I was looking around under my truck yesterday, just inspecting things and thinking of all the stuff i want to do some day. So I look over at the upper ball joint on the drivers side and the boot still looks good on it and all. I look down at the lower ball joint on that side and the boot has a nice big rip in it. FFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!

I looked over at the passenger side and the upper ball joint is fine there and the lower one has a small tear in it. So it looks like I'm going to spend some money on ball joints instead of something fun.

Questions I have:

• Is this something I can do in my driveway?

• Do I need anything special other than a ball joint press?

• Is there anything else I should go ahead and replace while I have everything apart? My breaks are starting to squeal a bit so maybe I should do those while I'm at it.

• Are Moog the best? I know I want to replace them with some that are greaseable.

• Where should I look for them? Summit, Rock Auto, other?

• After replacing the ball joints, do I need to get the front end re-aligned or anything?

Here are the pics of it:

Driver's side:


Passenger side:

 

free bump because I have the same questions

 

i cant tell from the pic but if those balljoints are bolted onto the lower control arm you can def do it in ur driveway, just unbolt it from the top and the end of the stud. otherwise i wouldnt wanna do it in the driveway. Moogs fine if u want the fittings youl need a greese gun for that. def do ur brakes while your there. dont waist ur money on an alignment they wont touch the caster.

 

Yes you can do it in your driveway as many of us have. Aside from the BJ press you MAY need a spring compressor and a pitman arm puller to separate the BJ from the spindle. Some guys like to bring the top of the castle nut flush with the end of the threads and hit is with a hammer.

You have the right idea about checking and replacing other parts. I would look at the brakes and rotors, shocks and bushings and check the wheel bearing hubs.

Moog is a good choice and they do have zerk fittings. They are likely most cheap at Rock Auto.

You should not NEED an alignment as you are not changing anything other than the BJs but you can still take it to a shop and let them check the front end for free.

Kudos to you for wanting to do it yourself and save a lot of money.

 

Something about using "BJ press" and "nut flush" in the same sentence just doesn't seem right...

 

And I dont even wanna know why you are thinking about that..........LOL

 

Awesome. Thanks Weed.

 

I got my answer thanks.

 

As far as Brakes, look up Brake Motive on eBay

 

If yuo buy brakes with no lifetime warranty you are dead wrong