How do I remove the cv axles on a 97 ford taurus. The lower ball joints will not come out of the control arm assemble. I have used a ball joint separator to knock them out, but they will not come out.
I’ve never had to do it on my 97 Taurus, but my manual says to separate the lower ball joint and then simply use a hub puller to push the axle back out of the wheel hub. I’m not sure where your hold-up is… If you can’t get the stud on the ball joint clear of the lower control arm, you could use a spring compressor on the coil spring just to relieve enough pressure to help clear the stud from the control arm. Alternatively, if you don’t think you have enough play in the strut to pull the axle clear of the steering knuckle, you could loosen the mounting nuts (NOT the center nut on the strut) to loosen the strut assembly a bit.
The problem that I am having is the lower ball joint is frozen and not separating at all from the control arm assembly. What do I do from here? Do I loosen the top bolt where the strut sits in the spindle?
Take a long pry bar and hook one end under the sub-frame somewhere. With the pry bar sitting on top of the control arm, pry down to force the ball joint out of the control arm.
Tester
Or rent a ball joint separator from the local parts shop. Those little tools can be invaluable in making a tougher job easy.