Ball joint advice - 95 Tahoe

[98dango]

Well next time your in benson Az stop in and buy some ball joints. What you find may amaze you.

I know in billings Montana yes they even felt like a different part. I don't know if it has to do with 85% of the parts hear coming from distribution in Mexico. Or that I have been hear 6 months and things change but I know what comes in the boxes.

This is also limited rigs Ford f450/550 and gmt800 1/2 ton junk.

 

[arveetek]

Okay, it's time to start ordering some parts and get some repairs done on the front end.

I know for sure that one lower ball joint is worn and loose, and another has a torn boot. Everything else looks fairly normal. However, since I'll have it partially torn down, it makes sense to replace the upper ball joints as well. I'm also thinking of replacing the control bushings while I'm at it. Might as well, right? But then, where do I stop? The tie rod ends are not shot, but at 275K miles, I'm sure they need replaced.

So, should I just replace the parts I find worn, or go ahead and assume everything is worn, and just pull the trigger and replace everything at once? I'm looking at least $500 in parts if I go with Moog, and that includes all joints, bushings, tie rods, idler arm, pitman arm, etc. I would prefer to have all the parts ordered and ready to go and get it done all at once, but then again, I hate to spend any more money than necessary.

Do the control arm bushings really go bad that often? What would you do? Tear it down to see for sure, and then wait while you order parts?

Thanks!

Casey

 

[dino1]

Could you buy some control arms from the junkyard, swap in your bushings and ball joints at your leisure and then install them? Seems like the junkyard would be glad to get rid of them being plane old 1/2 ton parts that would other wise be melted down. That was my plan, we have a pick and pull where you remove your own parts and they are pretty cheap.

 

[John E Davies]

Could you buy some control arms from the junkyard, swap in your bushings and ball joints at your leisure and then install them.

This is a super idea - you can clean up the junkyard parts, install the new stuff and then paint them. Then swap everything over a weekend and take your scrap parts to the recycle center....

I wish this approach was feasible for Land Cruisers.....

John Davies
Spokane WA USA.

 

[arveetek]

Fed Ex delivered some goodies to my house:

The above includes:

Upper and lower control arm bushings
Upper and lower ball joints
Inner and outer tie rods
Pitman arm
Idler arm
Idler arm bracket
New adjusting sleeves

I'll take a couple of days off work next week to get everything swapped over and then have it aligned.

Casey

 

[arveetek]

Project Complete!

Project complete!

I started with a complete tear down of the front end:

I borrowed my dad's hydraulic press to press the bushings and lower ball joints out of the control arms, and then press the new parts in. This ended up taking the most amount of time during this process:

New bushings installed:

New pitman arm and idler arm installed:

Starting reassembly:

Nearly finished:

On the road again!

It took me nearly three days total from start to finish. I ended up replacing the following:

Upper and lower ball joints
Upper and lower control arm bushings
Inner and outer tie rods
Pitman arm
Idler arm
Sway bar links (rusted, didn't come apart)
Sway bar bushings
Brake hoses
Brake rotors

Now I need to save up a bit more dough for some new shocks. However, I'm amazed at how much better she drives! There really wasn't that much slop in the individual parts (although one ball joint had nearly an inch of play!!!), but added up, it equated to a lot of looseness in the steering. I feel much more confident about the condition of my vehicle, and now have a much better understanding of the IFS system.

Tricks I learned from this job (For Chevy IFS):

Paint the torsion bar bolts before removing; this will allow you to put the torsion bar tension right back where you started. I had to make zero adjustments when I was done.

When replacing the pitman arm, remove the three bolts holding the steering gear box to the frame, allowing it to drop down far enough to get a pitman arm puller on it.

Plan on replacing every bushing and moveable part you can while you're in there.

Have a press of some sort, or plan on paying someone with the proper tools to press the old parts out and the new ones in.

Now to finish my rock sliders, and I'll be ready to hit the trails once again!!

Casey