ball joint replacement
 

has anyone replaced the upper and lower ball joints on there 94-02 dodge cu mmins 4x4?

im gunna be doing mine and some tips/ write up would be great!

I did them on a 98 12v, and they were pretty easy except I didn't have a Press to put the new ones in with. If you have a Chilton, or Haynes manual for it, it's pretty straight forward.

wellll it sucks
rent a press for advance
then you take the caliper and rotor off and the steering track bar
then then hub nut
then there four lil bolts that hold the half shaft to the knuckle and there a pain in the ass
we backed them out half way and put a socket on them and beat the hell out of it then put a chiseal in betwenn in and beat on it some more the whole thing eventulcally comes out
then take the bolts off the ball joints and press the old ones out they may take persuading with a hammer but they wilkl come out
then press the new ones in and bolt everything back together
might want to use some anti seize on the bolts and stuff for the future

oh and get lots of pb blaster your gonna need it:scare2:
have funnn

ok thanks guys, what size is the hub nut?
and ill just use a press to get the hub off

If I remember right I took the half shaft out and then removed it from the steering knuckle, then you can really see what you're getting into and how to go about it. I did use some sort of WD, or lubricant like he's talking about but I didn't have to do anything with a chisel and hammer like he's talking about.
I was thinking the Hub Nut was 1 1/4" but I can't be positive on that. Oh and you'll need a 3/4" drive rachet, or impact because that nut if it hasn't been removed recently can be a tool buster.

how did you go about removing the half shaft

theres four bolts on the back of the hub you have to take off and most likey your hub is rusted to the steering knickle and thats what you have to beat the hell out of it will make alot more sense when you get it all apart

Do what trucky said and you should be golden. 95% of the dodges I've done have been a PITA but you get real good at swingin a bfh. Good luck

haha, isnt like the u joint in the way when you try to press the joint out?

when u put it back together use a chisel and lift up the insert that the upper ball joint goes in, just lift it a little bit, then tighten the lower joint 1st then tighten the upper, the insert will go where it needs to