Removing ball joint and strut from control arm with pan off

[ToughBug]

I have the worlds rusty-est SB. Well, seems like it anyway.

I'm trying to removed the old strut assembly - taking apart strut, spindle, and ball noint, and removing all from the control arm - to add adjustable struts and replace ball joints. Removed the three bolts. Most broke. Drilled them out. PB blaster-ed it. Got strut off ball joint. Tapped it to loosen rust. Places ball joint screw on raise metal and beat the control arm - with wood block protection - with a giant sledge. Absolutely nothing moved. But I drove the ball joint screw through a spare piece of metal pan scrap. Also can not get strut off the spindle and wheel.

I'm replacing the parts so I don't need to save the old ones. I just need them out.

Can't use the hack method of lowering car onto a socket placed between ball joint snd control arm since car is apart.

Ideas?

Thanks. Trying to stay positive despite rust. Just have to get the rusty parts off those I'm saving.
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1973 chassis + 1974 body = super beetle saved

[Daddy o's 67]

Heat, lots of heat, is needed to get them apart if they are that rusty.

[theKbStockpiler]

It sounds like you can't get the balljoint off the control arm so;

-Put nut fully on balljoint stud so you are hitting the nut and not the stud. Give it a few smacks with a 32oz hammer or better,no wood. Stop short of mauling the balljoint.
-If this does not work ,find a two arm puller that will fit ,maybe a pitman arm puller or something. I took a pitman arm puller and welded it so it would take off tie rod ends for an example.
-Heat always helps so get out the MAP gas and add it to either method.
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My beetle is not competing with your beetle. I have the yellow beetle in my town. There is a red one, a green one ......
Use all safety devices including a mask.

[volksworld]

welcome to the wonderful world of rust....in my area of the world (road salt in the winter and coastal flooding in the summer) struts NEVER came out of the spindle and were both replaced as a unit with another rusted-together assembly when bad...the only reason to ever try to separate them was for lowered struts....do NOT heat the spindle with a torch as it can make it brittle and fail catastrophically later...just drill, chisel and hack it out...trying to press it will tend to expand it and jam it in harder...probably easier to find another set of spindles in the classifieds from a state where they come apart...if you are crazy enough to try to get them apart, cut off the strut tube at the flange,grind off the 3 bolt flange without hurting the top of the spindle,and drop a deep socket into the bottom of the strut and press it out...that will stretch and pull the piece out instead of pushing and expanding it...and if the bottom just blows off,time to get a cape chisel and cut and roll the remnants of the tube into the hole...with lots of penetrant ...good luck