I would put back on the control arm and see if you could get a slide hammer attached to the control arm and have a go at that.

What is side hammer? What does it look like? Any picture? Thanks!

This is the detail of the special tool I mentioned before. Special tool number 334200 and 334205.

OEM/Slide hammer with 18 threads (27033) | Slide Hammer | AutoZone.com

Now if you get a nut that goes over the ball joint, and weld that to a nut that threads onto this slide hammer, it would work like the BMW tool. If you think a nut is too small, you can get a standoff that has the correct thread.

I think that is what the BMW tool is anyway.

White lancer, many thanks . . . I didn't think it was going to, but it worked.

I put the control arm back on - connected both ends so I didn't have to hold the other end while I was beating on the ball joint end. I used a 3 lb hammer and it took a fair number of whacks, but it finally let loose. :thumbup:

New ball joint and tie rod installed and I'm finished for the night. The other side should go much better. Thanks for all the input everyone.

You are replacing the whole tension rod correct? As beefy as this part is, I'd be hesitant about reusing a suspension part that has been thoroughly tenderized with a hammer.

We're beating this tread more than the ball joint, guys :D

I thought it was worth mentioning. There is likely zero risk of the tension arm ever failing because you hit it with a 3lb hammer or used a slidehammer on it, being that arm is made of a large chunk of steel. But you could permanently change your alignment in a manner that could not be corrected by normal means. If this were on an aluminum control arm, the risk of failure would be non-zero, and therefore too high to not replace it.

How about a block of wood separating the hammer and arm? Or is there not enough space then?

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:iagree:

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