I have a 1988 F-450 Super-Duty with a trashed right outer tie-rod. This is a long one, maybe 3 feet or more long. What tool do I need to get this thing apart? I have a couple of pickle forks and a Harbor Freight ball joint separator as well. Am I good to go or is there a better tool for the job? Thanks.


Randy

 

I have never been able to use a pickle fork to separate a joint without tearing the grease up. I would recommend the puller. I used a small 3-jaw for mine since there was limited working room for the upper portion at the pitman arm (I had to put the puller above the pitman arm which doesn't leave much room to get leverage). It takes some patience but I was able to separate mine that way (the lower was easy as there was plenty of room to work with).

 

It's been a few since I did my last ball joint or tie rod but I had pretty good luck with the puller. If I had a stubborn one that didn't want to break free I'd use a couple of hammers, one to back and the other to whack.