🔧 Astro Pneumatic Tool 7865: Ball Joint Service Tool + 4WD Adapters Review

I've been a mechanic for over 40 years and can't believe I haven't had one of these to fit ball joints. Uses the old school hammer and socket method. Heat the ball joint up a bit, and after placing the ball joint in the freezer for a few hours, the joint will slide right in. Reading reviews of this tool, some have reported bending it. I don't see a way to bend this tool unless you use 1 in Impact. It's well made and easy to use. I wish the instructions were a bit more detailed, but I was able…

This is the only way to remove the ball joints BUT will not fit a Dodge truck WITHOUT an additional kit. The bottom ball joint is larger/longer than the top one and the included cups are NOT LONG ENOUGH! I can't express how long they aren't long enough as I probably spent an extra 5 hours on this thing before figuring out the issues. But as soon as I did that, I ran to promote the car, not Autozone, because they only had that set. Advance had a set with just the right cup size. As soon as we…

I service my cars and am a fellow mechanic and not a pro at all. As an aside, I changed ball joints without this tool until a stubborn job required me to rent one to complete the job, which decided I needed this tool in my garage. I chose this set from Astro based on the reviews and price and couldn't be happier. I'm sure there are much better kits out there, but for a backyard mechanic who might only use it occasionally, it's inexpensive and reliable. My pre-purchase concerns about a cheaper…

Used to replace upper ball joints on an older Tahoe. The ones that according to many parts dealers are not interchangeable. This press was a soldier! I hit the poor girl with my punch and she took it like a champ. When sliding the new hinge in, I accidentally dislodged the cups and dug the edge of the hinge into the cup. Despite this added resistance, this press rose to the occasion and did its job. For the price I'm very impressed and have no doubt it will work well on my other vehicles as…

Before purchasing this tool I either knocked out the cross with a hammer and some sockets or abused a vise and tried to install the cardan shaft and two bushings to close the vise. This usually resulted in me dropping an outlet or sockets or hitting my finger with a hammer. The end result would be singing about the origins of whoever came up with the U-Joints. And I would also add a long string of 4 letter words and teeth saws to balance things out. Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to…

This product works on Wrangler JK (Dana 30) trucks the same as a butter knife as a defensive weapon. Almost all of the adapters in this kit are too wide or too tall to remove or install even factory ball joints. I had to cut the bolts to be able to remove the factory ball joints. Even if you managed to put together a working set of adapters, C isn't big enough to hold the system. You need the XL version to get it right. The fact that they specifically mention Dana in the description is pathetic

Good for pressing in the top ball joint on 2000 Toyota Tundra but a little difficult to press out. To press out, I mounted the receiver cup under the ball joint, aligning the C-bracket holddown screw with the spindle and the open end of the C-bracket on the receiver cup. I used an impact wrench to pry it out. One of the ball joints had the spindle falling out completely so I just used a flat adapter to finish it off. The other ball joint survived and was fully pushed out. To press in, I used a…

This service tool differs from other tools I've used in the same style as other brands. This is most noticeable in the C-Clamp area. In terms of weight alone, if you lift it, there is significantly more mass in here. I've never broken any of these tools (which I've mostly used in rentals before) but it seems to mess up less, especially on the stop/constraint pin. The bolt must be lubricated before use for lubrication purposes and lightly oiled after use. to prevent rust, if that's important to…