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How to Replace Front Lower Ball Joint 1997-2004 Chevy S10 Pickup Part 1
How to Replace Ball Joint 1997-2004 Chevy S10 Pickup Part 2
Created on:
Tools used
14mm Wrench
Air Chisel
15mm Wrench
Socket Extensions
Torque Wrench
16mm Wrench
17mm Wrench
Rust Penetrant
Pry Bar
18mm Wrench
Jack Stands
19mm Wrench
10mm Wrench
Flat Blade Screwdriver
Floor Jack
11mm Wrench
12mm Wrench
13mm Wrench
Complete Metric Socket Set
1. Loosening the Lug Nuts and Hub Nut
Before lifting the car, loosen the lug nuts up with a 19 mm wrench, and the hub nut using a 35 mm socket. It's best to do this while the car is on the ground so the wheels won't move.
2. Raising and Securing the Car
Position the jack under the control arm with a jack stand under the frame.
Raise the car (most of the weight should be on the jack stand).
3. Removing the Brake Caliper
Remove the tire, and the hub nut and washer.
To remove the break caliper, there are two 18 mm bolts to remove-one on top and one on the lower backside.
Once those are off, pry the caliper right off with the wrench.
Remove the brake rotor.
4. Redistributing the Weight
Now, to redistribute the weight, move the jack out to the end of the control arm, and jack it up so that most of the weight in now on the jack with only a little weight on the jack stand.
5. Removing the Harness
First, disconnect the harness. Remove the clips on the left side of the harness, and use a screwdriver to pry it up off the frame.
It would be best to coat the nuts with penetrating oil at this time.
Take the small bolt off with the 10 mm wrench (put the bolt and the nut back into the control arm just for safe keeping so you'll know where they are).
Remove the last bolt on the frame-a 13 mm bolt.
Once the bolts are removed, pull the harness out and free. (Save the clips from the harness in case you need them to install)
6. Removing the Hub
There's three 18 mm bolts that hold the hub-one in the back, one in the middle of the top, and one in the front.
The front and rear ones can be reached with an impact wrench or regular wrench. The middle one, you'll need to use a hand wrench. (Swivel the steering to help you get at the bolt easier.)
Remove all three bolts.
Using the pry bar or screwdriver, pry against the steering knuckle. (Be careful not to bend up that backing plate too much.)
Pull out and away from the backing plate, and the hub is out.
(There is a little O ring that needs to be replaced correctly. If you are replacing the hub, transfer it to the new hub. If not, make sure it's in the correct spot.)
7. Removing the Jounce Bumper
There are two bolts where the ball joint is secured to the control arm. (If your ball joint hasn't been replaced before, you'll just see little round rivets.)
If it is rivets, use a cold chisel and pound them to shear them right off.
Remove these bolts or rivets on the front, in the back and underneath.
8. Removing the Ball Joint
Remove the cotter pin and the bolt-22 mm or 24 mm-from the ball joint.
Remove the cotter pin and the bolt-18 mm or 19 mm-from the tire rod end.
For the tire rod end, hit it with a couple of good hammer hits. Holding the control arm, give the ball joint a few whacks as well.
Take out all the bolts from the top of the ball joint.
Pull down on the control arm and towards the rear of the vehicle, and the ball joint will come out.
This video is brought to you by 1AAuto.com your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the internet.
Hi I'm Mike Green. I'm one of the owners of 1A Auto. I want to help you save time and money repairing and maintaining your vehicle. I'm going to use my 20 plus years experience restoring cars and trucks, to show you the correct way to install parts from 1A Auto.com. The right parts, installed correctly, are going to save you time and money. Thank you and enjoy the video.
In this video we'll be showing you how to remove a ball joint from this S-10 pickup, same as any pickup truck or Blazer. This is just the removal. We do have the installation in a video response to this video.
