OK – so the real reason for the write up. Just how good is the $89 JTC ball joint tool JTC #1849 versus the MB Tool / or generic design of the MB Tool ($300+)? I have not tried the MB Tool but I have ZERO complaints using this $89 flavor. The quality was much better than I had anticipated. As you probably know, there are a TON of crap tools coming out of China (much made with cheap steel). I’m not sure where JTC is made, maybe someone can look at the pics and tell by the script on the instruction sheet, but this piece is quality. The instructions are generic and in a foreign language, but luckily the pictures tell you everything you need to know. The ball joint is to be hammered out using the mandrel, and the ball joint pressed in using the cylinder tool. That is pretty much what the sheet tells you.

The mandrel, as you can see from the pics, fits well over the bottom of the ball joint. Not sure if you can tell from the pic, but I have the top of the spindle resting on two blocks of wood, then a moving blanket to protect my nice coated garage floor. A couple of good whacks with the sledge and you can see in the pic that the ball joint is starting to move. More sledge hammer whacks and it’s free.

PIC 1 - tool out of the box
PIC 2 - the adapter at the base - for 123?
PIC 3 - mandrel set ready to whack the ball joint out
PIC 4 - another mandrel shot

Attached Thumbnails

       

__________________
~shell
As of 2/2010:
2001 CLK55 0o\=*=/o0
13.6 @ 106mph
10K mi
1984 300SD
260K mi and going and going...
97 S600
46K miles
1991 Sentra SE-R (extremely dorked with)
www.se-r.net