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In Reply to: HELP! Can't remove ball joint of thrust arm... posted by JT on September 09, 2001 at 21:05:49:
I got in the same bind when I replaced mine.
Three of the four came out ok but the fourth was a bit more difficult. (two thrust arms and two lower control arms)
What I finially did in the end was to remove the control arm and the steering plate from the car. If you haven't done this yet it is just a matter of the tire rod end and three bolts under the strut. The rest of the item you should have already removed.
I got out the hot wrench and fired it up. After heating the steering plate to a nice soft glow I put the threaded end of the ball joint down on the concrete floor and let the hammer fall on the steering plate.
The nice thing about hitting the plate instead of the ball joint is that you are essentially pulling instead of pushing.
Prior to resorting to the hot wrench I pounded with a hammer for hours on the pickle fork.
IF all else fails or if you don't have access to a torch then just buy a new or used steering plate and throw the stuck one away. Thats what I was going to do if the hot wrench didn't work.
Good luck
Paul
89 535i 201K
I'm stuck! I don't know what else to do and I surely can't drive my car now. I'm in the middle of replacing the thrust arm with a new lemforder/750iL setup, and I can't get the old ball joint off. Is there a trick to this? I used the directions on Bruno's site but the pickle fork doesn't work. I don't have a tie rod puller and I don't have a Bently. Can anyone please tell me what my options are, or if I overlooked something.
TIA
JT
91 535i up on jacks indefinitely...
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