The tools you'll need are: You'll need metric sockets anywhere from 10 mm to 35 mm with Handles and Extensions. You'll need wrenches anywhere from 10 mm to 19 mm. A jack and jack stands. You will also need a large screwdriver, or pry bar or air chisel. That's if you're replacing the original ball joints that are riveted in, penetrating oil and a torque wrench. We strongly recommend that you have air tools. You can do it with hand tools, but it's slightly more difficult.
First, if you're using hand tools you're going to want to loosen those lug nuts up with a 19 mm wrench. You want to do this on the ground so that your wheels won't be moving. The other thing you're going to want to do is you're going to want to use your 35 mm socket to loosen the hub nut. Now I'm going to raise the car up and secure it. I've raised the wheel I'm working on up off the ground by putting the jack under the control arm. I also have a jack stand under the frame here that's what's going to hold most of the weight.
I'm going to remove the tire, and then I can remove the center hub nut (35 mm) and the washer. Now, I'm going to remove my brake caliper by removing the bolt on top and the bolt on the backside. They're both 18 mm bolts. Now I'm going to use my wrench to just pry the caliper right off. Then, I'll take the disc off.
What you want to do is transfer the weight back on the control arms. Move the jack out to the end of the control arm, and jack it up. Now, most of the weight is on the jack with only a little weight on the jack stand. I'm disconnecting the harness, and then I'm going to remove the clips for the hub harness. These clips are on the left side. Use a screw driver to pry it up out of the frame. I'm prying the harness clips off. I'm going to coat the nuts with penetrating oil. Then I'm going to take the small one off with the 10 mm wrench.
I'm, actually going to get the wrench up behind to hold that bolt. Then, I'm removing that bolt. Okay, here I'm just finishing up taking out that bolt (I like to put the bolt and the nut back into the control arm just for safe keeping so I'll know where they are). The last bolt on the frame is a 13 mm bolt.
Now I'm just pulling the harness out and free. I'm going to pull the clips off the harness so that I can put them onto the new hub harness when I'm ready to install it. Now you want to remove your hub. There's three bolts one in the back, one in the middle of the top, and one in the front. These are 18 mm bolts.
The front and rear ones you can get to with an impact wrench or regular wrench. The top one is a little more difficult you have to use a hand wrench. It helps if you swivel the steering which helps you get to the bolts much easier.
Then I'm taking them out. You can pry with a pry bar or a large screw driver. I'm using the screwdriver and pry against the steering knuckle.
You can see me get it apart now, just shaking it. You want to be careful not to bend up that backing plate too much. I leave that top bolt in it's very loose but it's still in there. Now the hub comes right out. Pull the harness out away from the backing plate and your hub is out.
There's this little O ring that you want to make sure goes back on correctly. If you put a new hub on, obviously, transfer it to the new hub, if you don't just make sure it's in the correct spot.
Now I'll remove this jounce bumper from the top to allow your upper control arm to fall down some more. Where your ball joint is secured to the control arm, there are two bolts. This has been replaced before it's by bolts. If your ball joint hasn't been replaced before, you'll just see little round rivets. If it is rivets you've got use a cold chisel and just pound them to shear them right off. You're going to remove these bolts or rivets on the front, in the back and underneath everything is bolted underneath.
Then, with the ball joint shaft, I'm going to remove the cotter pin. I'm also going to remove this cotter pin and bolt from the tire rod end. This whole time, my jack here is supporting the control arm.
The best way to get at the inner bolts is to go under the shaft and hook on with your bolt. I'm just removing those four nuts right now. I am not removing the bolts from the top. I'm just taking the nuts off the bottom.
I'm also removing the cotter pin and the bolt from the ball joint. I believe it's either a 22 mm or 24 mm bolt. Okay, now here I'm removing the cotter pin and the bolt from the tire rod end. I believe that's an 18 mm or 19 mm bolt. For the tire rod end, you just hit it with a couple of good hammer hits. It comes right out. You do the same thing with the ball joint hold them down on top of the control arm and giving it a couple of whacks with the hammer.
