Ball joints

[franklin2]

This is the quote

I beg to differ with some of these guys saying this job is "easy". Yes, if you have done it several times, and have all the tools, it's not bad. If you have never done it before, and are not experienced in frontend work, it can be quite difficult for a beginner. I have never done a dana 60 straight axle, but have done a couple ttb axles.

1. First thing you have to deal with is the 4x4 stuff. All the hub stuff has to come apart. First thing you may run into, the bolts that hold the chrome hub on may be frozen and have to be drilled out. Then you have to dig out the retaining ring and the snap ring to get the hub all apart.

2. Then you need the special socket to take the bearings out. And you need to remember how this goes back together, though you might have the simpler "clicker" style bearing nut. So then you finally get the rotor off, after you have taken the brakes apart.

3. Then you are met with the spindle shaft. It unbolts. But as someone mentioned, this thing gets stuck in the spindle. They make a special puller to get this out. I didn't have it, so I had to take a large sharp chisel and get behind the spindle and drive it off. This leaves a buger on the spindle and can mar your brake shield, but a little file work will clean up the spindle and the brake shield doesn't matter too much.

4. Then you can pull the axle out. Look at the u-joints, make sure there is no play and that they move freely. If they are not perfect, I would change them, you do not want to have to go all the way in here again.

5. Now you can finally get to the balljoints. They can be stuck pretty good, I use a combination pickle fork and a hydraulic jack, jacking up on the axle housing while beating down on the spindle along with the pickle fork. You have to take both balljoints loose at once. And make sure you take a center punch and mark the eccentric on the top balljoint. You want to put it back like it was, so the alignment will be close. Also, clean this eccentric up really well and put lots of never seize on it, the alignment guy will thank you for that.

 

[franklin2]

P.S. Then get ready to pay for an alignment. If you take a ttb truck in, and they charge you $60-$100 for an alignment, they are just adjusting the toe. If they are doing a full alignment and having to break the balljoint loose and turn the eccentric, expect to pay $150-up. If you center punch those eccentrics and put them back exactly like they were, and your truck is stock height, they may not need to move them with the new balljoints in place.

 

[KansasIDI]

@franklin2 valid points. I have done both TTB and Dana 60 axles, the 60’s are easier IMO. With the tools and knowledge, it is easy, but like you said, without, it may not be.

By the way, that was a thorough explanation of the process, well done.

 

[HS108]

I just redid my ball joints on my 94 250 4x4

That price isn’t horrible actually. Plus have it done in a day.

I will warn ya tho, could cost more once they dig in.

Check out my install post here and you can see how it snowballs.

Dana 50 wheel bearing replacement, how in-depth should I get

What started off as a simple brake job has turned into a full blown rebuild. I wanted to "just" replace the Pads, rotors, hoses, and calipers on my TTB dana 50, but it has turned into a whole production... Now im replacing the bearings and seals and repacking it all with fresh Red N Tacky (I...

www.oilburners.net

I have over 1k miles on my new ball joints and springs now, rides smooth as a old leaf spring truck can lol

 

[Ole BlackBetty]

I beg to differ with some of these guys saying this job is "easy". Yes, if you have done it several times, and have all the tools, it's not bad. If you have never done it before, and are not experienced in frontend work, it can be quite difficult for a beginner. I have never done a dana 60 straight axle, but have done a couple ttb axles.

1. First thing you have to deal with is the 4x4 stuff. All the hub stuff has to come apart. First thing you may run into, the bolts that hold the chrome hub on may be frozen and have to be drilled out. Then you have to dig out the retaining ring and the snap ring to get the hub all apart.

2. Then you need the special socket to take the bearings out. And you need to remember how this goes back together, though you might have the simpler "clicker" style bearing nut. So then you finally get the rotor off, after you have taken the brakes apart.

3. Then you are met with the spindle shaft. It unbolts. But as someone mentioned, this thing gets stuck in the spindle. They make a special puller to get this out. I didn't have it, so I had to take a large sharp chisel and get behind the spindle and drive it off. This leaves a buger on the spindle and can mar your brake shield, but a little file work will clean up the spindle and the brake shield doesn't matter too much.

4. Then you can pull the axle out. Look at the u-joints, make sure there is no play and that they move freely. If they are not perfect, I would change them, you do not want to have to go all the way in here again.

5. Now you can finally get to the balljoints. They can be stuck pretty good, I use a combination pickle fork and a hydraulic jack, jacking up on the axle housing while beating down on the spindle along with the pickle fork. You have to take both balljoints loose at once. And make sure you take a center punch and mark the eccentric on the top balljoint. You want to put it back like it was, so the alignment will be close. Also, clean this eccentric up really well and put lots of never seize on it, the alignment guy will thank you for that.

Great info here, thank you Franklin2