I took all he crown nuts off but i can t seem to get the knuckle away from the upper and lower A -arms. is ther s special tool i need to remove them?

 

Sometimes it requires a little coersion to get the ball joints out of the steering knuckle

I have always had luck using a peice of wood(as a damper) and a hammer.

Just tap the upper control arm up, away from the knuckle and then tap up on the knuckle away from the lower control arm once the top is free.

I have tried ball joint separator tools but they have a tendency to tear the dust boot.

 

Depends on which type of seperator you use. There are 2 types that I have dealt with. One type is an automotive type that has a V on the end and has a long shaft on it and you hit it with a BFH. This tears the boots sometimes. The other type has the V on it but directly below the V part is like a C clamp. The second type seems to work the best on ATV's. Your local dealer should be able to tell you where you can get one.