My dads 98 has an issue with the new ball joints, well one of them anyway.
I put the spindle/steering knuckle, whatever it's called, back on and the grease boot on the bottom ball joint is a good inch or so from the spindle and it is on the ball joint as far as it will go.
I know that if I leave it like that the grease boot will slip off so what's the deal?
Also, with the spindle not going all the way up to the grease boot I am concerned that it will be pulling down on the upper control arm more than it should.

The ball joints are made by master pro.

Maybe I should throw the other side on and see if it's the same.

 

How's about a pic?

 

Ok, maybe it isn't an inch but it is far enough that the boot will not expand out to the spindle before it pops off the ball joint.

 

That seems odd..... are those the correct balljoints? Wonder if the wrong boots got packed into the boxes? Do they look the same as the ones you took off? Seems like the stud should go further into the hole in the knuckle...... What brand balljoints?

 

The ball joints are Master Pro, I looked up the part number on the bags that they were in, inside the boxes and they're the right ones for this truck.
The originals had a longer boot that is secured on with a metal clip that looks like a key ring.
I guess I should pop them off, take them back and trade them for some Moog ball joints. And if they give me a fuss about them being marked up from installing them I'll just tell them that those pieces of junk don't fit right.

 

Pain in the keester, but, I think that would indeed be your best course of action. Have a look at the boots for the new joints before you pay for them.

 

I'll bring the old ones up there too. I just need to pop them out first.

 

Mine are from autozone and the boots do the same things.

 

I would think that if you packed them full of grease that it would have a tendency to want to push the boot off when the ball joint moves around in corners and on bumps.

 

I wouldn't worry about it, that is a non sensitive part of the ball joint. As long as the boot is sealing the ball itself off, your good to go.