well its starting to accumulate snow out here and need to fix my 4x4.when i put it in 4wd it squalls bad.and when i turn to sharp the truck jumps in the front.more so than it should.so i crawled under and looked the other day and it looks like my u-joints are about 1/4-1/2 inch from hitting my ball joints so im thinkin ball joints.so am i on the right track?i hate dealing with suspension.but i need my 4wd

 

I just changed 2 of the ball joints on my 93. I still have to do the other side.. When I got the new joints in, I found that I had more clearance between the u-joint and the upper ball joint, than with the lower. It still clears the lower, but not by much. There's enough clearance with the upper ball joint, that I was able to put the grease zerk in it. It you need any pics of the ball joint project, I have them in my photobucket album.

 

do you have a link my u joint is comin close to my top ball joint

 

I just got the axle shaft back in tonight, but didn't yet take any pics of it installed. I will be finishing that side up tomorrow evening, when I get off work and I'll take pics of the clearances and everything else for you.

 

oh cool thanks. i really appreciate that i plan on doin a complete teardown and do wheel bearings u-joints ball jointsand probably tie-rod ends as well might do that a different day though bein i dont need to have the spindle off for it

 

I started this thread, so that others may be able to learn. I'm taking pictures during the process, so if there are any picture requests.... Ask away!


Here's what it looks like, with the Allen screws and hub cover removed. I wiped-off some of the grease, to give a better view.


From right to left, here's the order that things came out. Far right in the pic, is the hub cover. Far-left in the pic, is the first spindle nut.


Far-right is the hub and far-left is the outer wheel bearing.


This is the spindle, with the axle shaft sticking out the end.


This is the axle shaft, with the spindle removed. I used a chisel and a BFH on the spindle (After removing the 5 nuts!) The spindle came off in less than 5 minutes.


This is the back of the rotor assembly. It still has the inner wheel bearing in it, as well as the seal. I will be cleaning and re-packing the bearings and replacing the seal.



Here's the knuckle, with everything out of the way. I removed the tie rod end, since I'm replacing it. The guy at the alignment shop said it was ok, but it had a bit too much play in it, for me. I also got the lower ball joint nut removed and the upper one loosened. It took quite a bit of pounding, to get the joints to come out. I ended up having to use my ball joint separator on the lower joint, to get them to break free. I never moved the alignment shims. They stayed in-place quite nicely.


With the knuckle on the floor, I pressed out the lower joint. You can see why they tell you to do the lower joint first. It would be kinda hard to get to the upper joint, with the lower one still in the knuckle.


The knuckle, with the offending ball joints removed


Upper joint is now pressed in and I'm getting ready to press the lower one in. These joints came with grease fittings, but came with a warning about clearance with the axle shaft and u-joints. I put the axle shaft back in and checked rough clearance. I have more clearance between the axle shaft and the grease fitting, than I do between the axle shaft and the lower ball joint stud! Notice the orientation of the grease fitting. It's pointing towards the back, so I'll be able to reach it with the grease gun.


Here is the knuckle with both joints pressed in. Both joints were supplied with lock rings, but there was not enough room to get the ring on the upper joint. The one that came out of the top did not have a lock ring on it either.


The knuckle is back in! At this point, I still didn't have my torque wrench. I now have both joints torqued to specs. I had trouble with the nut on the lower stud. It looks like it is some kind of locknut and kept making the stud spin. My solution was to put the jack under the knuckle and put enough pressure on the knuckle, to hold the stud (Without breaking the grease fitting!) It worked like a charm!

I also have the new tie rod end installed, but the nut is not yet torqued. What are they supposed to be torqued to?

I also have to wait for new bearing seals, since the ones I got from NAPA were wrong. I also got a seal puller, but it was too small for these seals. I ended up using a claw hammer to get the old seal out. I'll be taking the bearings to work, so I can clean them out in the parts washer. I'll be re-packing them with synthetic grease.

 

this is gonna help out alot thanks

 

rupe i finaly got pics of my hack up wireing up u should take a look

 

Did the complete right-side this evening and only took 4 and 1/2 hours to do it. I did remember to get pics of the clearance of the U-joint yolk for you.. Here they are:

 

mine are really close on the drivers side.the passenger side has sealed ball joints.im hoping doin this will get rid of that binding issue on that side when in 4x4

 

Mine now steers and drives like a champ! It used to bind when I was backing and turning at the same time.. Not any more!

 

did it squall when you were in 4wd?

 

That might actually be the U-joint on the axle shaft.

 

i was wondering about that as well but should it be really close to the ball joint grease zerks?my ball joints are getting pretty beat up. from age and the other side has been replaced already with the sealed ones

 

It doesn't take much to check while you have the rest apart anyway. Do you have any play in the ball joints?