A big pickle fork that spans 1 5/8 ish inches. It's hard or impossible to find a pickle fork that misses the ball joint entirely. One that applies force to the lower control arm and the knuckle only and doesn't impinge on the rubber boot. Any body seen one that big??

biggest one you can buy and some love from an angle grinder?

There's a better tool than a pickle fork....

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/steering/3-4-quarter-inch-forged-ball-point-joint-separator-99849.html

 

For Subaru's I typically avoid using either though - the pinch where the ball joint is installed into the knuckle is my prefered attack point. I realize that these get nasty with rust but my feeling is that it's going to have to be corrected at some point anyway and better now than later. And it's easy enough to drill out the pinch bolt and through-bolt it if neccesary. I use the above tool when I'm replaceing a ball joint and it usually doesn't hurt the boot.

 

GD

Edited March 7, 201115 yr by GeneralDisorder