UPDATE: Got the steering knuckle disconnected, and the driveshaft removed, but I have another question. The driveshaft I removed had some sort of brass collar around the inner end, while the new one doesn't. It's not obvously removable from the old one. Do we need to pry it off and put it on the new shaft? Also, the pin that came with the new shaft to connect it to the piece that goes into the transmission (I think that's where it goes?) is longer than the old one, so it sticks out a bit, like in the photo below. Is that ok/normal or should be grind it off shorter? The collar on the old shaft: The pin on the new shaft: I'll preface this by saying I'm by no means a car guru, but I have a much more skilled friend helping me with this. If you need any more information or clarification just let me know! We've got the brakes off (front driver's side) and we are trying to disconnect the steering knuckle from the control arm so we can pull out the driveshaft. The problem is we absolutely CANNOT get the control arm loose. We've undone the nut at the bottom (circled in the photo), and have heated the joint, pried at it, and generally beat on it, to no avail. The other thing I've been told is to undo the bolt on the far side of the knuckle (where the arrow is pointing), but that one is rounded off and my friend who is helping out says as long as the bottom is undone we should be able to get it off. Are we missing anything obvious here? Anyone have any tips or tricks to getting this apart? I'd really appreciate any help!
supposedly you should be able to just hammer the arm itself and its "supposed" to pop out (right where you have it circled). Now i tried this on my car and gave up since i ended up right where you are nothing going anywhere. Now i don't know if this is recommended but i have seen people use gear pullers to pull it out. (not on a subaru not sure off the top of my head if it will work)
I usually unbolt the upright from the knuckle instead of removing the balljoint, just be sure to mark your camber bolt alignment. In conjunction with turning the steering wheel hard over to the right (if your doing the left side) you will have enough room to free the axle. My best luck with removing stubborn subaru ball joints has been to remove the ball socket from the knuckle. Be cautions when removing the pinch bolt as they like to shear off, use lots of penetrent. Once the bolt is out use a screw driver/chisel to slightly open the knuckle clamp and pull the control arm down. This would also be a good time to replace the ~$30 ball joints. If you still can't get the lower stud out of the control arm I would suggest removing the control arm. Thread the castle nut until it is flush with the head of the stud to prevent damaging the threads. Then with the control arm face down (elevated enough off the ground to allow room for the ball joint) use a BFH and one good whack should knock her right out of the control arm.
after i removed the pinch bolt holding the ball joint into the knuckle i spread the joint apart with a chisel (as mentioned above) and then i got a long pry bar and inserted it between the control arm and the knuckle. using the sway bar as the fulcrum point i was able to pop the ball joint out of the knuckle. remember use A LOT of penetrating fluid on the pinch bolt. if that shears you are hosed and a easy job just got a ton harder.
Here is what I do. I remove the castle nut which you have circled. Make sure to disconnect the swaybar endlinks or this will be difficult. I also normally disconnect the tie rod end from the knuckle but I have heard that this is not necessary. Take your BFH and hit the side of the control arm where the red arrow is a couple times to help loosen it up, than hit in a downward motion where the green arrow indicates. Or instead of hitting down you can use a large lever (ie jack handle) to lever the control arm down. Only thing to be careful of is hitting the wheel speed sensor if you have ABS, they are kind of expensive to replace. If you are planning on replacing you ball joint anyway you can use a pickle fork to separate the ball joint from the control arm. View attachment 21757
Nevermind, got the steering knuckle disconnected and driveshaft out. Two new questions though, in the original post.
The extra length on the longer pin is normal. And yes, the brass cover (cad plated steel) is a dust shield, you should take it off the old one and put it on the new one. ~Dan
^ Dan has it right. The brass collar is just pressure fit onto the old axle. If you tap it with a mallet/hammer it should work its way off. They are just there to keep dust out of the important stuff.
+2. the dust shield should be swapped. some gentle (GENTLE, it's pretty thin) persuasion should pop it off. although, it's certainly not the end of the world if you don't swap it.
