ericantonio

Well, another project before end of year. I have 2. Ball Joints and Radius Arm bushings.

Are the ball joints hard to do? I got my wheel bearings done at a shop today cause I don't think I can accomplish those.

I've seen lots of videos but not for my particular year. Some videos look like the hub assembly comes out (what they did today for wheel bearings). And some videos look like they didn't do that.

So for the 95 2WD, what exactly needs to come off? I know I should get a Chilton or a Hayes, I'll do that soon.
But so far I have:
take off brake calipers
take off rotors
undo tie rods
then the assembly that attaches to the ball joints, does that come off easily or do I need to take out the wheel bearings like the way I've seen wheel bearing videos?

fltdriver

Just loosen the upper pinch bolt on the knuckle, loosen the castle nut on the lower ball joint, take a small sledge (4#) and beat the knuckle straight on as hard as you can. It's cast iron so you don't have to worry about damaging anything. Once you've hit it hard enough the ball joints will fall out. My first side took quite a few swings as I didn't want to break anything, but after a while all of that caution went out the window and I gave it a power shot. Next side took 2 or 3 He-Man swings and it dropped out.

You should've asked first, the wheel bearings are super easy. I did all of my BJs, both sets of wheel bearings, new springs, shocks (front and back), bushings, rotor/hub assemblies, and pads in about 6 hours. I took my time, cussed some (got a ratchet stuck in some kind of brain fart move I'm still trying to forget-had to cut a ball joint in half to retrieve my ratchet) and worked by myself. Doing the BJ's requires an air compressor and an impact driver to press them out and the new ones in, otherwise it's all just basic hand tools.

This is the video I watched in preparation for my job.

ericantonio

Thanks this was really helpful! Looks like the entire hub and rotor assembly is off. Is there a way to do it with the hub and rotors still attached while I remove it from the 2 ball joint nuts behind it?

Also for the bushing, you meant radius arm bushings right? So the entire assembly that holds the rotors (this is the ibeam correct?) will be able to move forward once I take out the springs and shocks right (and sway link).

BLDTruth

I don't think you can get them off without removing everything first. The ball joints have to be pressed in/out of the knuckle with a special tool (which you can rent) that you can see in the video.

It will be a little different on your truck than in the video because you don't have 4WD. Also FWIW, I replaced the ball joints without an impact gun or compressor. But you need a BIG breaker bar/cheater bar, some patience, and some elbow grease. I would start spraying the ball joint juts with penetrating oil days ahead of time.

For the radius arm bushings you will need to rig up a ratcheting tow strap or something similar that you can use to pull the front axle forward to get the arm out of the bracket. The other option (what I did when I changed my radius arm bushings) is to drop the radius arm brackets. Technically that can be done without even having to remove the wheel. But a LOT of trucks have brackets that are riveted on so you have to drill out the rivets and replace them with grade 8 bolts. If you have a lot of rust on the brackets, or if the radius arm bushing has come loose and the arm is bouncing freely within the bracket, it is well worth it to replace them as well. Driver's side is pretty
easy (be careful of the brake lines on the inside of the frame). Passenger's side is a little more difficult because the catalytic converter is right in the way.

Also, I highly recommend buying a heat shield for the passenger's side radius arm bushing. It's proximity to the exhaust system causes it to break down much faster than the driver's side.

phogroian

I used the video above, because it is to the point and specifically for RWD models. I did this procedure a few months a go with conventional tools and the $80 press kit from Harbor Freight. I also used a pickle/separator fork, an heavy hammer, and a breaker bar since I don't have a professional air wrench. The job you do will be better than what a shop would because of the extra care taken cleaning and lubricating things along the way.

ericantonio

This is an EXCELLENT video! And it is the correct model. I have a 95 but this is same. Thank you. I think I may have my terminology wrong on my post earlier. This is exactly what I meant. Looks like I don't have to take the rotors and hub apart, it comes off in one unit and then remove the ball joints.

phogroian

I'm glad that helped- it helped me, because I don't have a shop manual and I had never done a ball joint replacement before.
It was a lot of work, but In my area the labor rates are high and I didn't want to spend a fortune on an old truck.

I used plenty of disposable gloves, pretreated all the nuts with penetrating oil, and used a quality grease when reassembling everything.
If you have to use that separator fork to disconnect the tie rod arm, be careful not to damage the grease seal, or have a new one handy.
The Moog upper and lower ball joints I got from Rockauto had new castle nuts and rubber seals. Moog's replacement grease seals are tight and a pain to put on. You might want to try another brand.
I had to raise my jack and jackstands onto hefty pieces of dimensional lumber because the truck was much higher than working on a car. I did one side at a time.
If your brake pads are thin this is a great time to replace them. Use some brake cleaner on the discs just in case you accidentally got some oil on them.
You might want to rent the press. The Harbor Freight C-clamp bent a little from the ordeal of pressing out those tight ball joints with a breaker bar. Maybe if I had a nice air-powered impact wrench the I would have done better. There is a 90-day warranty on the thing though so I swapped it out for another, so if I ever have the need I could do this again someday...