swivel bearing

has anyone got some good tips on removing the upper and lower swivel bearings without the use of a special tool,or is it brute force with a big hammer and a blow torch,just im going to do mine to see if it will cure my steering problem,if i can get the damn drive shaft nut off

many thanks in advance

Hi Andy....the hub nut is mega tight. I take it you have opened up the stake on the nut where it's dimpled into the keyway on the CV joint threaded shank. Leave the car on the ground, remove the wheel centre cap, get someone to apply the footbrake hard and use a long breaker bar..they are normal r.h. threads.
As you have seen on RAVE (Probably)..there is a special tool used to remove the joints and equally important a special alighnment tool for centralising the swivel to the axle tube oil seal, if it's not centralised the oil seal will wear out in no time and leak. I would fit new seals anyway for what they cost. I have a removal tool which is very similar to the LR one but it is mechanical with a hefty bolt instead of a hydraulic ram. I would say that applying loads of heat either with a good propane torch or oxy acetylene is essential. I also have the centralising tool.
I am going over to Holyhead next week to meet my cousin who is bringing some stuff for me, he lives in North Wales if that's any help and you can always ship it back to me (It's quite heavy though). There was a guy advertising hire of the LR tool on Ebay some time ago..he was based in Manchester, drop Gemsdad a PM,he might know of him.
PM me your email address and I will send you a copy of a write up on replacing front wheel bearings..it will give step by step instructions on the hub stripdown, in particular details of pitfalls and problems encountered.

Forgot to add that the joints are pressed in fairly tight..add to that a bit of rust and ****e and that will give you an idea!!
I was lucky about 6months ago there was a brand new front axle complete with swivels and ball joints both sides, but no diff etc. on Ebay and I bought it for £25..it's stuck in the shed in case I have serious problems if ever I need to do mine.

cheers john,i might just give it to the indy i use to sort out save me the hassle on this one