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03 Ball Joints

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Old May 20, 2020 | 09:07 AM
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03 Ball Joints

On the upper joints is it best to replace the whole arm or just the joint, the A arm bushing are tight. The lower joints have no movement when you grab the tire and try to move it in and out but they have a lot of play up and down with a bar under the tire prying up so they should be replaced.

Denny
 
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Old May 20, 2020 | 01:15 PM
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the lower ball is seperate and you use a tool to press it out and install new... The upper ball is made a part of the A frame from the factory. It is common to get a NEW ball and A frame unit to replace it... If you buy MOOG unit, most of them are setup so you can replace the ball ONLY next time.. If you buy generic arms from China or other, they normally get replaced with the ball each time... There is no guarantee that if you PRESS the ball out of the upper arm, the NEW ball will fit properly... not made that way.
 
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Old May 22, 2020 | 08:12 AM
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It was a rainy day yesterday so I jacked the truck back up and supported it with jack stands under the control arms and checked everything agian. The top ball joints are tight with no play, all the tie rods are tight with no play, idler arem was replaced not long ago but I pulled the skid plate off and checked it agian. The lower ball joints have no side play but the left side has about 3/16" up and down play and the right side half of that, I'm ordering new Moog joints for the lower and letting the rest go because theres no sence in replacing good parts, the truck had 130K on it.

Denny
 
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