71 front end rebuild, control are wear?

[Davidf]

So, I finally have got around to starting the rebuild of the suspension on my 71. What I thought was going to be a disassembly, clean-up, and reassembly over one weekend turned into a restoration project...I can't help myself. So, each piece/component was thoroughly cleaned and prepped for paint. Still have to paint (and only have one front side disassembled and ready for paint). What I did find was that the upper ball joint is factory original riveted in place. Grinding off the top head of the rivet did nothing. Had to chisel off the bottom side rivet head then drill into the rivet body slightly before pounding out with my air hammer with point bit. The bottom side (control arm) hole is tapered slightly. Lower ball joint seemed original as well. Both were too sloppy.

Biggest issue was lower control arm shaft that wore through the end cap/bushing and wore a thumb nail shaped indention into the control arm. I think with a new bushing/cap it will be fine as it is...but, what is your opinion. I know, a picture is worth a thousand words... maybe tonight I can snap a pic.

Any other pointers on making this job go more smoothly. I thought I could do this with removing the rotor from the spindle...big mistake and almost cut by thumb off (hammer swing missed its mark and my thumb was between hammer handle and brake dust shield). ouch! After I stopped the bleeding and super glued the gash closed, I promptly removed the rotor and dust shield. Lesson learned the painful way.

[NorCalC20LWB]

Quick question, I will be doing this on my 72 shortly and have read many threads of the ball joints being very difficult to separate from the A-arms. How did it go with yours, easy, hard, any tips?

[Davidf]

Upper ball joint assembly from A-arm as described in original post. Lower ball joint assembly pressed right out with my bench top A-frame press. Upper ball joint stud took a few hits with hammer on spindle before spring pressure popped it loose. Lower ball joint stud is the one that caused my injury (cut). I ended up using a deep socket and 3/8" bolt/nut (between upper and lower studs) to force the lower stud out of the spindle. Lots of torque on the spacer, then a few blows with a 2lb hammer popped the stud out of the spindle. Get that dust shield out of the way first!

[TexasLS1]

I just went through the same process on the front of mine - I couldn't stop myself from completely rebuilding and repainting everything either. I replaced both the lower control arm shafts with Moog parts because the driver side shaft had worn off-axis and trashed the bushing cap and the threads on the shaft itself (a previous owner had hit something and bent the lower control arm).

I followed Sharps40's thread below when I did mine, it really wasn't too bad just took me a while to get everything apart, rebuilt/repainted, and reinstalled. But I'm a bit slow and had to work in time to work on it. Lower ball joints were easy; the original, riveted uppers did take some grinding and pounding. I ground the top of the rivet off, chiseled and pried the joint upward where I could, and had to do a little drilling before the ball joint came loose. Then I was able to grind the rest of the rivet off.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ht=ol+john+lee

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...masher+whacker

David - Post some pics of the shaft that was worn. I would definitely replace it, but hopefully the ear on your control is ok and doesn't need to be replaced...

[Davidf]

Originally Posted by TexasLS1

David - Post some pics of the shaft that was worn. I would definitely replace it, but hopefully the ear on your control is ok and doesn't need to be replaced...

Both upper and lower shafts are getting replaced. Lower shaft wore through the cap and into the control arm hole/ear. The wear location is a thumbnail shape about 1/2 across (not deep). I think the new cap will span this worn part without issue...just wanted others opinion (but may try it anyway).

I will try and get photo this evening.