Now, at this point, I'm taking out all the bolts from the top of the ball joint. After that, I pull down on the control arm and towards the rear of the vehicle, and the ball joint comes out. Okay, that's how you remove your ball joint. We also have a video detailing the installation which can be found as a reply to this video. Check that out.
We hope this helps you out. Brought to you by www.1AAuto.com your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the internet. Please feel free to call us toll free at 888-844-3393. We're the company that's here for you on the internet and in person.
Tools used
20mm Socket
24mm Socket
35mm Socket
Hammer
Socket Extensions
Pry Bar
Jack Stands
Grease Gun
Rubber Mallet
Chisel
Ratchet
Floor Jack
13mm Wrench
11mm Socket
12mm Socket
13mm Socket
14mm Socket
Torque Wrench
15mm Socket
Rust Penetrant
18mm Wrench
16mm Socket
17mm Socket
18mm Socket
19mm Socket
21mm Socket
Flat Blade Screwdriver
10mm Socket
22mm Socket
1. Clean up the top of the upper control arm
2. Install the ball joint
Line up the boot on the ball joint and put the ball joint in place and put the nut on it.
Bolt the ball joint in with the four nuts and bolts.
Torque them to 25 ft lbs
3. Install the tie rod.
Put the tie rod in place
Bolt it in at 55 ft lbs.
Put in the cotter pin, hammer it through and bend it with a pair of pliers.
Fill the tie rod end with grease.
4. Install the hub
Put the O ring into the hub.
Mount the hub and thread the ABS harness into place.
Bolt the hub into place and make sure the shield is in the correct position.
Use a star like pattern when bolting in the hub and torque the bolts to 65 ft lbs.
Clip and bolt the ABS harness in and connect it.
5. Install the brakes
Mount the rotor and caliper
Bolt the caliper bolts in and torque to 50-60 ft lbs.
Use a rubber mallet to help get the caliper on.
6. Install the hub nut and wheel.
Before putting the wheel on, put the hub nut on and tighten but do not torque.
Put the wheel back on and lower the car.
Torque the hub nut to 90 ft lbs.
Using a star pattern, torque the wheel lug nuts to 75 ft lbs.
Put the cap and lug nut covers on.
Brought to you by 1AAuto.com your source for quality replacement parts and the bet service on the internet.
Hi I'm Mike Green; I'm one of the owners of 1A Auto. I want to help you save time and money repairing and maintaining your vehicle. I'm going to use my twenty plus years experience restoring and repairing cars and trucks like this to show you the correct way to install parts from 1AAuto.com. The right parts installed correctly that's going to save you time and money. Thank you and enjoy the video.
Okay this is kind of part two we are going to install the ball joint on this S-10 four by four the same as any S-10, S-15, Blazer or Jimmy. The tools you're going to need are various size metric sockets including a thirty five millimeter socket for the hub, jack, jack stands, screwdriver, pry bar, cold chisel, air chisel if you're replacing your original ball joints, some penetrating oil, torque wrench and also a rubber mallet and a hammer.
Okay we are going to start out just to clean up the top of the upper control arm just to get some of the dirt and stuff off of it and now here I'm just lining up the boot on the ball joint and then I'm going to put the ball joint down into the steering knuckle and push down and then put the nut onto the ball joint. Okay and once I tighten that up a little bit by hand and then I just push the steering knuckle down onto the control arm so it's in place.
Okay and now what I'm going through in fast motion here is I'm just putting the four bolts, the ball joint comes with brand new bolts I'm putting the four bolts down in and the nuts on and then I'm starting them with my ratchet so I'm just putting the bolts down in and starting the nuts on the other end and then once this slows down I will be torqueing them and you torque these nuts to about twenty five foot pounds. So you can see here I'm torqueing them and then I go across and torque one on the front and torque one on the back and then torque the other back and then torque the front. So you kind of go in a criss-cross motion. Okay I'm finishing up here torqueing it.
