I need to change the left front ball joint on my 1998 V40, according to the Haynes manual, the ball joint "is an integral part of the lower arm, and cannot be renewed separately". I've just checked eBay, and there are all kinds of separate ball joints available which supposedly fit this model. Is there a trick to getting them apart, or do I need to replace the whole thing? Thanks!

 

I can't speak for the '98s as they didn't come to the US until 2000, but there are vids on Youtube showing people separating the ball joint from the control arm with a home made press using hard tubing.

With that said - why bother trying to separate the ball joint from the control arm when you can buy the new unit complete and get fresh control arm bushings to boot? A quick price check and I see I can get replacement control arms with ball join (Febi) for my 2000 S40 for $55 on sale each - $75 seems a bit more typical. SO for $20 extra you can save the hour it would take to separate the parts and freshing up the bushings.