DickWells
09-29-2012, 17:48
Took my Sierra in, yesterday, for annual state inspection, and they found that the right upper ball joint was a little loose. So, I dropped in at NAPA and picked up the more expensive replacement. $69.20, with tax! The guy did ask me if I wanted just the ball joint, or the whole control arm. When I got it up on the lift and got the wheel off, I started to suspect why he asked the question. Went to the Helm manual and looked it up, and there's NO discussion of replacing the ball joint alone! They (Helm) just show how to replace the control arm. So, I went back to the truck, removed the BJ nut, and found there's a good opportunity to use a cold chisel between the upper contro arm and the steering knuckle. With a little pressure beween the two, and a couple of sharp raps with a hammer on the knuckle, it popped right out.
Now, it looked like we're dealing with a press-fit situation, and that proved to be the case. Drove the old one out with a couple different cold chisels and some sweat, and sputtering. The new joint comes with a snap ring, but it's another case of a really tight press fit. Had to let the lift down, onto a big peace of pipe under the lip of the control arm, and a lot more hammering and sputtering, while beating on a big 3/4" drive socket. Found that the lighter hammer, with real sharp blows, was way easier than the 2 lb hammer. You end up with the snap-ring grove being about 1/8" below the surface of the under side of the contro arm, so, seems it's (snap-ring) is only there to stop the C A from floating to far in case the assembly ever loosens on the road.
Anyway, I have over 149 thousand miles on the truck, now, and, except for new front wheel bearings on both sides, this is the first front-end part that I've had to change. Well, I guess I just forgot the upper intermediate steering shaft, which we've all talked a lot about, over the years.
Now, it looked like we're dealing with a press-fit situation, and that proved to be the case. Drove the old one out with a couple different cold chisels and some sweat, and sputtering. The new joint comes with a snap ring, but it's another case of a really tight press fit. Had to let the lift down, onto a big peace of pipe under the lip of the control arm, and a lot more hammering and sputtering, while beating on a big 3/4" drive socket. Found that the lighter hammer, with real sharp blows, was way easier than the 2 lb hammer. You end up with the snap-ring grove being about 1/8" below the surface of the under side of the contro arm, so, seems it's (snap-ring) is only there to stop the C A from floating to far in case the assembly ever loosens on the road.
Anyway, I have over 149 thousand miles on the truck, now, and, except for new front wheel bearings on both sides, this is the first front-end part that I've had to change. Well, I guess I just forgot the upper intermediate steering shaft, which we've all talked a lot about, over the years.