Separate lower ball joint 2007 Tahoe

Hey folks I've got a 2007 Tahoe 4WD. It's got a bad driver front wheel bearing and the old bearing is rusted so bad I need to remove the entire knuckle to press it out.

Any suggestions for separating the lower ball joint from the knuckle without destroying it with a pickle fork? Or is it possible to use the pickle fork and just replace the rubber boot afterwards? Have already tried beating on it with a sledge, hoping there's a separator tool out there that fits this application.

Thanks,

alex