03 Ram 1500 2WD - I've got everything else torn down but cannot separate the the steering knuckle from the lower ball joint. Nut is off and I have been banging the crap out of it with a 5 lb. hammer, used liquid wrench, and broke my pickle fork trying to separate it. Still won't come off! What will work on this??? Please help! Thanks.

 

Go to your nearest chain auto parts store, rent a ball joint removal tool (some places call it a tie rod separator, same thing) for a couple of bucks...

 

i've used a few things - 2 jaw pullers, pickle fork, and a fixed puller (might have been a pittman arm puller). i like the shorter pittman arm puller whenever it will fit. it seems to lean and flex less than a big long 2 jaw puller. you can borrow all these things at autozone or advance

 

This might help anyone else who ends up needing to replace these. I got another pickle fork and just kept beating it until it finally separated. Also, forget about pressing the old lower ball joints out, had to beat those out with my 5 lb. hammer also. Used the press from advance auto to install the new lowers. Upper control arms with new ball joints were pretty easy to install.

Also, make sure you get quality ball joints. My new lowers are fine, but after only 2 months on the truck the uppers already have ruptured rubber boots. You can see where the boots were thin in spots. Very low quality part I got from eBay, Mac Auto Parts and Accessories, seller name macautopartsdiscounts. Steer clear of these. I bought them because they were the only ones I could find with a grease fitting. But they are crap, and now I find myself having to swap them out again.