turn the welded nut, thereby removing the suspension element you need.
Video.
Very cool and useful thing. Bearing puller. A pipe, an iron plate, a large washer, a bolt, and a nut will come in handy.
First, mark on the pipe the size that needs to be cut. Weld a washer to the resulting segment. Place the nut evenly on the hole and weld it. Let's clean the uneven areas with a grinder.
Measure 1.5 centimeters and make a cut. On the other hand it's the same. Cut two small pieces from the plate. They will be inserted into two slots. The result is a puller.
How does this tool work? We put it on the bearing. We go behind him for two records. Rotate the bolt. It rests on the shaft and pulls the bearing off it. Using this device, you can easily remove it from the generator and electric motor. The outer diameter of the part should not exceed inner size pipes.
Video AVTO CLASS.
Second idea
Ayrat Valiakhmetov, the host of the youtube channel of the same name, has developed his own original idea. In the store, such tools are not cheap. So I decided to do it myself. I took a metal strip 30 mm wide and 4 mm thick. I cut it into strips. Cooked it. Plates. Hooks to grip the bearing. Two cuts are made with a grinder. Two nuts are inserted and welded. I took the worm from an old Soviet clamp. Hardened steel. To make the tool universal, I made 4 holes on each side. Can be installed at any width. If necessary, the paws are pulled out and turned over to the other side. You can pull out the bearing.
When carrying out repairs to the chassis and steering, there is almost always a need to remove ball joints or tie rod ends.
The special feature of these structural elements is that the support finger or tip has a conical shape, with which it fits into the seat.
During operation, the fit density increases so much that the surfaces of this joint practically stick to each other.
Additionally, moisture can get between the finger and the socket, causing pockets of corrosion that further seal the connection.
Therefore, to remove ball joints or tips, special pullers are used that allow you to press out the pin with minimal effort.
Types of pullers
The auto tools market offers wide choose such removable mechanisms, which can be divided into two types:
- Screw;
- Lever.
Screw pullers are considered universal and are suitable for working with almost any car.
The force in them is created by screwing the bolt into the puller body. The housing itself is put on the support eye, and when tightened, the bolt rests against the support pin and presses it out of the socket.
Lever removable mechanisms are no less effective, but they are larger in size, so they may not be suitable for every car.
For example, with such a puller on a VAZ-2107 you can still remove the upper ball joint, but you won’t be able to get to the lower one due to very limited space.
For these purposes, a special puller is used.
The essence of a lever puller comes down to the presence of two levers connected in the middle.
On the one hand, holes are made in them and a coupling bolt is installed.
To press out, one lever is installed between the eye and the support, while the second lever is placed under the finger.
When the bolt is unscrewed, due to the existing connecting axis, the ends of the levers begin to converge and the pin is pushed out.
But it is not necessary to purchase a removable mechanism; it can easily be made at home from improvised materials.
Puller type - WEDGE
The simplest puller is the so-called “wedge”. It does not belong to any type of removable mechanisms, but it is quite effective device for pressing out.
To make it, you only need an angle grinder (“grinder”), you can also use a machine with an abrasive wheel.
The blank will be a metal plate the size of a matchbox.
First, it is necessary to give the workpiece a wedge shape, for which we grind the metal with a grinder or machine so that the profile of the plate looks like a triangle. Then, using the same “grinder”, we make a cut in the middle 2/3 of the length of the workpiece from the side of the apex of the triangle, that is, from the thin side of the wedge. The width of the cut should be slightly larger than the thickness of the support pin, that is, you should get a kind of bracket.
If desired, you can weld a metal rod to the bracket, which will make it easier to work with the wedge in the future.
Pressing out a finger with a wedge is very simple. It is installed in the gap between the eye and the support body. And then the wedge is simply driven in with a hammer, which leads to the finger popping out of the socket.
The disadvantage of the wedge is that the boot will be damaged during the pressing process. Therefore, the wedge can only be used when replacing supports or tips.
If the suspension and steering mechanism are being repaired, which does not involve replacing the ball elements, it is better not to use a wedge.
Screw release mechanism
The second type of removable mechanism, which can be made from improvised means, is a screw release mechanism. It is perfect for replacing ball joints of classic VAZ models.
A special feature of the suspension design of these cars is that the upper and lower supports are located symmetrically to each other and the distance between them is not large.
It can be made at home only if you have drilling machine Or you will have to contact a turning workshop. This puller consists of only two parts.
To make it, you will need a square or hexagonal rod with 17 or 19 key edges, the length of which is 7 cm. Using a drilling machine, we make a hole in this rod and cut a thread for a bolt of 8. Screw in the bolt and that’s it - the puller is ready.
Let's look at how it works using the VAZ-2107 as an example. To press out the upper support, you need to unscrew the lock nut, but not completely, you do not need to remove it. Then we install the manufactured puller between the pins of the supports with the bolt screwed in until it stops.
To squeeze out the finger, we take two keys - with one we hold the manufactured body, and with the second we unscrew the bolt until the finger falls off the socket. After replacing the upper support, we do the same, but with the lower one.
Screw L-shaped
The third type of removable mechanism, which you can make yourself, is also a screw mechanism, but it has shown itself to be excellent and allows you to work on any car.
To make it you will need a round metal rod with a diameter of at least 10 mm and a length of 15-17 cm.
From it you need to make an L-shaped blank with a shoulder length of 5 cm. That is, we take a rod, measure 5 cm on it, clamp it in a vice and use a hammer to bend it 90 degrees.
