Ball Joints

[willua11]

Thinking of doing the ball joints on my 98 2dr because she has 174k and it hasn't been done before that I know of.

Are there any threads on here about doing ball joint swaps? I can't find them.


Thanks,


Will

 

[Gzes]

If it ain't broke don't fix it imo

 

[99Vortec]

When ball joints are sometimes going bad you will hear or feel a 'pop' when backing up and turning. Or any time you are trying to make a tight turn.

 

[laredo1307]

I recently just rebuilt my whole front suspension. The top ball joints are easy. You just have to grind off the top of the rivets and punch them out. The bottoms however take a little more work. Make sure you get the proper tools. You can rent a ball joint remover from any part store. While your under there I would recommend replacing all your ties rods and steering connections as well. I had 192K on my 96 2dr when I did all this. Everything was worn out. You can check you ball joints by jacking up each front tire, putting hand on the top and the bottom of the tire and them try to rock it back and forth. If the wheel feels loose and moves at all then your ball joints are probably worn.

 

[BirchyBoy]

My truck had a couple ball joint boots that were busted. The service writer said that he wouldn't recommend replacing them because they weren't loose; just keep an eye on the grease. I went ahead and did them because I was headed cross country with a travel trailer in tow and didn't want to take any chances. I think I'm going to go ahead and do the bushings, etc this winter so it is ready for camping next summer.

If they aren't loose, use your own judgement on doing them. If you're tearing the whole thing apart anyway, you might as well do them if you can. They aren't cheap to have done in a shop, that's for sure.