OEMTOOLS 25202 Ball Joint Separator Review

This is a fairly low price for this tool and the tool is solidly made. I used this to separate two ball joints (one on each side) and it worked exactly as intended with no hiccups. I've also used it to sever other stuck connections and the metal hasn't bent or buckled. If you're tired of going to the auto parts store to rent a pickle fork, this is the best place to buy your own.

Good but not far enough. I had three out of four hinges seized due to age/rust and this type was too narrow to be used to separate the spindle from the hinges. I tried using two of these together, but this trick turned out to be useless because they were too wide (plus one pushed out the other and vice versa). I ended up using a sledgehammer to knock the knuckles out of the knuckles.

My upper joints cracked instantly, the lower ones were a serious struggle. I banged this thing with a hammer for ages trying to get it out before finally prying it off a bit with the hammer. Prying worked, but I saw how the fork could be damaged as it wasn't meant to be peeked, just a hammer. I've been working in tight spaces, so a longer reach hammer or air hammer, and it would probably work just fine too. In general it's ok, you won't break it for such a price.

This did not separate my control arm from the lower ball joint. It wasn't thick enough to apply enough pressure to separate them. I'm sure it works fine with ball joints that are easy to remove, but it doesn't work if they're frozen. For $11 this is a good deal and a good tool. But do not think that it will separate everything that is remotely "frozen". It is best to use a "screwable" ball joint splitter. We used this fork for about 2 hours trying different approaches and failed. 3 minutes and…

This tool works well for occasional use on cars and light trucks with 2 or 3 pound sleds. The surface is slightly deformed, which keeps the tool taut in the joint. This can be used to your advantage when parts don't separate at normal strength. For a particularly tight joint, insert the fork into the joint with half a dozen strokes. If the tool is firmly wedged in the joint, apply a more penetrating oil to the joint between the ball joint and the A-frame and leave the fork in the joint for a…

This is a good last minute replacement for a heavier tool that would normally cost a lot more. I was in the process of removing a ball joint that had frozen to my truck's steering knuckle and had no choice but to use this tool before realizing it was smaller than what was originally listed in the description. This tool is advertised as 14.8 x 2.75 x 1 inch but the item I received is 12 x 1.75 x 0.75. The small size is very handy for toolboxes, so I decided to keep it. Lesson: Don't trust the…