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Cannot remove inner ball joint - help please?

19K views 38 replies 16 participants last post by  angstadt530 
#1 ·
I am trying to replace my control arms and bushings with the Meyle HD.

The nut is still on the top of the ball joint bolt, and I cannot get it off. When I use a 22 mm wrench, the nut and the entire ball joint bolt spin.

I have the passenger side completely off, but on the driver's side, the inner ball joint is stuck. Luckally the nut is 3/4 inch off (but not completely) and the arm is hanging down (only stuck by the nut on the top from completely coming off the car) so I have access to the bolt underneath.

I tried using vice grips on the bolt but they just slide around (the circle bolt and grease does not help).

I tried to cut the bolt with both a hack saw and electronic saw, but they are not even making any progress.

I then drilled thru the arm into the ball (or so I think) and inserted an allen key in it to try to force it from moving but I still cannot get the nut to move.

I am working from underneath with a 22 mm wrench, I was not able to get a socket down thru the top.

Any ideas? Torch?

Thanks!
 
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#31 ·
Inner Control Arm issue

Yeah, unfortunately I did the same thing as loko-moto. Cut off the inner ball joint. Ran into all of the same issues everyone else did, so now its off to try the nut splitter. My next to last resort. My last resort would be to use an engine lift and remove the cross member to cut off the nut from the top. This is a pain in the ass job, but a common issue with e46's:thumbup:
 
#32 ·
Yeah, unfortunately I did the same thing as loko-moto. Cut off the inner ball joint. Ran into all of the same issues everyone else did, so now its off to try the nut splitter. My next to last resort. My last resort would be to use an engine lift and remove the cross member to cut off the nut from the top. This is a pain in the ass job, but a common issue with e46's:thumbup:
I hope that you are keeping that thing soaked with PB Blaster or some other penetrating oil (not WD-40). You should be spraying it every few hours, to keep it working.
Go to the auto parts store, and look for one of the new products that freeze the bolt to release it. There are several brands of it now, like Wurth, Loctite, CRC, etc.
I have used freon for years to remove stuck fasteners, but the companies that make penetrating oil have finally caught on to this, and are selling products to freeze fasteners to break them loose.
If you can't find any, get a cheap AC recharge kit, and use it to spray freon onto the bolt. Got the one with the brass valve that punctures the top of the can when you screw it down. Cut the connector at the end of the hose off (the one you would attach to the AC line to inject freon). Now, when you turn the valve to puncture the can of freon, you have a freon sprayer. Use some vise-grips to close off the hose, to stop the flow. **this is not the most environmentally friendly thing to do, so look for the freeze-off sprays, and use this only as a last resort**
It causes the bolt to shrink, and breaks the corrosion bond. Try a few cycles of freon, followed by penetrating oil. The freon or the other canned spray freeze will shrink the bolt, and the penetrating oil can work it's way into the threads. After a few cycles of freeze/penetrating oil, give it a good blast of the the freeze stuff, and try to loosen the nut. Here are some examples of the freeze-off penetrating sprays:
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=6585
http://www.loctitefreezeandrelease.com/
 
#34 ·
The job is a lot simpler when you drop the subframe (crossmember). You still have to separate the outer ball joint but those have easier access so you can sway a big hammer or better yet get the correct ball joint tool. One other benefit to dropping the subframe is you get access to the motor mounts for easy replacement.
 
#35 ·
Dropping the crossmember.

Is there anything other then supporting the engine with an engine lift and removing the four bolts in the support, that I would need t do. Or is it really as simple as it looks? The passenger side inner and outer ball joints are already separated, I used a pickle fork. I would do the same to the driver side before I lower the support of course. The issue isn't that the bolts wont turn. Its that they were backed off to the last few rows of threads and completely seized. I believe do to all of the rust and corrosion on the ball joint threads itself.
Did the same thing on the driver side as well
 
#37 · (Edited)
Is there anything other then supporting the engine with an engine lift and removing the four bolts in the support, that I would need t do. Or is it really as simple as it looks? The passenger side inner and outer ball joints are already separated, I used a pickle fork. I would do the same to the driver side before I lower the support of course. The issue isn't that the bolts wont turn. Its that they were backed off to the last few rows of threads and completely seized. I believe do to all of the rust and corrosion on the ball joint threads itself.
Did the same thing on the driver side as well
Here is a short DIY posted by the master of BMW upgrades and repairs, SLOtown, that shows how to do it.
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showpost.php?p=14309012&postcount=15

I think that those pics, along with the things described above (unbolting the motor mounts, etc) will get you there.
 
#39 ·
Old thread, but I had the same problem as the OP today. The nut was stuck so bad the hex hole stripped and I thought I was screwed.

Thankfully I had been able to unscrew the nut a little bit before it seized. I used a jack to push the control arm back up as much as possible, then used a hacksaw to cut through the bolt just underneath the nut. The hacksaw was a Stanley Mini, one can purchase it at Home Depot either by itself or as part of a normal-sized hacksaw. I used the blade that came with the saw, a "bi-metal" blade I believe.

It took about 1.5 hours because of the tight fit. It was awkward to cut at such a weird angle while lying underneath the car. I took lots of quick breaks to rest my arms since I was holding them up and only able to saw by moving my wrists up and down. Patience is key. It seemed like I might never get all the way through the bolt, even once it was clear I was making progress.
 
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