Astro Pneumatic Tool 7897 21Pc Ball Joint Service Tool and Master Adapter Set

I purchased the Astro Pneumatic 7897 Ball Joint Service Tool and Master Adapter Set as an Amazon Warehouse deal after *way* too much painful research on trying to determine what ball joint kit would work on my 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer SS front lower ball joints. Way too many of these reviews say NOTHING about what vehicle they used it for - shame on them. I emailed Astro and a few other companies about their application charts (specifically whether it would fit my vehicle) and almost every reply and every chart is close to useless. Only OTC responded with an affirmative via an application chart, but they required an additional $77 purchase for 4 more receiver/press pieces! OTC and Astro both listed length, ID and OD sizes for all their pieces though, so I was able to sort out that this Astro kit *might* do the trick. Fortunately, I was right. So my first goal was reliability - many people either hate or love the C frame that whatever brand kit comes with. So I weighted reviews on that topic. The confusing part about that is so many of these C frames (and kits) are identical, sold under different names, and sourced from China (well, all are sourced from China). Second goal was finding the right size receivers/adapters. That was almost impossible, since only OTC listed my car and virtually no one would list their application in their reviews (what is your problem, reviewers???). Through my frequent forum travels, I knew the Powerbuilt/Alltrade 648617 Kit #46 would fit - that's what most Autozones rent. But except for a deal I let slip through, it seemed like the price recently went up a bit and those were around $200. Third goal was affordability, since I was going to use this once for my TBSS, and *maybe* again on our Lexus RX330, but less likely. I could use the press for other things, like bushings and bearings, I suppose, but still - fairly limited use. Thanks to the Amazon Warehouse deal I got it for $93 in Very Good - Used condition. As usual, I made out on that deal, because it looked brand new. I can guarantee the C frame and threaded rod were NEVER used - they had some shipping/plastic grit on them that couldn't have been on it if it were used. And of course, the most important thing - did it work? Absolutely. The lower ball joints on a GMT360 (Trailblazer/Envoy/Ascender/Rainier/Bravada/9-7x) are notoriously nasty to remove, thanks to a horrible method GM uses with a flared end opposite the stud side with 3 tabs that are even more flared. I actually bought new lower control arms and bought new Raybestos Pro Grade ball joints and removed the cheap ones from the new control arm and put the Raybestos ones in. Why? Because after buying every front end part (inner/outer tie rods, stabilizer links, control arms, bushings, ball joints) for my truck 2 and 3 times over now in the past months, I've found about 33% of the time you get counterfeit or wrong parts. I gave up getting real Raybestos Pro Grade Lower Control Arms and decided to make my own, so to speak, replacing ball joints and bushings with ones I purchased seperately in 2 new lower control arms that kept showing up no matter who I bought it from. Why not just replace the ones in the arms of my truck? This way I had more time to make sure I could press these things in and out and also much less downtime with my truck. Anyway, I digress - the press works. I had to spray down the joints with PB Blaster, hammer the flared tabs and sides in a bit with a chisel and punch so they stuck up from the control arm, and then I used an angle grinder to grind that flared part off as much as I could without damaging the control arm, including a little finish work with a Dremel. One I let soak overnight, but after getting it out I didn't even let the other soak more than 10 minutes. I did use an impact wrench (an electric one from Harbor Freight - the cheap one, around $35 on sale), althought I tried to do it manually with a 25 inch breaker bar just to see how hard it was, and it was HARD - I was pretty sure I was going to snap something. so I went back to the impact wrench. I just kept pulling the trigger in 3-5 second bursts on the impact wrench - it made slow progress but it did make progress, and after 15 or 20 seconds it made a loud pop, and then a few more trigger pulls it came out the rest of the way. One note, I made sure the threaded rod and C frame threads were clean and in good shape and oiled them repeatedly during use. Far too many people don't use enough oil for these sorts of things and then complain. So while the kit itself didn't list my truck (or much of anything, actually), it worked, it worked well - I saw no visible bending or damaged threads - the rod didn't slip, everything felt like it was of reasonable quality and finish (these aren't SnapOn sockets, mind you) and I'm very happy I bought the kit. Would I buy this if I was a suspension shop? Maybe not - but for the casual consumer - I highly recommend it.

Used it to press out original 26 year old ball joints on a 2000 XJ Cherokee, and original rusted in failed U joints on the front axle shafts, as well as pressing in new axle side control arm bushings. Came with the correct adapters for Dana 30/44 Axles. No sweat, no bend. Good quality metal.

Installed upper and lower ball joints on a 2004 Chevy Tahoe. The tool felt strong and it has good weight to it. Liked that it has a case for storing after use.

Bought this set based on TTC review of similar bearing press set. Construction quality and value seem to be similar and I would recommend. However, for my application (upper and lower ball joints on a Ram 1500), it was necessary for me to grind ~1/4" of material out of the center area of the press clamp to allow pressing directly on the joints around the edge of the control arms. This was a fairly straightforward modification but did require additional tools/abrasives. I would also recommend modifying one of the press mandrels to have a lip to allow more constrained offset pressing, as the smooth mandrels tend to rotate/slip off parts when not perfectly aligned. Ultimately, this was a great set constructed of high-quality material, and that quality allowed it to be modified appropriately for my usage.

