So true. I ended up cutting mine out with a dremel. Cut the ball in half, then had to cut the sleeve it fit in also. This is after pounding it with a slide hammer and torch for an hour.

Not fun.

 

I never got so far that I had to torch it, but I did have to hammer a slide hammer jaw hook through the damn thing and then wedge a tool in the hole to lock it in place. And that was after removing the bearings and the washer at the bottom, and widening the hole at the back of the ball.