[Vwdiesel] Help-Ball Joint

[Val Christian]

Gang,

Today I started tackling a strut and brake replacement job on my 91 diesel
Jetta.  Damage thus far:

	-munged allen socket head on upper caliper retainer bolt
	I ended up hammering in a 1/4" one to finish the job.
	spent hours on it with impact, and penetrant.  Then got
	gutsy, put the smallest tip I could on my torch (#1 Linde)
	and heated the casting.  I didn't damage the rubber boot on
	the piston.  Heat wins.

	-broke off 8mm head on brake dust shield, trying to get it
	off for better access.  Didn't use heat.  Now, I'll be using
	an EZout.

Problem remaining:

	-ball joint not separated from steering knuckle.  No pickle
	fork.  But I really don't want to use one.  The ball joint is
	fine, and I don't want to replace it.  Can't find stand-alone
	ball joint boots.

So does anyone have any ideas I should consider for separating the
ball joint from the steering knuckle, without damaging the boot?

I tried sandwiching in a tire iron, and then using the weight of the
car to lever the tire iron, resting on a jackstand.  I figure quite
a bit of force (10K lbs?).  It mostly bent the metal on the lower
control arm.

I'm getting ready to use heat, but I'd rather not.

Thanks in advance.

Val

ps:  Why am I taking the steering knuckle off?  Because I want to do
the struts without doing an alignment job.  The front end is so sweet!