I bought this to replace the lower ball joints on my 2003 Trailblazer and this was the perfect kit. When I did the two upper ball joints I rented a press from the auto parts store and both times the press kit was missing parts, and wouldn't you know it, they were the parts that I needed. Bent forcing screws, spread out C clamps, deformed receiving cups, just a bad experience every time. When I found my lower ball joints to be bad, I started looking for a press kit to buy. I started watching YouTube videos and found Eric O. from South Main Auto talking about this kit and after a few more videos decided that this was the kit for me. Ordered it and it arrived a day later. The kit had everything that was needed, no broken latches, no broken case. I put some Mobil 1 grease on the forcing screw and went to town! My Aircat 1150 gave that forcing screw all she had, and anyone that has done the lower ball joints on a trailblazer knows that they're a bear to do because chevy presses a flange on the top of the ball joint that you have to chisel off (thank god for an air hammer). The press worked amazingly. Some folks have complained that the c-clamp is too small, but Astro makes a larger clamp as well, Amazon sells it here: https://smile.amazon.com/Astro-Pneumatic-Tool-78100-Goliath/dp/B01JBOA4GK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1546564530&sr=8-1&keywords=astro+78100.

This ball joint kit worked good when I replaced upper and lower ball joints on my 04 F250. No issues and worked great!

Una excelente herramienta me funciona y me facilita mi trabajo de muy buena calidad me ha facilitado el desarme de suspensión y la extracción de rótulas con una facilidad como ninguna la recomiendo bastante bien he trabajado 28 años en alineación automotriz y ahora que la he conseguido me ha facilitado al 100% mi trabajo

If you have ever been to a repair shop to have your vehicle worked on then it can get REALLY expensive. Even something simple like a ball joint could cost over $600 and your probably thinking why does this matter? Because speaking from a experienced Mechanic like myself, it can get expensive and there isn't anything anyone can do because every vehicle has a set labor time to remove and replace a component. You either pay to have it installed or take the vehicle and drive the vehicle unsafe (even if possible.) Now i am saying this because many way over look a ball joint install as complicated but actually it is not that complicated as you might think. What people get overwhelmed with is that 1. disassembling your vehicle and not remembering how it goes together (and a simple tip is to take pictures with your phone, before and along the way for a refer back to) and 2. this set or others come with a variety of adapters and not knowing which one to correctly use. It doesn't have to be that complicated in my opinion and in fact it isn't if you follow the right steps. I bought this tool for professional use because my old set was just a cheap basic set and got me by for years. Now i personally prefer to replace the ENTIRE control arm and i will explain why. If you were to replace just a ball joint at an example 100,000 km and then at 120,000 km the bushing in the same control arm goes and now you need to replace bushings but as most vehicles bushings are usually not sold separately and the entire control arm needs to be replaced (some vehicles you can replace bushings but some cannot.) The only option is to replace the entire control arm and you wasted money on the ball joint and if you replace the entire control arm you get a new control arm, ball joint, and new bushings. It is more expensive but should save labor in the end because you do not have to press out and press in the ball joint but that is my personally pinion. Yes you can save money on just the ball joint but pay more on labor but replacing the control arm is more expensive but you save on labor but either option is up to yourself and application (this is only for if you are paying someone to do it). Also if you replace the entire control arm you do not need this set just a few hand tools. I knew it was time to upgrade to a more advanced set so i started to look around for a set and was looking at a Snap-on set for $700 and it came with half of this. I looked on Amazon and they had so many options but something always made me come back to this one. The reviews seemed positive so i thought it was a good deal and the price was decent so i decided to purchase the set. When it arrived it was much heavy than i anticipated but that is not a bad thing as that means it's good quality. Opening the set and ensured everything was there and noticed how beefy the "C" frame is. It is really beefy but solid as this can take a beating. It comes with many adapters for most applications which is great. After a few days, i finally got to use this on my own vehicle which i was replacing both lower ball joints (just the ball joints on my 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche. Now your probably thinking i was just explaining replacing the entire control arm but i am doing it for free with the set and spent $35 on both ball joints so it kinda saves me money. Installation was simple, remove the control arm (some you do not need to do because there is enough access to do it on car) but for mine the ball joint in under the axle so i need to remove it. It was easy to press in the ball joint and with give some tips: 1. Lube the threads before hand with either oil, transmission fluid, or some WD40, it will make it slide easier. 2. Ensure the receiver cup fits the entire joint as when it is pressed through it will fit. 3. Keep it straight, and this is able to handle an impact so if you have on it will make the job quicker. 4. Follow a service manual for replacement or google some forums or youtube videos before you start, just to ensure you no what you are getting into. After all said and done, it have used this set about 10 times since i purchased that which only has been a month or so, all the receivers are still in good condition and this set is working out great. I have used this set on Chevrolet, Ford, Chrysler, and some other imports brands so this set is very universal. Now if you are only going to be doing your ball joint once, i would recommend rent a set from your local parts store because then this will sit around and collect dust but if you are going to be doing a couple or are a professional looking for a set like this then i would totally recommend this as this is a fabulous set to own. This will save you money at end instead of taking it too a mechanic and having them install one, and in addition do not relay on the negative reviews because they are mostly doing it wrong. I would totally recommend this set to any DIY or Professional becuase it is a money saver in the long run!

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Excellent kit. Had to get creative for Toyota Tacoma ball joints but it was doable.

Una herramienta que cumple bastante bien su función y de gran ayuda para el ahorro de tiempo y esfuerzo, y sin complicaciones a la hora de utilizarse!! No hay nada malo que decir!! Aunque...como sugerencia, debería de traer un manual de instrucciones para facilitar su uso, ya que es un poco complicado elegir los cubos receptores para cada situación y es elegir el que mejor se acomode. La calidad de materiales es...igual que la de herramientas mucho más costosas!!