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

Although this tool is made in china, it is an absolute beast!! I was hesitant to purchase this kit because of it being manufactured in China. I wanted either a made in usa one like the otc, or a made in Taiwan one like the powerbuilt. I debated and researched for days, watching video after video, review after review. I literally could not find anyone saying bad things about this kit, including tons of automotive mechanic channels on youtube. A well known channel, Eric O from South Main Auto has run this kit often, and in dozens of videos in the rust belt state of New York. I've never seen a cup warp, the c-clamp bend, or the forcing screw break, or strip. I've also used this kit a dozen times myself over the last year, and I have never had so much as a glitch with this kit. I don't know why everyone is so stuck on the made in usa otc 7249 kit. I actually reached out to otc customer service and they told me that only the clamp itself is made in the US, and nothing else. The forcing screw, the kit's adapters, and the case are all still made in china!! Message them and ask if you don't believe me. I know your going to say, " well the US made one is better forged metal," but I'm telling you it's not. Otc actually used to manufacture the 7249 c-clamp in China for many years before manufacturing was moved to the US, and they actually still manufacture many of their other kit's adapters, attachments, forcing screws, and clamps there as well. In fact, otc still manufactures several other versions of their c-clamp in China as well. The c-clamp in the otc 6530, 6559, ca6630, 8031, and several others are all still manufactured in China. This astro kit is just as good, or better than the otc kit, I'm telling you. The astro clamp actually weighs 2 lbs more than the otc clamp, no joke. Tons of companies including snap on, matco, Mac tools, vim, bluepoint, Williams, and others all have stuff manufactured in China. Although most tools that are manufactured in China can definitely be terrible quality, not everything is going to be garbage. This kit is a testament to that and I don't regret my purchase whatsoever!!

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.

This joint press set is worth the money spent all day. I'm restoring my 2001 ram 1500 4x4, With a Dana44 This tool was able to save me time and money doing my own service work. It was absolutely excellent on the axle "u joint" press replacement.. it pressed them right out. Where this tool might be complementary is with its big brother "Goliath". Which I had purchased at the same time with this press set. This press will push what you need within reason, but when adding adapters you run out of room quick. But it is exactly quality, fit and finish was suburb and it has everything to do most general maintenance. Including offset adapters for the dana44. Not intended, but I did use air tools when doing the u joint, but breaker bar doing the ball joints. Please grease or anti-seze press screw before operating. I would purchase again.. but the quality is excellent and that will probably never have to replaced.. but i will purchase the additional sets to build out the master set further

This tool is great. The lower ball joints on a Duramax are a PITA. This tool was strong enough to complete the job. I cranked on this with a 3/4 telescoping ratchet and it broke the ball joint loose. However to drive it all the way out you need to open up the lower unit to accept the taper of the shaft. The force it took was unreal, the tool was up for the task. Has a ton of versatility as the kit is packed with many different sizes of tooling to fit any job. Worth the money

Note: this kit has all the adapters from the 7868 kit so no use in looking at that kit unless you already have a good C-clamp. I used the 7897 kit to remove the front upper and lower ball joints on an 02 Acura RL. Initially, it looked like the lower ball joints were not going to be able to be R&R due to the adapters not fitting, but was able to find one out of the whole set to work while using my 20 ton press. This set may not be an end all and cover every application imaginable, but with some clever ingenuity it is possible to get the job done. I sure wish I had ordered this set prior to doing my front end rebuild on my 90 Chevy truck. This kit would have made that job a breeze. If you have mechanical experience and average skills or better and have a press, these forged steel adapters are what the doctor prescribes to remove the toughest of bushings and ball joints - plus many other jobs that require adapters on a press. I did my truck's rebuild with 2", 2.5" and 3" muffler pipes cut to size and looking back at the job it is laughable that I used those items to do what would have easily been handled with these pieces. My press has paid for itself many times over and really is an indispensable tool addition to my garage, however, this kit has many adapters and used correctly with the provided C-clamp or a press will make short work out of an otherwise tough job. The tools you can rent from some auto parts stores are abused more than journalists in the Middle East and I have almost injured myself using those stripped out tools - so if you turn wrenches a lot, save yourself from assured frustration and get this kit.

Love this tool, lots of adapters and heavy duty. Great price

I have yet to use this product for what it was designed for. What I have used it for is to push pins out of hydraulic cylinders that are on a John Deere 6420 tractor. It has been used to push out the pins on the three-point lift cylinders. I have had this tightened very tight and it has been wrapped on with a hammer on the end and it has held up well. There is a variety of cup sizes to fit just about any need. I have no doubt in my mind that it will work great to press out ball joints because it has worked great for something it was not designed for. Everything feels like quality and as long as you take care of the threads, I don't see any reason why this tool won't last a lifetime. I drenched everything in penetrating oil. Then I tightened the press with a crescent wrench until I couldn't tighten anymore. Then a wrap with the hammer on the item I am trying to press out and eventually a wrap on the end of the press where the wrench would go and even years of rust did not stand a chance. I would be cautious to use an impact because no matter how good of a tool you have, an impact can really screw it up if you are not careful. Definitely recommend this tool.

Used to remove and install ball joints for a Jeep Jl wrangler. Can confirm this set comes with an angled cup to use while installing the lower ball joint. The set feels beefy and well made.

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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I bought this kit originally to change the ball joints on my 2013 ram 2500. But before doing them I needed to change universal joints on both front axles. Although the press was not quite big enough to completely remove the cups I was able to get them 90% of the way out. And after tapping them out the rest of the way with a hammer. Install of the new joint was very easy. Started by setting the cups with brass hammer and finishing with the press. I've since purchased the Goliath press and used this kit to change ball joints on a Honda 4 wheeler ( I did have to make some custom adapters) I feel like this would work very well on smaller universal joints. But full size truck joints are a bit too big with the regular press. It will work but takes extra time to set everything up. I will be doing ball joints next. I'm sure this kit will work perfectly. With the Goliath press it shouldn't be a problem. Good kit.

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!!