I need to change out my right axle shaft and need to pick up the best ball joint puller for the upper A-arm and not destroy the boot seal. I was thinking about the OTC 6297. not sure though. Hate to figure it out when i have spread all over the drive way.

 

Do you mean to get it off the Spindle or do you need to replace the ball joint? The upper ball joint is one complete piece from the factory and can't be separated. O'Reilly's sells an upper control arm that you can replace the joint, but wasn't recommended by the manager at my local shop.

As to separate the joint from the spindle, you can use a standard "tuning fork" separator using a high grade axle grease will keep the boot from ripping.

 

I need to pop the upper a - arm loose to change out the axle shaft from what i understand from the haynes manual. I have a pickle/tuning fork but i have ripped a few grease boots with it in the past. Since the joint is not replacable and needs to have the whole arm replaced i really didnt want to mess it up.

 

You can use a hammer to get the threaded stud of the ball joint out of the knuckle. Just hit the knuckle where the stud goes though, and it should come out.

check out this video, skip to the 5 min mark to see how this process works.

How To Replace a Front Wheel Drive Axle - YouTube