I recently took my GS4 in to the shop to diagnose ongoing vibration problems. 1st the shop load-balanced the wheels, which helped out quite a bit. The steering vibration remained however & the shop noticed cupping on the left side (directional) tires, so they suggested an alignment.
When I brought the car in for an alignment, the shop informed me that the left front ball-joint was shot.
Figuring I could save a few bucks on labor (big mistake), I purchased the ball joint & asked how long it would take to replace it. Someone from ClubLexus said 15-20 minutes, so I eagerly started last night.
After removing all the bolts from the assembly, I was surprised to find that I could not remove it. I began looking for a reason, but could find none.
I began pounding on the assembly with a rubber-mallet to no avail.
Then I made the mistake of pounding on the stud from the steering arm with a solid hammer which resulted in the stud head mushrooming & preventing me from threading the bolt back on.
After several hours, I gave up in complete frustration & failure. :(
Now the car is immobile, the old ball-joint assembly still stuck in place, and the stud from the steering arm stripped. I still have no idea how to remove the ball-joint assembly or why it is stuck. In searching this morning on the web, it seems like I may need a special tool called a ball-joint remover. Is that correct? If I can find this tool, do I use it on both places where the assembly is stuck?
I am hoping that I can find a die to rethread the stud without having to replace the entire steering arm.
Any suggestions as to proceed?
Thanks in advance!
