1997 S-10 2wd Lower Ball Joints

I'm replacing my lower ball joints. How is a good way to get them out? Heat them up and pound them out? Do they come out from the bottom or the top? I have a ball joint press to put the new ones in and I also have a ball joint wedge to help remove them. I'm just curious to know if there is any other tips that might help the process.

Reply to
Kiel Uyttenhove
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I did this a while back on a full size Chevy pickup. Aren't they held into the control arm by 3 rivets on an S-10 also? I just ground the rivet tails off, knocked them out and removed the old balljoint. The new ones were held in by high strength bolts.

Garrett Fulton

Reply to
gfulton

Those would be the upper ball joints, I think the lower ones are pressed in. Sounds like a full size is actually easier to work on especially if that's all that you had to do. Thank you for the advice though, you let me know I can just grind my upper ones off in the future when I go to replace them.

Reply to
Kiel Uyttenhove

Reply to
L. Anthony

"Kiel Uyttenhove" wrote in message news:zbUpd.818$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...

Obviously your going to have the vehicle supported on jack stands under the frame rails. Remove tire, remove the caliper and hang it out of the way with a coat hanger, you don't have to do this, but I find it gives a little more room, and no chance of damaging the hose. Pull cotter pin out of castled nut and loosen it but don't take it all the way off Support the lower control arm on a jack as close to the ball joint as you can but don't cover it, turn the wheel so you have access and hit the top of the castled nut with a 5 lbs hammer a good whack. That should "break" ball joint loose from the spindle. If you use the pickle fork to break it apart still leave the castled nut on the ball joint until it pops loose. If you have a compressor and an air chisel they make pickle forks for them as well. Do not get the all in one kind where the forks are inter-changeable on the hammer shaft, they break. Once the ball joint is broke loose from the spindle, remove the castle nut the rest of the way and lift the spindle off the ball joint and then tie it out of the way, I use a good bungee cord to pull it foreword in the wheel well. With the jack still under the control arm you can use the ball joint press to get the old one out, use the afore mentioned 5 lb hammer and whack it sharply on the top of the stud a couple off good hits and it will come out, or if you have an air chisel use a blunt punch and drive it out that way. Installing the new ball joint use a ball joint press, do not grease the outside of the ball joint nor the inside of the ball joint bore in the control arm. Make sure you have the ball joint started straight. As has been stated no flame wrench on the control arm. Besides the possibility of weakening the unit due to messing up its temper, you can end up with an over sized hole that wont hold the ball joint properly. Torque the nut to spec and use new cotter pins, and then grease it good. If after torqueing, the hole in the shaft doesn't line up with an opening in the castle nut, tighten it a bit more till it does, Do not loosen it to get them to line up. Whitelightning

Reply to
Whitelightning

You're absolutely right. Said right in your post that you were working on the lower ones. I used a press to remove those as per the other posters here.

Garrett

Reply to
gfulton

Use a pickle fork.

Bud

Reply to
Bud Lite

I got them done. I used a press I got from Autozone. I used a pickle fork to seperate the spindle from the ball joint. Job wasnt that bad, I hear the upper Ball joints are even easier. Is this true? Do I need to support the lower control arm when I remove the upper ball joints? I am going to do them next.

Reply to
Kiel Uyttenhove

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