How do I deal with a spinning ball joint when trying to remove the control arm

CHRISTOPHER SA

MEMBER
1993 BMW 320I
2.0L
6 CYL
2WD
MANUAL
115,730 MILES

I have been in the process of overhauling my entire front suspension and in the process have had to undo various ball joints. There is one that has done something which has me stumped.

It is the ball joint on the wishbone/lower control arm which goes through the front sub-frame of the vehicle and has a nut on top which is highly difficult to get to (i raised the engine to get at it). This particular nut is on the passenger side and I was able to loosen it but when trying to loosen it all the way off the spindle, the spindle started to turn with the nut. Looking underneath the car I saw that the control arm had dropped about half an inch so was not 'tight' any more in the hole.

Viewing videos on YouTube in preparation for doing this operation I saw people using pry bars and a hammer to 'crack' the joint apart after removing the nut. Yet my joint just got lose by only undoing the nut partially.

The car is on jack stands and both sides have had all ball joints and tie rod ends removed from the knuckle.

How can I get the nut off this problematic ball joint? I tried to use a pair of mole grips (after cutting away the rubber) to prevent the spindle from twisting, but that didn't work (on closer inspection, since I have had to use the mole grips on three other ball joints, the teeth on the mole grips are a bit blunt/worn and consequently don't grip too well).

I tried using a hack saw to cut the spindle, but realized that I was cutting on the wrong side (lower part below the sub-frame). I am not able to get the hack saw where it needs to be (just under the nut itself, above the sub-frame) as there is no room to do this.

This nut is in a very hard to reach place and am kinda stumped on what to do next.

I do not have access to a welder (to tack the spindle to the sub-frame).

The only thing I can think of is to get a new set of mole grips, or use coarse automotive sand paper between the mole grips and the spindle (with the sand paper's sanding surface facing the spindle and the fabric backing being gripped by the mole grips).

Do you have any ideas?

5 Replies

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,694 POSTS

Welcome back:

I see the other Joe jumped in on the last one. I never saw your reply. Regardless, get a new set of locking pliers. Make sure to get a good set that won't allow the stud to spin.

Since you have limited room, I don't know if this will help, but an impact wrench would most likely spin the nut right off for you. However, it will still need held.

Let me know if that helps.

Joe

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Monday, April 8th, 2019 AT 6:28 PM

CHRISTOPHER SA

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214 POSTS

Okay. I'll do that tomorrow. I do not have an impact wrench unfortunately.

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Monday, April 8th, 2019 AT 6:45 PM

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,694 POSTS

Let me know if you get it out.

Take care,
Joe

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Monday, April 8th, 2019 AT 6:50 PM

CHRISTOPHER SA

MEMBER
214 POSTS

Hi Joe,

Well, when going to buy the mole grips I came across a hacksaw that was different to the one that is normally seen. It had a way of griping the blade on the top edge that allowed some overhang of the blade at the end. And it was quite small in size. So I bought that instead and 2 days and 4 hours later I had cut off the spindle just below the nut. After removing the control arm lollipop/bushing from the car body the control arm just fell down.

As an aside, the other spindle nut (in the middle position on the control arm - same as the one I had just done) on the drivers side came loose after I was able to snake an 18 inch + 6 inch extension bar from the top of the engine compartment down onto a universal swivel joint which was on the socket and then use a 20 inch breaker bar to undo the nut a few turns. After about 3-4 nut revolutions in became impossible to turn. In the end I had to use an adjustable wrench while under the car to undo the nut - the thing is the amount of force required was extraordinary and probably over 80-90 ft lbs of torque (using only one hand with a straightened arm and pivoting my body by grabbing the sway bar of the car with my other hand). This kept up until a turn or so before the nut actually came off. That was probably a half hour or more of doing that. I looked at the spindle afterwards and couldn't see why it had been so difficult. I couldn't twist the nut back on when trying to figure out what the problem had been!

My question is: Is that normal for this part?

I have looked at my new parts and the new nut is no where near as 'tight' and can be twisted on using one's fingers until the locking nylon part in the nut. Just really puzzles me why this was so darn difficult.

Anyway, thanks for the advice and time.

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Wednesday, April 10th, 2019 AT 7:43 PM

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,694 POSTS

Welcome back:

Honestly, if I had to determine if is it normal, I would say yes. Corrosion and rust builds up on the bolt and then everything gets really hard to turn when removing. You may not even notice it, but it's there. When I have a situation like that, I always work it back and forth (loosen a couple turns and then tighten it a bit). That allows the rust and corrosion to fall out a bit and eventually, it will get easier to turn. Also, that is why I use an impact wrench on these types of repairs. I realize you don't have one, but honestly, they are worth their weight in gold for these situations.

Regardless, I'm glad you got it. If you need anything, let me know.

Take care,
Joe