I have a 2005 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 LS that needed new lower ball joints. I have had a very difficult time removing the steering knuckle from the ball joint. I tried penetrating lubricant, hitting it with a 3-lb sledge while jacking up the ball joint bolt, and even tried heating the knuckle. It is on there nice and tight.
I tried hitting different places on the knuckle, and in the process I hit the area above the hole where the bolt for the brake caliper bracket goes. I deformed the hole just enough that the bolt won't go through anymore. Is this something I can just drill out or have I compromised things enough that I should just buy a new steering knuckle?
In the second picture, you can see the caliper bracket mounting bolt only goes through until the threads hit at the very end. I don't think it would take much to drill it out to fit the bolt.
A new Dorman from Amazon is $105, and a used one from the local junkyard is $85.