well i'm trying to swap the ball joints out. I havn't read anything on restraining the coil spring for this procedure though.

I'm not pounding out the ball joints if that's what you were implying. I'm waiting on a c-clamp and some cups, the general kit, before i get too entranced with the joints.

 

1200 Dollars?! i could pay a mechanic here that much money to rebuild a motor for me do it yourself, and borrow the balljoint press from a parts store.

 

Yeah, that's why I asked for my truck back and started taking things apart asap. this fall time change left me only about an hour after work to wrench, so it took me nearly a week to get down to thek knuckle, now i'm just stalled on getting all the joints out and pressing the new ones in. Anyone have a particular store that may rent out the kit for an hour or so with no charge?

 

Havnt had the daylight to work with so Truck is still on the stands. Curious to ask (though I will search but I have a hell of a time finding what I'm looking for) about Tie Rods. Once I'm done with the ball joints, I'll need to reassemble the truck so I can drive it, but the Tie Rod's were recommended to be replaced and it would make sense to do it all at once, but in a month or so when I do the tie rod's, is it necessary to tear down to the knuckle or can you just seperate the tie rod end with the tire and caliper on?

 

if your doing ball joints it would make sence to do all the work you need to, especially tye rod ends, otherwise youll need a wheel alignment now and in a month when you do the tye tod ends...i would atleast chanve everything that affects camber, caster and tow so you only half to do a wheel alignment once....and may as well get it all done at oncw while its apart

 

Well I wrote a ton in reply, but it did not post. Weird.

The thing is, I work most of the time, and with no running vehicle, the only way to get Tie Rods is via online, as I'm not able to get to the correct stores. If only autozone and carquest were open 24/7. I think my Tie Rods are ok, there is slight play in it but I think it has more to do with the ball joints being shot than the ends. I'll try to get some pics soon while the truck is on the stands.

I think some of my front suspension woes are due from a very worn passenger side pad. When I put the truck on the stands, I was able to freely rotate the rotor with very little to no resistance from the pad. I would think that this would cause the passenger wheel to want to move once the drivers side has come to a complete standstill.

 

You should have ZERO resistance from the pads on the rotor. Why on earth would you want the pads to apply resistance when the vehicle is in motion? Doesn't make sense, does it?

As long as you're this deep, replace the tie rod ENDS, not the actual tie rod. Consider it cheap insurance, because if a tie rod end fails, you could end up in a very bad accident, or killed, due to a loss in steering.

 

Yeah I'm delayed yet again in getting this done so I'm going to get the ends. I just can't see what's wrong with them though.

About the pads, whatever it was, the drivers side had more to the pad, and would clamp tighter, while the passenger didnt have much pad left at all. I'm just starting to think the previous owner took good enough care to the engine to keep it running, but suspension, exhaust and interior they left to the wind.

 

Oh hell, then what I recommend is new pads. Most PO's (Previous Owners) are either tightwads, idiots, or both when it comes to maintenace. Pads and shoes should always be replaced in pairs.

 

Oh yeah, I've got brand new pads already on both sides, I'm just waiting to get these dang joints done to drive with them. Here's two pics of the knuckle, not sure if you can see anything with the tie rod or not but if you can let me know.