1999 Mercury Villager, 85000 miles, CV Joint Removal

1999 Mercury Villager, 85000 miles, 6 cylinder. I am trying to figure out how to remove the outer CV joint from the half shaft so that I can replace a torn CV Boot. In changing boots on other vehicles, I had to tap the back of the CV joint to get it to turn loose of a C-Ring on the splines of the half shaft but that doesnt seem to work in this situation. Any help would be greatly appreciated.