How ****ed am I? Can I bend that back down somehow?

 

Holy crap!!!

ummm maybe but how much has been taken out of its strength

 

I'm wondering how the heck you did that?!?!

 

Just switch to RH Drive.

 

Damn strong tool, normally they break before they do anything like that!!!!

 

I know!

Just so we are all on the same page, this part is normally is at that angle on the top. The part that bent is here:

 

I had the ball joint press going through that hole pushing down on the lower ball joint.

 

Holy hell never seen that before. You need a new knuckle.

 

I hate to say it but I to think it’s a new/used knuckle time

 

That's the axle portion on the assembly...you need a whole new axle housing. There is no way you can straighten that and ever have it straight enough for a proper alignment, no way, no how. Plus, bending that back would make the metal brittle (everytime you bend steel it get harder, unless you headed it and then it would probably get deformed from hammering - which it looks pretty deformed now and probably wouldn't hold a ball joint correctly anyway) and you'd risk breakage. Also, every suspension class l've ever taken said you should never heat front end components, if they need to be heated to remove, whatever is heated should be replaced. Now, does it happen, heating steering/suspension components...hell yes. But, l'm just throwing in this disclaimer...since l mentioned heating the axle housing and it would be wrong to even attempt. I'm kind of unsure how you could even do this, almost like you were not centered on ball joint and you were acually pushing against axle housing instead. Never actually seen anything like this in forty some years of being a mechanic...and l've seen some messed up stuff...(not done...seen...lol)

Brian.