So I beat the hell out of my control arm..

[nyle]

And still couldn't get the sucker out. After an hour of trying to remove the outer ball joint from the rotor assembly, as described by the bentley manual and the pelicanparts.com article i had no luck. So I called my regular mechanic, who recommended that I just "beat the hell out of it with a hammer". Which I did.. for another hour.. and still no luck. I gave up and re-tightened everything. I guess it'll be in the shop sometime this week.

Has anyone been through this? Suggestions?

[teetime4one]

spray the crap out of it with nut-cracker.
that's my only cure for 100,000 mile parts...plenty of lube

[thesk8nmidget]

had the same problems on other vehicles and like teetime said get some sort of product to break down the grease and gunk built up and beat it some more

[greg318]

No, here is the best solution for your problem. It's call a control arm and ball joint puller. It looks like a tuning fork with long handle. It's shaped like a wedge at the end so you put it between the rotor nuckel and the top of the control arm, take your hammer to that. It shouldn't take more than a couple of shots. You can find them at any auto parts store for like 10 to 15 bucks.

[nyle]

is it like a pry bar? we positioned a pry bar so that when it was lifted it would push down on the bolt on the joint. then we used a jack to lift it up. still no luck. but i'll take a look at a store if i get the time tomorrow.

[BakeR318]

Originally Posted by teetime4one

spray the crap out of it with nut-cracker.
that's my only cure for 100,000 mile parts...plenty of lube

Sorry but, out of context that line just sounds...hilarious.

[teetime4one]

funny as it sounds...that stuff works!
let it sit over night...then bang it 'til you sweat!

[BakeR318]

Thats...what she said?

[roadrash]

Originally Posted by BakeR318

Thats...what she said?

Hey, stop it... that's MY line! LOL

[greg318]

Not so much like a pry bar I tried that too, more like a metal wedge with an inch gap in the middle. Any autozone or place like that will know what your talking abt. It's a ball joint seperater. I never knew they made them either, worth the ten bucks. cause if you mess up the steering knuckle your control arms will have play in them. Good luck, and don't beat it to hard! LOL

[thesk8nmidget]

these will be your best two friend in this job

[campaiar]

There is a much easier solution fellas..

Lossen the ball joint nut until it contacts the bottom of the strut. (There isn't enough room to remove it and you don't want to anyway)

You then need to turn the steering wheel to the lock left or right so you have full access to the ball joint area from behind the wheel. (Drivers side turn wheel right, passenger side turn wheel left.) You can't get to it from the front safely because the tierod is there.

With the nut loose, you need to strike the spindle where the ball joint passes through it. To belabor the point, there is a ring of thick metal the ball joint shaft is stuck in. You want to hit the outside of the ring with a hammer. Lube isn't necessary since its a forced fit and won't really help anyway.


When it breaks loose, the nut will hold the pieces from flying apart and causing injury.

[thesk8nmidget]

Originally Posted by campaiar

There is a much easier solution fellas..

Lossen the ball joint nut until it contacts the bottom of the strut. (There isn't enough room to remove it and you don't want to anyway)

You then need to turn the steering wheel to the lock left or right so you have full access to the ball joint area from behind the wheel. (Drivers side turn wheel right, passenger side turn wheel left.) You can't get to it from the front safely because the tierod is there.

With the nut loose, you need to strike the spindle where the ball joint passes through it. To belabor the point, there is a ring of thick metal the ball joint shaft is stuck in. You want to hit the outside of the ring with a hammer. Lube isn't necessary since its a forced fit and won't really help anyway.


When it breaks loose, the nut will hold the pieces from flying apart and causing injury.

good thinkin!!

and nothings worse than flying parts all over the garage. or the parts hitting you!

[mohaughn]

I used a pickle fork... Put that in there and a 5 pound sledgehammer will have it broken free in no time at all. You can also buy a strut puller that is much safer and does not damage the ball joint boot.

It basically clamps underneath the control arm, and on top of the ball joint shaft. In our cars this is a tight fit as the top of the ball joint shaft is almost up against the strut body. But they do sell a tool specifically for BMWs that will fit between the shaft and the bottom of the strut.

Then you just turn the bolt and the mechanical force pushed the shaft back through the control arm.