How to: repllace upper & lower ball joints on NNBS Tahoe

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Goodinblack

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Re: How to: repllace upper & lower ball joints on NNBS Tahoe

:banghead:

From my CB Radio.
 

Donnie Yukonie

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I love the write up Very detailed with lots of pictures , defiantly will come handy in the future as these trucks age, Thread Stickied
 

sumo

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I think im gonna go with the Greasable ones. Dealer wanted 70 each for Lower joints. Now which ones? Moog, autozone or napa which all have Life warranty.
 

Donnie Yukonie

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I think im gonna go with the Greasable ones. Dealer wanted 70 each for Lower joints. Now which ones? Moog, autozone or napa which all have Life warranty.

I run moog with everything ,haven't had any issues yet
 

sumo

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Hey Joey. Post up what who you used for parts and Part numbers would help out. By the looks of it, you have 2wd. Thanks!
 
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04ctd

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PN's are in the ebay link , but i will C&P them here.

Manufacturer Part Number: K80669 K80670 es800223
Interchange Part Number: ev800084 k700432 k80964

Kit Includes

1x Part# K80669 Driver Side Upper Control Arm
1x Part# K80670 Passenger Side Upper Control Arm
2x Part# ES800223 Outer Tie Rod End
2x Part# EV800084 Inner Tie Rod
2x Part# K700432 Front Stabilizer Links
2x Part# K80964 Lower Ball Joints


here's a data point: If I had it to do over, i would clear off some space on the credit card, and order:
The drop spindle lowering kit - keeps Camber better. (gotta remove it anyways)
the lower A Arm from whatever company makes it, maybe the lowering one? (would you need the drop spindle with a drop arm)
new wheel bearings. (these are on the spindle, and have to be swapped over anyways)


because...I ended up doing the lowering kit,
a few months later doing the ball joints (that was a 12 hour day)
and then, as SOON as I got it all back together...the front wheel bearings went bad (grinding noise, brake rotors wearing funny as it moves in pads)

and really, if you have a 100k SUV, and your family USES it, and travels in it, it's not that much of an investment, when you consider it's good for another 100k.

YMMV.

of course, don't let the spindles hang by the ABS lines, or let the brakes hang by the brake lines.....
 

08grey

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mine have a bit of play in them and the truck is still under certified warranty. the passenger side lower being the worst. does anyone know the treshold the dealer will use to determine to change under warranty? the truck has 60k on it .
 

bmwme

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Ball joints wear out "quickly" on these trucks. My lowers were done at 76k miles...that's a little soon for a modern car. I do everything myself, but just didn't have the time or patience to mess with it, plus I wanted the dealer to give the truck a thorough look over (dealer mechanics known exactly what to look for). They called me back and said lower ball joints were loose (I wasn't surprised). What did surprise me was the cost! I was working on my M3 at the time and just told them to do it. $1,100 for two lower balls joint, a new thermostat and housing, and a coolant flush! OUCH

Ball joints, especially on large trucks, are a PITA. Glad I had it done but that's a lot of money.
 
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