Feb 1 - son of a gun !

Having squirted lots of Kroil all around that ball joint the night before, I decided to prep for extraction before going on my bike ride. This time I followed Jason's advice, moving the X5 into the garage and doing the work there. That way I didn't have to worry about the weather; I could work in the dark; I wouldn't bother the neighbors !

I backed the car into the garage, figuring that if I failed and had to get it towed, at least it would be facing the tow truck. There is always a worst case scenario !

Up on the jack stands, I decided to try and give it a pry and hammer, just in case Kroil had done such a good job that it would just pop out. Sandy helped by using the pry bar while I did the honors with the pickle fork. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that I was able to remove the two large torx screws holding the carrier from below without removing the ball joint from the thrust arm / control arm.

Nothing. Oh well, it was worth a try.

It was time to use the ball joint extractor and get the thrust arm out of the way. I cranked that up and BANG, as before, it came off with a gunshot. Wait ... the extractor came off the joint but the thrust arm is still attached ! Oh oh, the extractor has sheared off half of the threaded end as it slipped off ! The threads are wreaked and there's not enough left for the extractor to work with !

I decided afterwards that the proper way to use the tool, in this instance, would have been to undo the nut to where it was flush with the end and use that entire surface with the extractor, but too late now.

Well, I'm pretty well stuck at this point and I have to think on this ... time for a bike ride. I had my lunch and hit the road. The wind was quite brisk from the ESE but I was feeling good -- besides, I had that ball joint waiting for me at the end, spurring me on.

Back home, I didn't even bother showering since I was about to get very dirty anyway. I put on my work clothes, chugged down some V8 and went into my garage. I guess that it was about 4:30 at that point.

I fussed with the arm a bit more and then bit the bullet, bringing the angle grinder into play. I'd picked up some metal cutting disks when I went to Home Depot for better Dremel disks and attached the beefiest one. I cut into the arm right where it joins with the end of the ball joint. It's tough metal but the tool did the job. Once I was at the intersection of the two metal parts, the thrust arm fell off of it's own weight.

From that point it was pound pound with the chisel, cut cut with the Dremel, heat it up with the torch ... I didn't have my watch on so I had no idea how long this was taking. Sandy opened the garage door and said that it was 7pm and time to quit ... but I said "just a few minutes more". That was because I'd gotten it down to just the inserted collar being in place with the rest of it cut off. It had to move soon ! It never rotated with all my pounding and chiseling; not like last time.

I started working from above, having left that until the last because once I make a hole in the aluminum cap, I can't use the torch because the flame hits the driveshaft boot. It still wasn't going anywhere. Ultimately I was able to cut that collar vertically with the Dremel, which then meant that I could squeeze the ring together and it fell out.

What a B of a job !! I cleaned out the hole with the Dremel, removing the accumulated rust, put the new ball joint in place, screwed in the torx screws (I had been careful, no damaged threads this time), and installed the new arm. I tightened up the bolt where the arm attaches to the frame, leaving the nut at the ball joint loose. That's not supposed to be tightened until I have weight on the car.

It was time to get cleaned up. I was so dehydrated from the ride and then all the work. I was like a zombie. Even thought Sandy had supper ready in a few minutes, all I could do was sit and stare at it. Eventually, after a diet pepsi and ... ok ... three beer which went down like water ... plus some food ... I started to feel human again, but was completely drained. I never drink three beer but practically chugged them. Sore all over, I wondered what it was going to be like with Christie in the morning.

So ... the car is still on the jack stands, attaching the wheel and tightening up that nut the only things left to do. Of course there's a lot of cleanup as well, but I'll move the car out of the way first, which will make that easier.

I'm thinking that I'll probably take it to Tire Kingdom for a wheel alignment next week. It also needs a "reward" of an oil change, rather than all this pounding !

Today ... I was supposed to be working on the car. I now have space on my calendar !

Onward ...