We cut a thread on the long part of the workpiece and select a nut.
All that remains is to make the thrust bar. It can be made in the likeness of the wedge described above. That is, we take a plate, but 0.5 cm thick. On one side we make a cut for the support pin.
If necessary, you can reduce the thickness of the plate on the cut side by grinding off the metal layer. The main thing is that the plate fits into the gap between the support body and the eye, but it is not too thin, otherwise it will bend during the pressing process.
On the other hand, from the cut we make a hole for the L-shaped workpiece. All that remains is to put the plate on the long part of the rod. If the thread is not long enough to squeeze out the finger, you can place several washers under the nut.
This puller works like this: Unscrew the nut almost completely, install the plate in the gap between the support and the eye, and turn the rod so that the short arm rests against the finger.
Then we simply tighten the nut, while the plate will act as a stop, and the short arm of the rod will squeeze out the finger.
Screw made from angle
Another screw puller can be made from metal corner and welding machine.
To do this, take a corner with sides 7-8 cm and the same length, and a thickness of 0.3-0.5 cm.
We make a cut in one of the sides to secure the mechanism to the eye. From sheet metal 0.3 cm thick we cut out two triangles that will act as braces. They need to be welded on the sides to the corner. This will significantly increase the strength of the structure.
We take a 17 nut and a long bolt for it. We weld the nut itself perpendicular to the cut so that its hole faces the cut.
So that in the future the bolt can be easily positioned on the same axis with the pin, before securing the nut by welding, a spacer must first be welded onto the corner.
All that remains is to screw in the bolt and the puller can be used.
These are the simplest types of removable mechanisms that you can make yourself.
In general, there are a lot of options, and with a little imagination and basic knowledge plumbing, you can easily come up with and make your own puller.
We offer some drawings for viewing.
Tool for unscrewing the support
We will consider another type, which is used not for pressing out the finger, but for removing the support itself.
The fact is that on a number of cars (Peugeot, Citroen) the ball joint is screwed into the lever. With time threaded connection turns sour, and it is quite difficult to unscrew this suspension element without a special tool.
But you can make the necessary puller yourself, rather than spending money on a factory one.
It is made from a thick-walled pipe 2\’\’ 8-9 cm long.
At the end of this pipe it is necessary to make 4 spikes with a width of 5 mm and a height of 7 mm, located at an angle of 90 degrees relative to each other.
That is, you should get 4 protrusions at the end of the pipe, evenly distributed around the circumference. This can be done using a hacksaw and a file, or with a grinder.
How can you tell if a wheel bearing has failed? By the sound! The main symptom is a hum that gets worse during acceleration. If it occurs only occasionally, it means the bearing has just started to fail. A constant suspicious sound as the load increases means that this part of the car requires immediate replacement. In any case, to carry out repairs you will need a bearing puller. You can buy it or make it yourself.
How a puller makes life easier for a car owner
Using this tool, you can dismantle bearings, bushings, pulleys, flanges and other components, remove or fix rings and gears, and repair chassis elements. It makes the process a lot easier Maintenance and repair different parts vehicle. Using the right puller, you can quickly and easily replace a damaged element without the risk of damaging the machine elements connected to it. In addition, the tool can be used to work with hard-to-reach parts of the car, in a convenient position.
Products may have different designs, but the most common is the following - several gripping arms, which are shaped like hooks, and a threaded rod between them. Thanks to this structure, you can easily grab the required element and press the bearing out of it.
Kinds
Tools are divided into two groups.
- Hydraulic. When they operate, hydraulic traction is used; removal and landing are performed in semi-automatic mode. The main part of such a puller is a hydraulic nut, the internal cavity of which presses on a special piston. This, in turn, transfers the force to the desired part. Hydraulic model is in demand among owners of trucks and other large vehicles - with its help you can easily remove the most massive internal parts.
- Mechanical. They operate from human muscular strength and are in demand for mounting/dismounting wheel bearings. There are two-jaw, three-jaw and internal ones. Two-grip ones are the simplest. They are used where maximum process control is needed. Three-jaw machines are equipped with three paws and are used for working with the front hub and generator. Internal options are useful for removing ball and needle roller bearings; in addition, they can be used to dismantle various brass couplings.
Mechanical three-jaw model Bearing pullers may have different sizes, but the most popular are universal ones. Their parameters can be adjusted manually, adjusting them to any diameter.
You can do it yourself different instruments, but it is best to make a universal three-jaw version - it is convenient to use.
Diagram of a two-jaw puller Making a universal three-gripper with your own hands
To make a universal three-jaw puller designed for working with bearings ranging in size from 202 to 308, you will need:
- sheet metal(10 mm wide);
- round metal with a diameter of 30 mm.
If you plan to remove large bearings, take sheet metal 15 mm wide and round timber 30 mm in diameter.
Appearance finished product A simple way to make a homemade removal device
This option is easier to implement, but the product will not be as convenient. You will need the following tools and materials:
- steel pipe, inner diameter which will be larger than the diameter of the bearing;
- metal plate more than 5 mm thick;
- Bulgarian;
- stud with nut or bolt with long thread;
- a few nuts.
- Cut a piece of pipe with the required parameters.
Cutting off part of the pipe - Mark on metal sheet all the necessary elements, outline the pipe and bearing.
Marking out future details - We cut out the parts with a grinder and grind them to meet the exact parameters.
Cut parts - We drill holes for the bolt in the obtained washers.
Drilling holes for bolts