I remember all the chowder heads back when I was a kid who would put mopar control arms in a press to push the ball joints out. I believe thats why the over size on your part.
I may be wrong but the shaft may not be good any more. If memory serves me right there is a small plastic pin in the shaft that will break in the event of a serious collision to keep the thing from impaling the driver by collapsing in on itself.