All,

I tackled the job of replacing one of the lower ball joints this evening, but neither liberal application of penetrating oil + pickle fork + hammer, nor heat allowed me to budge the ball joint shaft from the control arm. It seems to be solidly wedged in the hole.

I don't know how much bearing this has on things, but my 740 has aluminum control arms. I'm thinking that the relatively soft aluminum has probably promoted the wedging of the shaft into the control arm. This is the second time this setup has given me a tough time, as when I replaced the control arm bushings earlier this year, the inner metal sleeve had literally fused with the control arm & had to be drilled out!

Anyone encountered this before & have any tips on what I might try next?

Thanks in advance.

Mike