Well I'm installing my lift this weekend, and I was hoping to bypass some of the dissasembly instructions in the service manual, but I can't get the springs out without taking the entire front end apart.  I'm basically following these instructions

http://www.zukiworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=11189.0

I've got everything done, except I can't get the balljoint out.  I've been spraying it with WD40 and hitting it with a hammer to no avail.  I'm hoping someone has  a bright idea to help me out.  If I can't get it done tonight I guess I will have to get a ball joint puller tomorrow?

It might have been easier to remove the 3 bolts in the bottom ball joint mount rather than trying to take apart the ball joint...

Don't hit the threads with the hammer, you'll ruin them quickly that way... If you have a propane torch, you could try heating up the outside, not the inner part, then tap with a hammer. Good luck.

Ya, remove the 3 bolts and nuts, or hit
the side of the balljoint hard, not the threads,
the steel housing the ball is in, works most of the time

What type of lift are you doing, I did the 1.5" coil spacer lift last night and didn't need to remove the ball joints to get the springs out.
 On the passenger side the drive shaft comes out far enough from the front diff that once the strut is disconnected you can stand on the caliper and wedge your back under the inner fender and shove the control arm down far enough to pull the coil spring out, make sure the 2 clips for the brake line are disconnected. Mine already were from the 3" body lift.
  On the drivers side I found I had to undo the 3 nut/bolt assemblies holding the drive shaft the the diff. I then unbolted the caliper (2 10mm bolts). I found on this side after doing that I could then wedge my back under the inner fender and stand on the hub and push the control arm down far enough to get the  spring out.
 I could get the passanger side spring back in on my own but I had to grab a guy from the next shop over to stand on the hub to get the drivers side spring back in.
 Hope this helps
Jim
P.s. Other wise the lift went well. I used to the shocks from a 91 ford crown vic as posted here for the rear. They worked fine but I had to cut my old shocks apart to get the metal tube out and press it into the ford shocks for the bolt to fit well on the bottom bracket.

If you just un-bolt the 3 BJ bolts and the tie rod end, the a-arm should fold down, allowing the spring to fall out. No need to disassemble the brakes, cv shafts or anything else.

Well after the first side as a learning experience dissasembly the second went quickly, took less than an hour.  I am having one problem getting it all back together but I'll get to that.  I originally tried to get the springs out without dissasembly everything, but there was no way that was going to work.  I'm not sure if it's the heavy, longer springs of the 99+, a different control arm, or both; but there was no way I could get those springs out (and especially not back in with a 1.5" spacer) without taking everything off of the control arm.  I even tried using a spring compressor, but it got in the way more than anything else.

Now what is the easy way to seperate the steering knuckle from the balljoint...
1.  tap around the ball joint area with a hammer to loosen it up some.
2.  center a jack underneath the pin of the ball joint, and raise it just enough so that the ball joint transfer's any force directly through the jack and into the ground.
3.  take your favorite BFH (I used a 4lb sledge) and give the steering knuckle a few good whacks directly above the ball joint.  This should be on the top of the strut mounting point of the steering knuckle.
4. slide the steering knuckle off easily after you take the jack down.

Now to my new problem.  I have the passenger side all together, torqed to specs and everything.  The driver's side is almost back together except.... I can't get my BDS strut extension onto the end of my strut.  It is just so tight I can't even get the threads to start so I could apply some force to it.  I could get another bolt (the other strut extension) screwed into it about half way, but then it get's to tight for me to continue.  I'm thinking tomorrow I will get some more cutting oil, another bolt that I can use to test the threads all the way in, and possibly a tap and die to make sure both the extension and the strut have good clean threads.  Does anyone know the size and pitch of the strut?  I can't remember.  Also I'm open to any alternative suggestions you might have on how to get the strut extension on.

It might have been easier to remove the 3 bolts in the bottom ball joint mount rather than trying to take apart the ball joint...

I was wondering what everyone was talking about the 3 bolts in the ball joint, then after looking at some parts diagrams I see that the A-arms changed between the Sidekicks and Vitaras.

The first diagram is a removable balljoint (#11) for a 96 Tracker.  The second diagram shows a built in balljoint for a 02 Tracker (#10,11).  The built in is probably stronger but more of a pain to work with.

I guess that is what I get for asking in the general forum.

when i put my spacers in, all i did was, undo the strut, cut sway bars off, pull cv shaft out, and the arm dropped. easy peasy.
other side, same, except undo the three bolts holding the driver side cv on.