1986 Chevy C10 SWB Step Side

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Picture of replacement front suspension being worked on.

[aotte1]

Today disassembled the front suspension some more, got the upper ball joints loose easily. Loosened the nut a couple of turns, then used the five pound hammer, hitting side of spindle a couple of times and it came loose. The lower ball joints are not loose yet, tried with air hammer- fork not thick enough, need a bigger fork and big sledge. Want to get lower ball joints loose before taking out springs. The rest of the steering linkage came loose easily with the air hammer. The tools used are shown in a picture below.

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Closer look at spindle

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Parts removed and tools, need to look at bearing closer but they look original.

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The crossmember and suspension stuff still attached

[aotte1]

Today continued working on the front suspension. Removed the front spring by method suggested by another member. It worked well. I used three ratchet straps to remove the first spring. Used three straps for safety, not knowing how this was going to proceed when I removed the upper ball joint nut. The first strap went through the center hole of the bottom control arm, then up and out through an upper coil of the spring. The strap was warped in this way three times around before it was tighten to its max. The second strap was warped around both the upper and lower control arm twice before before tighten to the max. For the first spring removal I used a third strap, not having removed one of these springs before. For the second spring only used the two yellow straps.
The first strap.

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The second strap added.