I'm Confused....Balljoints

[rcbildr]

I read both the Chilton and Haynes manuals about replacing the ball joints on my 4x4 Suburban, and the Chlitons says I have to remove the axle and the Haynes doesn't mention anything about it. There is just enough difference in what the books say that has me confused. So what is the way to do it? Does anyone have any tips for doing this? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

BTW...my plan is to remove the knuckles and have someone r & r the joints.

Thanks!

[watahyahknow]

i'm guessing the use different pullers too and it has to do with how good you can get too the baljoint with it ,
guess you have to crawl under the truck and look at wat will work for you

[jor]

I just removed the ball joints on my 87 Suburban 4X4. I had the axle out of the truck but you could do it without taking the axle out. You'll have to remove the spindles and steering knuckles. That's the way the factory shop manual describes the process, btw. I had never done ball joints before. I picked up a ball joint tool from Harbor Freight and I have to say it worked great. I used it with an impact wrench. Here's a couple of photos. Good luck.
jor

[rcbildr]

THanks for the pics and info. I noticed you have the steering arm removed, does that also have to come off or can I work around it? Thanks!

[jor]

Yea, the steering arm has to come off. I had a hard time breaking mine loose but it finally came. Incidentally, I just picked up my replacement ball joints yesterday at Merle's (Tucson store). They sell Moog parts. Anyhow, the uppers were $72 for the pair and the lowers, $80. You can get them at about 1/3 that price at Autozone but I don't know about the quality. One thing to remember. If you are doing both the uppers and lowers, you must remove the lower first. Otherwise you can't get to the lower one.
jor

[rcbildr]

I was afraid of that. Hopefully, it won't be too difficult for my project, I just swapped out the arm when I did the lift.

The Haynes manual mentions the ball joint adjuster nut, did you have to mess with that at all?

Thanks!!!

[jor]

Re the adjuster nut, a replacement came with the ball joints. I haven't put them in yet. I'm hoping to do it tomorrow or Wednesday.
jor

[rcbildr]

Thanks!!! That was one of the first things I noticed when I bought my ball joints yesterday...and then had to go to 3 different parts stores to get the socket. One store didn't even know what one was. Anyways, I will be working on them tomorrow and hope to have it all done in an evening.

[jor]

You got a socket to pull the sleeve? Where'd you find it? Have a photo of it by chance? Thanks.
jor

[rcbildr]

I went to the local NAPA store and I had to order it in, it was around $25. I'll try to get a pic when I get home this afternoon.