Importance

Loading Importance Indicators...

Abstract

An tool for installation of a ball joint into an interference-fit accommodating hole in a control arm of a vehicle is provided, which operates as an integrated unit. A body of the ball joint compressor includes an upper and a lower support, spaced apart and fixedly interconnected by a pair of bilateral supports. A movable compression member is mounted to the body of the ball joint compressor, to allow movement thereof between the upper and lower supports along a central vertical axis. An advancing screw is threaded through the lower support, providing a means by which movement may be imparted to the movable compression member. The upper support includes an upper stop extending downwardly and including a cavity for receiving a portion of a ball joint which protrudes through an accommodating hole in a control arm during compression. This configuration allows the upper stop to contact the control arm from above, adjacent to the accommodating hole for the ball joint. The movable compression member includes a compression surface for contacting the ball joint from below. The screw is advanced by pneumatic or other suitable means, imparting upward movement to the movable compression member, in turn compressing the ball joint from below into the accommodating hole, the upper stop preventing movement of the control arm in the direction of advancement.

Loading the Abstract Image...

First Claim