Need some help (advice) on front end up keep.

[larson]

Hey guys if my upper and lower ball joints are not cracked at the boot and not leaking can i assume they are still in good shape? (They look realy good)
I just replaced all of my steering linkage and joints but they where obviously blown out and done.
How hard is it to replace the rag joint on the steering shaft on these trucks?

 

[79jasper]

The dust boot is not a good indicator of ball joint health...


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[nelstomlinson]

Jack your front wheel off the ground, use a pry bar to try to lift the tire. If you can lift the tire without lifting the axle, you have a problem. Grab the tire top and bottom, and try to rock it. If you can rock it, you have a problem. Otherwise, no problem.

I'm curious about the rag joint too, but why do you think yours is bad? With the engine off, have someone wiggle the steering wheel back and forth. You look at the steering column under the hood, and see where the play is. I did that, and saw that the slop wasn't in my rag joint.

 

[renjaminfrankln]

Mine has around 230k on it (not sure how many times rolled over)

I replaced all inner and outer tie rod ends, and the center link. Balljoints were okay (no play). That got rid of about 60% of my slop. Then I replaced the steering box, that got rid of the remaining 40%, steering is good and tight now. Did not find any slop in the steering column joints.

 

[Thewespaul]

The shop truck has 280k on the original steering components. Keeping things greased really helps with longevity, I like to grease the whole undercarriage at every oil change. Only noticeable play is in the steering box

 

[Cubey]

Hey guys if my upper and lower ball joints are not cracked at the boot and not leaking can i assume they are still in good shape? (They look realy good)
I just replaced all of my steering linkage and joints but they where obviously blown out and done.
How hard is it to replace the rag joint on the steering shaft on these trucks?

On my 87 RWD, i had to outsource drilling out the studs or whatever it had for the rag joint. I had a machine shop do it. Now it is assembled with bolts and nylon insert lock nuts, with a "help" section rag joint. If i remember right, i had to hack the rag joint with a box cutter to make it fit.