Okay and now I'm going to put the tire rod end down in and put the bolt on. Okay and I'm torqueing the bolt to about fifty five foot pounds and then I basically look to see where the hole is because the nut has ridges in it for the cotter pin to go through and I can see that I just need to tighten it up here just a little bit more so that the cotter pin will go through. So now I'll knock the cotter pin through. It shouldn't take much if you're doing it right to get the cotter pin through and then bending it with some pliers. Okay and then I'm going to repeat that procedure for the lower ball joint. I'm putting it on and torqueing the nut to fifty five foot pounds and checking it out to see where the cotter pin is lined up and tighten it up a little bit more so you have a clear shot. Okay not the best shot of this here but down on the bottom right you can see a little socket I'm just putting the grease fitting in right there.
Okay no is as good of a time as any to grease the lower ball joint, the tire rod end and then the upper ball joint. Okay here I'm actually putting the jounce bumper back in. You just put it up in and put the bolt on top and tighten it up. Okay preparing to put the hub on just putting the O-ring on the hub. This goes on here like that and put it through and the connector is going to be where that big gap is. I'm just going to get this up in here and get it somewhat lined up, grab one of our bolts and make it one of the easy ones down here and thread it through and torque it in and get it going a little bit.
Okay now I'm going to speed it up a little bit and I'm just going to work the other two bolts in and then I'm going to use the ratchet and socket and tighten them up shifting the steering a little bit to get to them and you do want to try to tighten them up evenly. You don't just want to tighten one all the way up you want to pull the hub into the steering knuckle pretty much evenly so I'm just kind of rotating around and tightening and then after this I will set my torque wrench to sixty five foot pounds and torque them up.
Now you take it up to about sixty five foot pounds. Now we are going to put the harness back in. Okay so remember here you have a little ten millimeter bolt on that first clip and then you've got a thirteen millimeter bolt and nut on that second clip and you have to clip it in together with the brake line. The hub harness goes in behind the brake line so the bolt goes through the hub harness first and then the brake line harness and then it's opposite on the frame connector the brake line goes onto the frame and the hub harness goes on top of it. Okay so tighten up that bolt, tighten up the frame and then you can take the clip and put it onto the frame and connect them together and then once they're connected pull your flap back down and then you're all set.
Okay here I'm putting the rotor back on and I apologize for the poor camera work here I didn't realize that I wasn't shooting it very well. I'm putting the lug nut just one on just to kind of keep the rotor in place it makes it easier to get the caliper on. Okay now I'm grabbing the caliper. I'm also not touching the disc or the brake pad services. You want to try to keep them clean it keeps your brakes working better. If you do hit them just use a little linseed oil or brake parts cleaner and then I use a rubber mallet to try to persuade the caliper on there, put the bolts in for the caliper they should be torqued to fifty to sixty foot pounds. The top I didn't get a torque wrench on so I used my well calibrated arm and hand as you'll see. After that, torque up the bottom one correctly.
Okay so I'm going to tighten the hub nut with an impact wrench and I'm going to watch back here and you can see that there's a little gap right here this shiny ring and that will close up as I tighten and I will just stop before that closes all the way because I want to tighten that with a torque wrench when the car is on the ground.
So I re-did my lower ball joint those four bolts are done and the bottom one is torqued with a cotter pin and I had this apart and that's torqued with a cotter pin. Okay I replaced my hub and those three bolts have been torqued. Okay I put my brake back on and those bolts have been torqued and I re-installed my line here. Okay and that's all tight so now I can put my wheel back on and I'm going to torque the hub nut to ninety foot pounds. Okay and now I'm going to torque the wheel lug nuts to seventy five foot pounds. I put my cap back on and the lug nut covers.
We hope this helps you out. Brought to you by www.1AAuto.com your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the internet. Please fee free to call us toll free 888-844-3393. We are the company that's here for you on the internet and in person.
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