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

[04ctd]

take the wheel & random parts off:

hang the brake caliper by the BRACKET, it will hang there for a long time, and be out of the way.

DETACH the ABS wire...or you will stretch it, rip it..something. I messed mine up somehow when i did my lowering kit...and then, it cleared up on it's own.

you have to detach the sway bar so you can move the lower arm around

you will have to remove the strut

in order to get the upper control arm bolts out, otherwise, they hit the spring.

I had to heat, beat, pickle fork, heat, bang, and smash this ball joint to get the spindle off it:

the lower ball joints are pressed into the lower control arm, and they have four areas that are peened over the edge, you have to grind them off:

there are SO many parts & nuts & bolts, when you take something off,
thread it back on where it goes...that is so much faster than digging for parts.

FWIW, i think you need a 21mm, a 22 for lower BJ, 18 for upper BJ
19 for brake caliper, and i had 15mm on sway bar & strut tabs.

go to Advance, get the "Master Ball Joint Kit"
it's $99 to rent it, and they refund that to you, but it takes a few days to come back, so beware.

the whole thing is jenky, i finally had to tape it together

 

[04ctd]

at one point, i had to hold the removal rig with my foot to keep it from shaking off

the cup that fits over the rubber grease boot is too big, it slipped off.

i tried the next smaller size

i had to remove the rubber boot, and then put a smaller press cup on the rig to press it in.

PB Blaster was flowing like flatulence at this point, i put some in the hole on top the new ball joint, to act as cutting fluid.

i could NOT get the top of the BJ up far enough to put the cir-clip on it.

and pretty much, it was getting late, and I did not take many more pics.

the replacement BJ did NOT have to have the bolt cut, it was short enough to clear the rims.

here's where my upper control arms are set for proper camber, NOTE: you have to break out the OEM plastic to move it

here is the kit I used:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/320981191502?item=320981191502&viewitem=&vxp=mtr
macautopartsdiscounts
Price:US $229.99
$30.29 Standard Shipping

 

[NathanJax]

nice write-up

 

[Modded]

Very nice write up Joey. It should be made a sticky.
Also, the upper ball joint is a lot easier to remove if while the suspension is still loaded, you remove the tie rod first, then loosen the upper ball joint bolt partially (NOT remove the whole way or the assembly may fall), then give the area around the loosened bolt a few wacks of a mallet.

 

[04ctd]

tks, you reminded me: basically, i took everything loose, but left the nuts at the end of the threads so it could not all fall apart.

and I put it together the same way, like if you tighten the upper control arms, you can't move them around.

quick note on the Uppers: the grease bag/rubber boot was attached to the Arm, and to the spindle, so when I hit it with the impact, it ripped the boot apart.

you HAVE to hold it with an allen wrench, and use a 18mm Gear Wrench to tighten it.


this is a JOB...but it is very satisfying to do it yourself, and i bet it would cost a fortune at a dealer.

 

[jz57]

Since you were there and all the front suspension parts were removed, why you did not replace the lower control arm bushings?? Defficult to get the bushings in parts store?

 

[Gzes]

They should be alright i mean its a pretty new suv. Howd you kill the bj so fast?

 

[04ctd]

roads are just asphalt over sand here, get some rough stuff
previous owner was medical rep (door to door sales) i guess he beat it up.

FWIW, if you could buy whole new arms, and get the BJ's & bushings all done, would be MUCH easier than pressing the BJ's out.

 

[12rtstp953]

By saving those plastic inserts on the control arm cams....the alignment would have been close enough....

Nice write up... I use a snap on ballpoint press where it all snaps together ..no need for tape

 

[sumo]

I need to do mine. Right Lower joint is creaking when going over bumps and turning

 

[Goodinblack]

This is on a NNNBS right?

 

[sumo]

Like it says in the title

 

[Goodinblack]

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



From my CB Radio.

 

[Donnie Yukonie]

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]

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]

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]

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!

 

[04ctd]

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]

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]

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.