Drilling out Ball Joints

[phil swanson]

Hello GMCers,

I was wondering if anyone has any experience in removing the lower
ball joint rivets. I have heard horror stories about people drilling out
the rivets with a 1/4 inch drill as stated in the manual and enlarging
the holes in the "A" arm because of misdrilling and subsequent breakage
of the bolt to arm attachment. I can't drill a straight hole to save my
life anyway. Has anyone removed them with a better method such as a
pneumatic chisel or grinding them off or??? What was your experience
and lessons learned? Any information would be highly appreciated. I
do not plan to remove the arms unless for some reason I really need to.

Thanks, Phil

 

[bill rush]

Phil,

I did replace the lower ball joints in my rig and did not have too much
trouble. Let me look at it again this weekend, that might jog my memory
about problems. As I recall the stock Olds Toro. ball joints won't work.
They are a different configuration.

Bill Rush

> Hello GMCers,
>
> I was wondering if anyone has any experience in removing the lower
> ball joint rivets. I have heard horror stories about people drilling out
> the rivets with a 1/4 inch drill as stated in the manual and enlarging
> the holes in the "A" arm because of misdrilling and subsequent breakage
> of the bolt to arm attachment. I can't drill a straight hole to save my
> life anyway. Has anyone removed them with a better method such as a
> pneumatic chisel or grinding them off or??? What was your experience
> and lessons learned? Any information would be highly appreciated. I
> do not plan to remove the arms unless for some reason I really need to.
>
> Thanks, Phil

 

[scott woodworth]

Phil,

I've done quite a few of those in my 20+ years of wrenching. The
very cleanest way is to use a pneumatic chisel. You're right about the
risk of drilling. Grinding the rivet heads off is second best. You can
inadvertently grind off too much and take some metal off the end of the
arm. Chisel the rivet head off at a fairly shallow angle like 30
degrees so you don't gouge the metal. Then finish it off by knocking
the ritet out with a punch and hammer.

Then there's a risky high tech approach that saves a lot of time
getting that hard to remove ball joint out. This works really well on
pressed in joints also. Dip the end of the arm in liquid nitrogen.
Make sure you wear all the applicable safety gear especially gloves and
a face mask. After a full three minutes, take it out and strike the end
sharply with a five pound hammer... ;^) Had you guys going, didn't I?

- -Scott Woodworth