[guzzoyongi]

Originally Posted by binaryagent

My Dad always said, "You got to have the right tool to do the job". I stopped by Autozone again and found a "OEM tie rod puller" for $14.99. I got each side done in about 15 minutes.

From the pic you can see how I mounted the puller. I tightened it, hit it with a small sledge, tightened a bit more, another hit and the control arm popped off.

Only one screw removal needed to pull back enough plastic to get to the bolt on the other end of the control arm. The plastic covering has a cavity for the bolt to back into before lining up correctly. Two 18mm wrenches needed for each end of the bolt and an 8mm for the screw that holds the plastic. When you're putting the bolt back don't tighten until you secure the ball joint nut. The rubber bushing doesn't spin when the bolt is tight (duh). Tighten the nut as tight as you can and then tighten some more from the head of the bolt while keeping the nut secure.

You'll need a T40 torx to hold the ball joint while you tighten the nut with a crescent wrench. As soon as you get it snug you can continue with a 24mm socket. That's about it. I still have to take it to NTB for an alignment now that everything's solid up front.

Spent 5 days trying to figure out how to safely remove my control arm from the wheel hub. Tried everything I could think of; tie rod pullers, 2 jaw pullers, brute force hammer ... until BinaryAgent showed a photo of the correct tool he used ... Controlarm was out in less than 60 seconds.

[unbimmer]

Originally Posted by binaryagent

My bushings are way shot (dips to the right when braking) so I purchased some new traction control arms from getBMWparts.com:

31126768984 Front suspension, Suspension components, Rear cntl arm, Rear cntl arm Right - Awd - Awd
31126768983 Front suspension, Suspension components, Rear cntl arm, Rear cntl arm Left - Awd - Awd

I thought it was going to be a simple job but I could Not get the control arm to release from the ball joint. I used a "pickle fork" tool but it wasn't wide enough to fit around the joint without tearing the rubber boot. I banged and banged to no avail. Now I'm considering using a bushing press tool borrowed from Autozone to remove the bushing from the new control arm and install on the old while still attached to the car.

Anyone with experience that can help me out? Is there a special tool to break the grip? Thanks.

Not sure if you still need help. But check this out