Jan 22 -- stalled

With Linda and Alec not expected until 3pm, I started work on the car. Replacing the first Control Arm, same as the one that I'd replaced last year, only on the driver's side this time, took only minutes. I knew exactly what to expect and didn't hesitate to use the pickle fork and the sledge hammer aggressively. Out it came and in went the new.

Next up, the so-called thrust arms and accompanying ball joints. I wasn't totally sure that the ball joints would need replacing but after I got the first arm off, again driver's side, I knew ! There was some play in the ball joint and it's boot was shot.

Removing the thrust arm from the ball joint took the ball joint remover. It did its job perfectly and, as I'd read (and expected) it separated with a bang like a gunshot. Had I not read that, I'd have been mightily surprised ! So far so good.

Well, that's as far as I got ... well not quite. The ball joint assembly is attached to the underside of the wheel carrier (my name) by two torx screws. They came off relatively easily with my ratchet, the 3/8" drive torx bit and a little help from Sandy holding the steering wheel from moving.

By the way -- at this point I had the front of the car up on jack stands.

The ball joint assembly has a plate that attaches to the underside with the aforementioned torx screws and then the head of the assembly, about 1.5" across and high, inserts into the wheel carrier and ends up flush above. It's frozen ... frozen with rust, no doubt. I went online to see if anyone had any solutions and one fellow's post referred to a) banging from above, b) penetrating oil and c) ultimately, for one of his two, cutting out the unit from below with a Dremel tool.

The problem with banging from above is that you can't get at it. The head of the joint is right under the boot from the driveshaft. I banged as much as I could; I pried at the unit from below driving a chisel (actually a screwdriver) between the pieces of metal and alternately using the dremel to try cutting it out. I removed some metal with the dremel but it's very hard steel and I basically chewed through any cut-off wheels that I had without even getting close to removing enough metal to remove the ball from below. Oh yes, I also used my propane torch but again, there's a ball joint boot to worry about (not this one but a good ball joint) from below and the driveshaft boot above, so you're limited as to what you can do with the torch.

Hours later -- yes about four hours of struggling later -- I had to close up shop for the day. The ball joint is chewed up but it ain't moving. I attached one torx screw, not the other since that side is gone, reattached the old thrust arm, loosely, and got the car off the jack stands with the one side elevated with the trolley jack. Linda and Alec were due to arrive and I figured that perhaps Alec might have some suggestions.

After I got the arm re-attached, it occurred to me that I could then pound down on the arm from above with the pickle fork -- which I tried for a couple of minutes without any luck. It was too late for any serious effort on that score. I emailed the guy who had posted the instructions including the cutting, and he responded quickly but without any magic bullets. He did mention the pickle fork, so perhaps he'd tried the same thing.

When Alec looked at it, he suggested that I get a long pry bar -- which I will do -- and try prying at the thrust arm against the frame from below. I'll make a trip to Home Depot and pick up a long bar -- a long pipe -- and try that. Perhaps if I can get 4-6 feet of leverage it might move. I'll have to get the thrust arm tighter on the old ball joint, however, since at this point I have only a few threads of the nut attached. Basically I'm in a position now where I could drive it slowly and clunkily a couple of blocks to a repair shop where they'd undoubtedly put it on the hoist, hit the assembly for 15 seconds with a proper acetylene torch and drive it out.

The other thing that I'll pick up at HD is some better cutting wheels for the dremel, hopefully, so that I might again go at cutting the darn thing out. Of course once I remove the ball, I'm committed to either finishing the cutting or getting the car towed.

It's a good thing that we have two cars !

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Linda and Alec arrived a little before 3pm. We sat outside and chatted; Alec took a look at my car situation; I put the wheel back on the car for safety reasons; we drank some wine; we went over to the SYC for dinner. It was an early dinner, as dinners go, because it's nicer sitting over there in daylight. It was a glorious sunset, a pink sky in the east and then a pink sky in the west. We wandered back home and watched TV ... sort of. Alec watched the NFC game; I did too, asking Alec football questions about penalties; Sandy and Linda chatted on the couch. Eventually I succumbed, as did Linda, leaving Alec with his game and Sandy reading her book. Amazingly enough I stayed awake for an episode of Torchwood (now at season 2, episode 8). In the meantime Sandy had come to bed with a minute or so left in the game.

Had you asked me earlier yesterday I wouldn't even have known that there were football games on tap !

Today -- boating. Tomorrow -- Linda and Alec leave for the Florida west coast.

Stay tuned for the X5 saga :).

Onward ...