OTC 7080 Joint Spanner Wrench Review

Worked great. Be sure to loosen the adjusting sleeve with a punch or similar tool if it is rusty and seized. This tool is used to install a new bushing.

No local car dealer sold me this so I had to buy it from Revain. Certainly better than the home made bushing we tried to mount the upper ball joint on my Suburban. I have nothing to complain about as it worked perfectly.

Made of high quality steel. I heard a click when trying to loosen the nut on my D44. I looked at the hole and expected cut teeth. Instead, the union nut broke. Not an ideal result, but it speaks to the power of the tool. You need a 1" socket to rotate. I wish it would only accept half the hard drive instead.

Suitable for flush mounting but not for removing jammed inserts. I broke two teeth. Luckily, the manufacturer replaced it for free. So no more removing stuck ones with this, go back to the chisel and heat them up. Otherwise, the over-the-counter option is by far the best quality. If this one breaks, I'll weld my heavier one together with the old one instead of buying another one.

This product does exactly what it was designed to do. It installs an upper ball joint preload bushing on a Dana 44 front axle. Preload measurements vary from vehicle to vehicle so check the factory manual or the Chiltons book. Think of it as an adapter between the jack and the preload jack. I've seen some reviewers who have had trouble using this tool with a torque wrench, but it's safe to say I've had a lot of short headroom with a beam-type torque wrench. A torque wrench with click also…

This product is durable and well made. I used this on a 1983 CJ7 with a Dana 30 front axle to remove the threaded insert in the ball joint bushing on the steering knuckle. I didn't know I would need this part so it delayed the completion of the ball joint replacement as I had to order it. You will also need a 2 1/8" socket to remove the spindle (and hub) (I didn't know that either and had to order this part). I rented a ball joint press from my local parts store and you will need all three of…

Basically does what it's supposed to do, with a few caveats: The tool fits the stock adjustment sleeve (in the '85 K5 Blazer, military model, aka M1009 known), but the teeth aren't the right size for the adjustment sleeve that came with my new upper ball joint (Moog I think?). I could have tried modifying this tool to fit, but instead I simply reused the original washer. Use a torque wrench or even a regular socket wrench. However, the top is only flat, so you'll need to use a wrench to flip…