how much will front end parts run me??

[74 C-30]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

I'd say front suspension work is far and away the most physically taxing kind of work you can do to a truck. The stuff is heavy and it is usually stuck tight in place.

^^makes me feel better about myself

i just did upper and lower ball joints and tie rods on my truck, and I am in no way a mechanic, just mechanically inclined. i had the advantage of a nice air compressor and impact wrench, but i didn't use any forks on either ball joints or tie rods, just the hammer method, bash the spindle 'til it pops out. to get the lower ball joint out I brought the a-arm to school and used the press. i honestly didn't think it was too hard, just take you time, think things through, and get a repair manual

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by 74 C-30

^^makes me feel better about myself

i just did upper and lower ball joints and tie rods on my truck, and I am in no way a mechanic, just mechanically inclined. i had the advantage of a nice air compressor and impact wrench, but i didn't use any forks on either ball joints or tie rods, just the hammer method, bash the spindle 'til it pops out. to get the lower ball joint out I brought the a-arm to school and used the press. i honestly didn't think it was too hard, just take you time, think things through, and get a repair manual

Just make sure you leave the castle nuts on the ball joint studs most of the way so when the ball joint breaks free of the press fit it has on the spindle nothing goes flying. After the initial release you can jack up the lower a-arm and take the nuts the rest of the way off and lower the a-arm to release the spring pressure the rest of the way.