I did ask for advice on taking off the control arm and track rod end in the technical forum but got no help. When I was trying to take off the track control arm with my forked ball joint splitter all I did was split the boot and had trouble removing the nut as the ball joint just kept spinning. So I asked the mechanic at work and he said put it back together and bring it to him. One of his major concerns was the safety aspect of compressing the coils which he advised not to do unless you knew what you was up to.
This is how he did it, ignore the haynes manual its bollox. Jack and support the car. remove the front wheel. Undo the two bolts holding the caliper to the strut housing. Pull the caliper off. Turn the steering wheel to allow access to the track control arm. With an compressed air gun undo the nut securing the track rod ball joint to the strut housing. Whack the strut housing where the stud is with a large hammer to free it. Pull the track rod out of the way, place the nut on top to protect the thread. Pull the hub the other way to allow access to the control arm join. Remove the nut. Whack the strut housing with a hammer to free the joint. Using a long bar lever the control arm down and out from the strut housing. Undo the top three bolts under the bonnet while supporting the strut. Pull the stut out. Place it in a clamp. Using coil compressors remove presure on the strut housing. Pop the capon top of strut. Undo the nut and remove the top plates and washers. Remove the coil. Remove rubber bump stop. Using stilsons are large pliers on the collar undo the shock secring plate. Pull out old shock. Place new shock in and everything is in reverse. Except you dont need to whack the strut housing anymore Eugene.
So next I need to sort out a problem with my handbrake and the self adjusting mechanism then off to the MOT station for wheel alignment then ticket.
