[MichaelLm]

I'm in the process of replacing the clutch on my 2005 R50 Cooper. While going through the steps to remove the subframe, though, I can't get past removing the ball joints. I've removed the bolts holding the ball joint to the steering knuckle, but despite three nights of spraying penetrating oil and resorting to using a hammer and chisel to try and separate the ball joint from the knuckle, I've made almost no progress. I tried removing the center nut out of desperation, thinking that I've already probably damaged the ball joint beyond reuse, and perhaps separating it from the control arm would give a better angle, but event that joint is frozen solid.

I rented a ball joint separator, but it seems like the generic tool doesn't help on the Mini. When I looked at the tech article on replacing the control arm bushings and ball joints, it shows the ball joint puller helping to separate the ball joint from the control arm, but I can't see any suggestions on how to separate the ball joint from the knuckle.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
-m