Exactly what I did (same timing, too) and completely agree.

On my 2001 the originals were external Torx E12. I replaced the ball joints with Lefoerders which came with Torx T45.

From my notes, the trick I needed was to remove those E12 screws first, and then the standard ball joint separator that I use on all my cars worked fine.

Thanks for the thoughts and advice all. That tool does look like the easy(ier) button for getting those ball joints out. And it’s not BMW specific, which is nice. My general rule is that I won’t buy any more BMW only tools, but rather get my Indy to do whatever the job is. However, I will likely break that rule for the CV boot job I am faced with. The axle seating tool is only $80 ish.

I’ll pick this back up when I end up pulling the ball joints someday. They are only 2 years old so hopefully they will last for a few more years. Who knows tho, I burned through the sway bar links and tension struts I put in 2 years ago way too quickly.

That stupid design of lower ball joint held in with two small bolts is ridiculous. A while back I tried to replace one of mine - one bolt snapped and the other rounded off. I ended up drilling right through the hub carrier and used bolts with a nut on the other end. That reminds me, I think one is due for replacement as it’s knocking a bit at low speeds..

Slow speed knock? I’d throw sway bar end links at it first. Much easier and usually the culprit with a slow speed knock. They never seem bad when you pry around the front suspension though. In my experience they are usually the cause. For some bizarre reason BMW made them side specific too. Although they will go on reversed…or so I hear ;-)

On a slow speed knock, be sure to also check control arm bushings, the control arm itself and check for rust on the steel pad portion of the front subframe.

I recently discovered that the steel pad on the subframe that supports my front sway bar had rusted through! Time for a new front subframe....

My sway bar had also rusted quite a bit where it enters the bushing and the combination of rust and constant rubbing on the rubber bushing caused my sway bar to shrink in diameter so that it would not fit snuggly in a new bushing. I bought a rust-free, used sway bar and installed it with new bushings. Much better.

That's what I'd have done. If the "knock" more of a "tap" then check the sway bar links.