Outer ball joints will not separate. Please help!

[The Beep]

DSCN0620.jpg
Neither side will separate.
They're both well soaked with penetrating oil.

[BimmerBreaker]

I'm assuming you have removed the nut...

I really don't like using pickle forks on BMW's... use something like this if you can:
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-schwaben...PfxGgJkVfD_BwE

Otherwise there is no answer. You just keep hitting it with a hammer. You can take it out and flip it upside down, rotate it, jiggle it...

[The Beep]

Yes, the nut is off.
I've been pounding on the right side on and off for 2 days now giving the left side a try.
Same problem.
I'm ready to reassemble everything and bring it to a shop.
With the special jack and tools I've already purchased, it would've been cheaper! Grrr!

[gmushial]

I went down that road two weeks ago: took about 3 hrs to get the outer one free... and I think the answer was: PBlaster in the knuckle; and rapping on the knuckle to break the corrosion free... these were original balljoints: 18 yrs old and 205k miles later - yes, they were well rusted in. ... I had went the pickle fork route.. but initially there was a point that I could tell that I was hammering too much, and something that I didn't want to break was going to... so that's when I reverted to chemicals and not so gently whacking on the steering knuckle which was holding the ball joint horn... but after enough soaking time and banging on the outside of the knuckle: one more little tap on the end of the pickle fork, and it popped out... I'm guessing you'll see the same effect.

[BimmerBreaker]

From the sounds of it, a shop is the best bet. I just had to take a trailing arm to a shop to whack out an axle for me, sometimes we just don't have the right tools for the job.

You could try using a torch to apply heat to make things expand and move, failing that your next choice of options would depend on whether you want to salvage the ball joint or not

[gmushial]

From the sounds of it, a shop is the best bet. I just had to take a trailing arm to a shop to whack out an axle for me, sometimes we just don't have the right tools for the job.

You could try using a torch to apply heat to make things expand and move, failing that your next choice of options would depend on whether you want to salvage the ball joint or not

In my case it was the joint that was toast - that was the reason to replace the arm etc... my fear was the is was going to break into two pieces, and then the pickle fork wouldn't have anything to press against... but the PBlaster and some soaking time was the difference.

[E36lover22]

I like to use a hammer with a sharp point at the end and hit the bajesus out of the knuckle where the balljoint goes in, if that doesn't work, torch it and then repeat hitting it. I'm guessing you don't need these tie rods anymore.

[gmushial]

I used a flat ended hammer - didn't want to deform knuckle locally... but did want to shatter or try to shatter the corrosion... but equally: don't forget the PBlaster or maybe Knockoff - let them dissociate the rust as much as they can reach.

[The Beep]

Still stuck.
Will this work???
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DFMW0A2...SIN=B01DFMW0A2

[dbarton62]

Try over torqueing the nut. Impact is best. There had to have been a gap for rust to form.
Then try hammering again......edit......once you remove the nut of course

[The Beep]

Try over torqueing the nut. Impact is best. There had to have been a gap for rust to form.
Then try hammering again......edit......once you remove the nut of course

the threads are pretty hosed at this point. I've been hammering on it for hours.
I've ordered the above mentioned press along with some polyurethane bushings and will tackle this again Saturday.
Happy Memorial Day.

[The Beep]

DSCN0621.jpg
GOT EM!!!
FYI, Do ya wanna do this job without hammering until your ears bleed?
This is what you need right here. They were both off in 10 minutes and that right one was REALLY on there!
FYI, if you want the press, send a PM.
Thank you good people of bimmerforum!

[4jacks]

Glad to hear the good news! Thanks for updated the thread.

[gmushial]

GOT EM!!!
FYI, Do ya wanna do this job without hammering until your ears bleed?
This is what you need right here. They were both off in 10 minutes and that right one was REALLY on there!
FYI, if you want the press, send a PM.
Thank you good people of bimmerforum!

I wonder how this compares to the harbor freight tool... other than probably being of higher quality ;-)

[BimmerBreaker]

It's weird how having the right tool for the job makes doing the job right easier, isn't it?

