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the one with the threaded bar is very good, just mind it when using it on really stubborn joints it can shoot off in a hurry when things release, but other than that its brilliant.
the second one posted is ok, not as good, and tends to split rubber on the joints while using, which is now an MOT failure as it 'no longer prevents the ingress of dirt'. which is useless when you need to reuse the joint.
so go for the first not the second. hope this explanation will help.
The second one is utter tat, it will bend the first time it meets a stubborn joint.
I have the same style but made by snap on and cost ten times what that one is offered for. They are by far the best/most versatile splitter design IMHO useless you by a cheap version.
I have "hilux approved" stickers in my garage for tools that I haven't broken with my ageing truck... and before anyone asks, no, I don't misuse them (that often)...
The Halfords threaded splitter was ok.. until the threads stripped off the bolt... And that was using it to just put tension on the ball joint so i could seperate the joint by hitting the steering rod with a hammer....
Also found - after creating a new more robust bolt - that the halfords splitter doesn't fit around the lower suspension ball joint as the spindle on the ball joint is too wide. Ended up just using a very robust (and wide) hammer in splitter like the second one posted but with a short shaft. Ended up having to use a 6lb sledge hammer on the splitter to get the lower ball joint apart!
Ball joints aren't too expensive to buy - so splitting rubber guards isn't the end of the world, and you can buy replacements from places like http://www.balljointboots.co.uk/ if you don't want to buy a new joint. I guess it just depends on how much effort/cash you want to put in and how rusty your truck may or may not be... or in fact, how tight someone may have done up the ball joints!
Having both in your tool armourery isn't a bad idea, but measure up first and know their limits
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