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Attempted ball joints.....

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Old Apr 4, 2009 | 05:55 PM
  #1  
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Attempted ball joints.....

Well, I came, I saw, I failed. Trucks going to Dodge on monday.

Everything started smoothly other than having to buy the 41mm socket for the axle nut. Then I came to the bearing. Could not get the sucker off. Tried hitting the housing with a hammerdrill to break the rust free a bit, used the trick of using an extension on the bolt and steering that into the frame, tried heating it up with a torch. Nothing. Sucker wouldn't budge a bit. Tried for 5 hours on one side, wouldn't move.

I put the steering gear stabilizer on, and the truck seems to handle a bit better.

Tune in to see how the truck feels after the 08-09 steering upgrade, and the new ball joints.

Cliff notes: Ball joint install fail. Bearing wouldn't come out
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Old Apr 4, 2009 | 09:04 PM
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hey did you see my pic of the puller i made it worked like a gem in getting mine off. pull the bolts off of the backside of the hub and spray some pb blaster in there let it soak put the bolts back in about 4 turns and try it. the half way in trick doesnt work the threads on the bolts almost have to be all the way out. they will come off believe me i tried for 8 hours and got both of them. ill post the link of my homemade puller!!!

i used a 1 1/8 socket for the axle nut
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Old Apr 4, 2009 | 09:05 PM
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https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...d.php?t=236318
this is the thread i think the pics are in here hope this helps my pics are on the 2nd page they are a pita to get out but well worth it the money you save is worth it. do your u joints as well for the axles. i bought 3 for my 2 shafts
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Old Apr 5, 2009 | 07:47 PM
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I got "sacrificial" bolts and threaded them in almost all of the way then wailed on the heads of the bolts with a BFH. Back out a bit and then repeat till its off.
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Old Apr 5, 2009 | 08:10 PM
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yeah we did that on my buddies 95 except he didnt need hubs he needed rotors so we beat the rotors like mad men
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Old Apr 5, 2009 | 08:32 PM
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Dont feel bad I tried for 3 days to get mine off. Beat them with a BFH, tried the power steering method, tried the power blaster and even the air hammer.. Gave up and hauled it to the dealer.. The heated it up and charged me for a new hub, bearing and rotor..
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Old Apr 5, 2009 | 09:06 PM
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in the thread i posted above this is what i used

c channel a welded nut 2 washers and a bolt
cut notches in the side of the c channel for 2 lugs to fit through put bolt on the middle of the axle shaft and crank till your heart is content with the powersteering trick and it will come off i guarantee i also took the 4 hub bolts off and loaded the holes with pb blaster came off like a dynamite stick but it came off
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Old Apr 6, 2009 | 08:00 AM
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From: Ohio: Home of the disappointing sports teams
Originally Posted by 1985cucv
in the thread i posted above this is what i used

c channel a welded nut 2 washers and a bolt
cut notches in the side of the c channel for 2 lugs to fit through put bolt on the middle of the axle shaft and crank till your heart is content with the powersteering trick and it will come off i guarantee i also took the 4 hub bolts off and loaded the holes with pb blaster came off like a dynamite stick but it came off
Did I mention I bent my stablizer using the powersteering method?
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Old Apr 6, 2009 | 08:43 AM
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Wow cincy I'm sorry to hear your story. Well my truck is at Dodge right now, we we'll see what they say
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Old Apr 6, 2009 | 09:43 AM
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From: Ohio: Home of the disappointing sports teams
Originally Posted by WhozNxtLS1
Wow cincy I'm sorry to hear your story. Well my truck is at Dodge right now, we we'll see what they say
It was my own fault. Your supposed to bump the powersteering when removing. I layed into it
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Old Apr 6, 2009 | 09:31 PM
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From: wisconsin
yeah that sucks to hear that
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Old Apr 6, 2009 | 09:57 PM
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I use a ten pound slide hammer, and some still come off hard.
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Old Apr 7, 2009 | 11:56 AM
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That don't look like a job for a light weight!!!!!
Jay
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Old Apr 7, 2009 | 02:11 PM
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Spent the weekend replacing my u-joints with precision 464. I couldn't get the bearing hub to budge with the power steering method at first. Got the idea, since I was on mine own, to hold pressure on the steering wheel with a bungee cord to the door handle. Then with a 4# hammer smack the knuckle ....IT WORKED, at first just a 1/16" at a time on each hub bolt, then got more on each bolt as the hub came out. The sucker hung on till the last bit, rusted like it was in a salt water bath. Hub bearing not damaged and tight. The slide hammer method risks wreaking the bearing. WARNING..... the caliper adapter and hub bolts came from the factory with red loctite . Broke a 18 mm socket getting the dam things to break loose. Spent alot of time with a wire cup on a grinder cleaning the rust from everything. Used high temp nickel based anti-seize on everthing including the caliper adapter mounting bolts. Stock u-joints with 85k on them showed no grease left in cups, three cups the needles were powder and the others just black coal. Only one cup had grease left with bright shiny needles. Question for anyone in the know, what is the tolerance for the ball joint? My drivers side felt loose?
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Old Apr 7, 2009 | 08:40 PM
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From: wisconsin
yes the bolts did have loctite on them i knew it mine had them and somepeople said they didnt i also broke a socket on them and rounded one i pounded an 11/16 6 pt on the bolts and they were a pita to get off still after i got them a little loose impact came out and boom went the dynamite. got them off dont use the impact to put them back on though
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