Not real familiar with this but I'm replacing the lower right a-arm on my 2003 Kodiak 450. Just wondering if there is a trick to get the a-arm separated from the lower ball joint. Silly me thought it would just drop right off once the castle nut was off.

 

If I understand you correctly, a small pickle fork will do the job you want to do.
Sometimes I have turned the nut around and thread it so it is flush with the ball joint stud and wail away at it with a 5 pounder.
You will not be able to save the ball joint if you do this though.

 

I would have thought that the fork would damage the rubber seal....

I also considered fliping the nut over, if I take the ball joint out of the knuckle and put it on my bench vice with the vice open enough so that the ball joint just hangs and the old a-arm rests on the vice I can't see how the ball joint would be damaged.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>I would have thought that the fork would damage the rubber seal.... </end quote></div>
It does.............at least most of the time it does.
Most of the time the ball joint is ruined. Most of the time those things are REALLY in there!!!!!! And I do mean REALLY!!!!

Took one out of a car a few months back and I REALLY had to wack it with a 5 pounder to get it out. I tried the nut trick first but no go. Sometimes it takes an act of God to get those things out.

 

Nice...

 

I have a fork attachment for my pnuematic chisel that works well. I have used it several times and not damaged the rubber bad enough that I couldn't reuse it. Good luck, they can be pretty tough sometimes.