Removing Rear Suspension Arms.

[lexus082]

I am currently working on swapping out my bad right rear hub assembly for a good one. I thought the hardest part was going to be getting the axle nut off which is 213 ft/lb torque. That took maybe 5 minutes to do. In the process of removing the rear lower control arms I found it nearly impossible to disconnect them using a pitman arm puller. There's just not enough room to use that thing. So I'm trying to find out what to use. Should I just use a pickle fork or is there something else I can use that won't damage the rubber boots on the control arms.

[lexus082]

Would a pickle fork damage the boots? Is that only for ball joints that are already bad? There's just not enough room to use the pitman arm puller in the rear as there is in the front suspension.

[jzz30]

give the hub near the ball joint a good whack with a hammer. it should come off.