I took off my front driver side upper control arm in a breeze, once you loosen the nut and screw the black torx bolt clockwise, it just lifts up. I can see how it needs replacement as bolt easily moves all around. This is the original control arm from 2004.


My front passenger side doesn't wanna come off. This one was replaced 3 years ago, but I still need to take it off for bushing replacement, or I guess I could leave it one and just swap the bushing, but I'd like to inspect it. The problem is the torx bolt doesn't sping at all either way. The nut came off and I even used a breaker bar with the torx wrench....I broke the torx bit. I sprayed tons of WD-40 all around the ball joint and the bolt...I tried a pry bar....no luck.


I'm thinking if that control arm was replaced only 3 years ago, and that bolt doesn't spin, maybe it's still good and I shouldn't touch it. Either way, would be great to know how to separate the ball joint for future projects.

 

usually i back off nut so that's its flush with end of bolt, then hit it with a hammer. having the nut on, prevents mushrooming the end of the bolt.

 

The Torx in the ball joint stud is only intended to prevent the joint rotating while tightening the nut during assembly. If turning it got the ball joint taper out on the other side you just got lucky. Tapered ball joints usually require brute force with a BFH (big effing hammer) to remove them.

 

The ball joint pin on the E60 isn't tapered. If you were alble to remove the nut, it shouldn't take more than a few moderate blows with a hammer to pop it out unless there's a lot of corrosion.

 

^Well, that's good news since I have to swap my tension arms. The control arm bushing is tapered though - always a ton of fun.

 

I've been going at it for 2 days now. I don't have a clamped ball joint remover in the area, I bought a 19mm one at NAPA but that didn't fit. I tried the fork, no workie. I pounded on the torx nut and all around the knuckle with a sledge hammer...no luck. I'm going crazy. I'm thinking maybe heating it up... I sprayed tons of Blaster and WD-40 in there..... Worse news is the lower control arm is stuck too..but I haven't started working at it yet. I'm not ready to give up.






******UPDATE****.. I heated up the knuckle around the joints real good, kept pounding on the knuckle with a sledge hammer, and also on the bolt...one by one, upper and lower came off, and so did a pound of sweat. This is by far the most physically demanding work I've done on a car. I guess there's some technique to it. Took a lot of heating and a lot of pounding, and a lot of patience.. I still got quite a few ball joints to separate on passenger side and rear of the vehicle...not looking forward to it.