Removing Spindle - Order of Operations

Creedmoor said

Yep, have all new US made parts for this swap. New lower ball joints are Rare Parts brand-made in the late 90’s.

So, T bars backed off, upper bj separated before lower bj - or does the order matter?

Hoping to do the “smack the upper with a hammer” separation maneuver. Will that work with no T bar tension?

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Nope, you need torsion bar tension for the "smack it with a hammer" operation to work. And really for that to work you can't be supporting the lower with a jack either, because you need the ball joint under load and the control arm able to move.

But like @junkyardhero said, you can only do that once per side anyway, so, you're going to need a pickle fork or ball joint tool anyway. And if you have those, well, why release the ball joint with the suspension under load and invite the possibility of something jumping out to bite you?

Not the the FSM is always the only way to do it, but it says loosen the adjusters first. I agree on that one.