[billymiller]

Getting after replacing the upper ball joints in my 01 Eurovan, can't seem to get the new joint to seat in the knuckle - used the brute force technique here - http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=73156 - since my press won't fit in the wheel well after placing proper attachments.  Right now the joint is sitting "square" in the knuckle, just won't go in to seat all the way despite using a touch of liquid soap and repeatedly tapping at 3, 6, 9, 12 on the knuckle end.  Any tips out there, or am I destined to remove the new joint and start over?...

[billymiller]

Update -

Took a propane torch (very carefully) to the upper control arm knuckle, heated it thoroughly, and then used a lot more tap tap tapping (more like hitting) to get the ball joint in all the way.  The brute force technique perhaps would be a smoother process using some copper flux instead of soap, with a pre heated control arm knuckle, and perhaps a ball joint fresh out of the freezer - at least that's what i'll try for the driver's side.

[billymiller]

In case anyone is looking for ball joint input, I did, as mentioned above, put the upper ball joint for the drivers side in the freezer, preheated the control arm knuckle with a propane torch, and used the lower control arm to press the joint in - 95% of the way.  Waaaay easier than the other side, though it still required a bit more hammering and a bit o heat on the knuckle to get the last 5% done.  Loosening the 24mm bolt with a standard box end wrench was a test in patience, but saved me the hassle of interference with the outer cv boot like i've seen some other forum threads discuss, when trying to use a socket for this job. 

For me it was worth saving the $300-400 for the sealey ball joint press (and the likely long wait for it to ship from overseas) in getting this job done with a generic ball joint press, pickle fork, and some elbow grease.  Couple pictures attached of the process on this arm.