most permanent ball joints ever?
 

can anyone give advice on pressing in/out ball joints on my '79? i went to 3 places here in bowling green and no one could do it, including the Caterpillar dealer whose huge pneumatic press couldn't budge it! four Cat mechanics couldn't figure it out, but they did manage to bend the end of the arm about an inch.

don't mind the crappy paint job. i shined 'em up so they might be more careful and i haven't replaced the painted-over bushings yet.
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i'm trying to get my kerscher ball joints in to finish off my suspension for real, and most places get nervous when they find out they don't get a redo.

super beetle ball joints can't be that ridiculous, can they? for all this effort i could've had them build new arms! and if i replace enough arms it might wind up cheaper!

You'll have to replace them at this point, they're too beat. Did you use penetrating liquid like WD-40 for a week or so before your attempt?

Jason

Ouch! :eek: That arm is bent! You might want to source another set of trailing arms. The camber will be out of spec, and your new ball joints may bind at that angle. I restored a '79 Vert for my father-in-law five years ago, and his ball joints pressed out OK. I have a ball joint press with correct receiver tubes so no stress was put on the arm itself. I don't remember the arms having that much angle. (they were straight IIRC, not angled down like that)

I had mine done..the guy used his 8 ton press and every bit of it with a long pipe..hes never seen one so stuck in there..but he finally got it out..he even had the right sleeves and everything....just majorly stuck since 1973!
If its bent tho..id just get another one..i dont think they are to expensive.

yeah, that arm's done. luckily they didn't try to remove the second ball joint. nothing on my car had been replaced since '79, including the brake lines, so i'm sure the ball joints have never been off.

i didn't soak them because i assumed many tons of pressure would suffice, but i guess i'll have to rethink my plan. i'm doing all my work at my apartment, so i have to have everything back together every night so it's not obvious that i'm trying to build a car where i'm technically not supposed to be even working on one.

i'm just not sure what to try differently on the next two arms, since i went to the people with the biggest presses around, to my knowledge, and all i got was a bent arm. :disagree:

If its done right I don't know that the arm should recieve any force at all except compression right around the cup....

You are correct Volkdent. Force is only applied to the area about an 1/8 of an inch all the way around ball joint.

i think the "if it's done right" thing seems to be the problem around here. i just remembered there's a european car place in town that i'll try next time and maybe they'll be able to do something with it.

I know this will sound wild but I read it in Popular Mechanics, take some Coca-cola and pour it on there and let it soak a bit. The acid and other chemicals in the coke will actually get in the cracks and eat away the grit and grease in there. Then clean up afterwards and soak in WD-40 over night.

Lastly, if you just can't get this done local you could send them to Topline in California and have it done and/or buy some used one(s) from them to save on two-way shipping.

i really might try that coke idea just to see what happens. i first have to find another arm but i'll let you know if it blows up or anything fun.

It's on page 104 of the Oct. '07 Popular Mechanics. The article is about plumbing but it's the same concept here. I've never tried it, let us know the results.

Dave, have you tried Pm'n Mikey?(also in KY) He knows a VW Mech...

If not, pay shipping both ways, and I'll do'em for free. (just because I hate to see people destroy VW parts)

actually i'd forgotten about tim hall, who mikey works for. if the european place in town can't do it i might call him, 'cause i live about an hour from them.

if nothing else works i might take you up on your offer wrench!

Glad I could jog your memory :laugh: Let me know if they can't... i'm just one state below'ya.

well they're out! i didn't get to try the coke trick because i couldn't get arms until a couple of days before i took 'em. the local machine shop heated them until the ball joints fell apart and then had to cut out the races (or whatever that'd be called). those suckers were stuck!

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k2...6.jpg~original