What did you end up using to get the tapered end of the ball joint out of the lower control arm? I''m having some serious difficulties getting the knuckle and LCA apart.
If you go to your local O'Reilly's or AutoZone, they sell (and rent, I would rent!) a large and small pitman arm puller. Get the large one.
Once you have it, jack up your car, put it on jack stands, then jack up the car right under the subframe directly behind the knuckle in the middle.
- this will help the car get off the ground more so you can get the pitman arm puller and your wrench or air ratchet under there.
Once you have enough clearance, put the pitman puller around the ball joint and the LCA and get it tight to where you can start ratcheting it out.
I personally have a air wrench, so it was pretty easy to get it to come loose. If you don't have one, I don't think it would be possible without a cheater bar (probably 2-4 feet would work good) to get it to come off. The amount of torque required (if it is in there pretty good) will be too great with just the handle of the wrench alone.
After enough force is present, it should pop loose (most likely violently too).
If you've tried this already to a T, then I would suggest getting it as far as it will go and then try banging a 5-10 pound sledge on the sides of control arm. The idea is that it should
vibrate free. I have never had to resort to this method, but it sounds like it should work.. if you have a lot of time on your hands.
Unfortunately, the LCA isn't the hard part. You have yet to deal with the rest of the crap in there, such as the hub and actually getting the ball joint out of that.
If you don't own a air ratchet, I would highly recommend investing in one. Sear's has one that does well for $60 with a 2 year warranty. I purchased the $120 one on a discount and it works awesome.
Good luck!
