Money pit.....BALL JOINTS
 

:argh:Just when i get some money saved for some upgrades, my truck desides to blow out the ball joints, so bad that my wheel is about to fall off. my question is, do i need a special tool to pull the wheel bearing from the housing? what is the easyest way to replace them? i onley need to replace the lower pass side, but i am going to do all 4 while im at it. i've replaced ball joints on my old truck before and had no problem, but i here these newer hubs are a bitch to get out....that why i am asking. has anyone done thes? should i do it myself or just have a shop with an lazer rack do the repair and alighnment...$$$$$

i had my dad make me a puller that uses the wheel studs to bolt a plate to then i welded a nut on the plat got a 3 foot piece of all thread and a 20 pound bar drilled the bar for the all thread to pass through put a nut on the other end and then just give er a whack itll pull the bearing hub out lickty split.

you got a picture of that setup bud, sounds like a good idea, i just need to c a clear picture of it so i can dublicate it....what is "3 foot all thread"? just threaded rod? if so what size 1/2 inch? 3/4? any other tips?

These unit bearing/hubs can be a slight PITA to get off. When i rebuilt my front end i had to pull both off, one came off easy and the other was being a total B%$#, a little heat with the torch and it slid right out...

I guess another thing you could do if you have a welder handy is to make a slide hammer attatchement that has a lugnut on the end of it (i have about 50 different ends for my home made slide hammer, one for every occasion!)

yeah, i think thats what i am going to do, i was looking at ball joints, what type did you use? should i be worried about getting different degreed ones? should i just go with an OEM type? i have a 6'' RCD long arm lift and the out sides of my tires are pretty beat. whada ya think?:humm:

I've used the "socket" method evry time I've done it and had good luck.

Socket Method explained
Between that method and a ball joint press they ain't too bad.

BTI

using the socket from behind the wheel bearing on the wheel bearing bolts is the only way to do it. no throwing crap and saying words you didnt even know wer posible

dynatrac just came out with ball joints for our trucks. they say they are rebuildable and are serviceable in the field. these are way stronger than oem and retail for same cost as oem. :humm: not a hard choise for me lol

its about damn time they did, were could one get them

I just bought my ball joints so im gonna have to wait till they go again.....using your steering box to break the hubs loose is a bad idea. it screws up your box, i just bought the hub removal tool from napa, its made by otc and was 108 bucks, works like a charm and no damage to your steering box. i wish i had the money for the old locking hub conversion thoe, i had to replace my hub bearing and that thing was 300 bucks wtf:argh: after i finished, it cost me 500 for the hub bearing, tool, uper and lower ball joint and the axle joint. but shes good to go for another 50,000 i hope:w2: