Toyota Repair: 96 Camry V6 auto. trans. Right half shaft, camry v6, new shaft

Question
I am replaceing the right half shaft (passenger side) on 96 Camry V6. I could not get ball joint nut on lower control arm off. Therefore I disconnected the bracket that connects this joint to the lower control arm. Now I cannot compress the strut and align these bolts after I install the new shaft. Is the only proper way to do this is to get that ball joint nut off? Or is there a way persue this the way I am trying.

P.S.The new halfshaft looks correct. How can I be sure its the right length? Maybe this is contrbuting to my difficulty.  

Answer
I never remove the ball joint nut, just the two nuts and bolt, the strut is not what needs to be compressed, you need to move the lower control arm down in order to reattach it, you can do this by inserting a large prybar through the hole in the lower control arm and prying it down, you will need an assistant to put the lower ball joint into place, make sure the axle nut is tight and that the steering rack is in the straight ahead position.