I am in the process of replacing a drag link with shot ball joints. I am working on the pitman arm side and the ball joint is stuck like nothing I have seen before. I have used the hammer method. I have used a tuning fork. I have heated with a torch. I finally broke down and bought a tuning fork you can put in an air hammer and even that won't budge it. The bolt is loose so that is not the issue. Can somebody think of another approach or a reason why this would be so frozen?

TIA

 

The hammer method - you mean something heavy to represent an anvil on one side and hit with ball pean hammer on the other? Did you tie a heavy weight on the bar to gravity it down (at Pitman end) while hitting it.

 

I'm almost embarrassed to mention this, but you don't say a word about PB Blaster. That lube is almost magical in its ability to loosen stuck parts. Just give it a thorough soaking and time to work (overnight as a minimum).

 

Can you get a 2 -claw gear puller on it to put some tension on the joint ? with some heat and PB Blaster and Let it sit under tension and go get a beer out of the frig. Hopefully when you return, it will have fallen off. Last resort use a cut off wheel on the ball joint and then pound out the stub.