[The Beep]

It's weird how having the right tool for the job makes doing the job right easier, isn't it?

Absolutely. Funny part is none of the videos used it. They were all hammering and pickle forking the thing to death. One edited out how they freed it but suddenly the rotor was supported on cinder blocks haha
Have you done the venos seals? I'm trying to figure out how to approach the problem. I could buy a refurb unit for 200 and have a shop down the street install it.
My concern is there doesn't appear to be much room in front without removing a giant shroud looking part.

[The Beep]

I wonder how this compares to the harbor freight tool... other than probably being of higher quality ;-)

Wouldn't trust HF on this one. I had to ratchet that thing down really hard and pound on it with the sludge. Can't imagine HF standing up to that but if it's cheap enough??? This one was about 55 online.

[gmushial]

Absolutely. Funny part is none of the videos used it. They were all hammering and pickle forking the thing to death. One edited out how they freed it but suddenly the rotor was supported on cinder blocks haha
Have you done the venos seals? I'm trying to figure out how to approach the problem. I could buy a refurb unit for 200 and have a shop down the street install it.
My concern is there doesn't appear to be much room in front without removing a giant shroud looking part.

Of all the work I've done on my Z ('99 Z3 m52tub25) - doing the VANOS seals has been by far my favorite task [have done shocks, struts, rear main seal, guibo, rear subframe bushings, replaced diff, brakes, control arms and bushings in the front, water pump etc... so quite a bit: but the VANOS was fun - was a lot of steps, but is was all thinking man's work, vs, sledgehammering on a balljoint etc... and the change in performance was amazing.. the job was about 6 hrs, having never done it, and with a beer break in the middle... I would do it yourself - especially if you soldiered through the balljoints.

- - - Updated - - -

Wouldn't trust HF on this one. I had to ratchet that thing down really hard and pound on it with the sludge. Can't imagine HF standing up to that but if it's cheap enough??? This one was about 55 online.

I was able to pickle fork them out pretty easily given the PBlaster... but there are three, sometimes four, other Z's that I keep an eye on, and I suspect they're also coming up for ball joints etc... so debating if having such a tool would be wise... don't know if I was lucky with the pickle fork, or I should just stay with it.

[cdsweet]

Still stuck.
Will this work???
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DFMW0A2...SIN=B01DFMW0A2

This is exactly what I used on my son's 1991 e30 318i with 174k miles on it. The thing finally popped but mercy it was tight.
Same deal, I prepped with a liberal dosing of PB Blaster for days before. I thought about hitting it with some heat but after I got another wrench to create a bit of additional leverage it finally snapped. The force it unloaded when it finally snapped was a bit scary.

[cdsweet]

for future reference, leave the nut on top of the thread side you are pounding on with a hammer if that's your tool of choice.
It has been my experience that when you hammer just the bolt without the nut, it can mushroom the head of the bolt just enough where its a tight fit to get all the way out.
The nut will also allow you more real estate for impact.

[The Beep]

Well, both sides are done. I did the struts too. On the test drive, both sides made a nasty rattling sound so I threw up the white flag and it's in the shop. I'm going to have them do the rear shocks and vanos seals too as I'm more interested in driving the car than wrenching on it at this point.
I do appreciate the experience though.

[gmushial]

Well, both sides are done. I did the struts too. On the test drive, both sides made a nasty rattling sound so I threw up the white flag and it's in the shop. I'm going to have them do the rear shocks and vanos seals too as I'm more interested in driving the car than wrenching on it at this point.
I do appreciate the experience though.

Sorry to hear such... though would be interested in what the rattle was... or maybe it was a clunk, where the strut tophats weren't firmly held [normally there are spacing washers which go on the top shoulder of the strut shafts, and if they're not there, even if the top nuts are all way down and tight there is some fraction of an inch of play where over every bump one hears them rattle]... the other comment is: if it's a new job, do one thing at a time, so that if things do go wrong, or they don't work as expected after the fact, one knows what one worked on and knows where to go look... when one does multiple things, then chasing down problems becomes more difficult/challenging. ... ;-) and please don't ask how I know this ;-) ... good luck. Good driving. :-)