2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Ball Joint Install Help needed

[DSutton]

I went for an alignment recently and the tech showed me a little slop in the front right ball joint. It seems to be the lower joint. That was about 5-7k miles back, and now I am seeing excessive wear and cupping on the outside edge of the right front tire. So I figure it is time to get it done.



Please help if you have experience with this process. Although I am fairly mechanical, this will be my first go at ball joint installation.



So far here is where I am:



Bought all four ball joints (Moog)

Bought a ball joint press (Ouch, Don't tell the wife!!)

Borrowed a set of extra big sockets for the big nut. (On the spindle)



Here is what I am planning on seeing:



remove tire

remove spacer(For 1 Ton wheels)

remove brake assembly



Then what?



? remove nut on spindle?

? remove bearings and rotor?

? Carefully remove axle trying not to damage seal?

? Unbolt, remove and replace ball Joints?

? reassemble?



What important steps am I missing?

Should I be replacing U joints at the same time?









Thanks in advance for the time and input.

 

[jbrowne]

Ball joints?

Are you talking about the ball joints at the ends of the tie-rod ends? If that is all that is wrong just install LUKES links on all of the ball joints, including the tracking bar and your worries are over.

It sounds like you have a toe in problem. Jack the wheels up and with a thin piece of metel driven into a short piece of two by four, spin the tire forward and ease that thin piece of metal forward to make a thin mark in the tread of borh tires. This gives you a good mark to measure from. Then measure front and back to determine the amount of toe in, or out, that you may have. Then it is a simple adjustment of the tie rod to get the toe in to about 1/16" ( The book says 0. 25Deg. toe in +/- . 25) So I assume that if the thing is straight on that will suffice. Don't let these service people take you for a ride that could end up costing you a bundle.

Good luck.



Jim B.

 

[bighammer]

The first step is to remove the center cap and cotter pin, and then break the spindle nut loose and remove it. Then jack up the truck and remove the wheel. There are 2 allen key bolts on back of the caliper (top and bottom) Remove those and pull the caliper off. You can hang it out of the way so you don't have to open brake lines.



On the back of the hub/knuckle assembly there are 4 12 point sockethead bolts. Remove those and the bearing/rotor will come off with some gentle persuasion. There are some posts on this with some helpfull hints. If you have 4 wheel ABS, be carful of the tone wheel. (looks like a gear with sqaure teeth on the axle behind the hub) I hear they are fragile.



Once you get that off, the axle will slide out. If you start on the side of a hill or jack it high enough, your axle lube will stay in the differential.



With the axle out of the way, you are ready to R & R the ball joints. Support your truck safely. work smart and be carefull.

 

[wcjp]

How many miles do you have on the truck? If anywhere near 100,000 it may be a good idea to replace what you can while in there. Does your truck have the Vacuum Disconnect? If so work on the passenger side first. If both axle shafts are removed the axle could be tilted slightly towards the passenger side. The passenger side is a two axle shaft design. The inner axle shaft will prevent a large flow of diff gear oil. The axle seals will likely be ok if you're careful when putting the axle shafts back in. When putting the bearing hub unit back on use some anti-seize. This will help greatly for the next time.

 

[DSutton]

Not so bad

Well I did the passenger side ball joints yesterday and all went well. While I had the axle out I decided to replace the U joint also.

I guess it took me about 4 1/2 hours by the time I tracked down U joints and a 1 3/8 socket to torque the ball joint nuts with.



With the tie rod disconnected, it is amazing how much tighter the right front end of the truck is. I am happy I decided to do it myself. It was not that hard, with the right tools. I had no problem removing the 4 12 point bolts, or breaking the rotor loose. Of course the truck only has 75K miles, and has been garaged all its life. I think that helped.



Well next weekend I'll get the other side done(Had a date with the wife yesterday afternoon, and of course we took the truck)



Thanks again for the tips!!!