Chevrolet Light Duty Truck 1973 Service Manual page 198

3 -2 4 FRONT SU SPEN SION
Fig. 34—Disconnecting Ball Joints—Typical
Upper—Removal
1. Raise vehicle on hoist. If a frame hoist is used, it
will be necessary to support the lower control arm
with a floor jack.
2. Remove cotter pin from upper ball stud and loosen
stud nut (two turns) but do not remove nut.
3. Install J-23742 between the ball studs as shown in
Figure 34.
NOTE: It is necessary to remove the brake
caliper assembly and wire it to the frame to
gain clearance for tool J-23742. See section 5
for the proper procedure.
Before proceeding with Step 4 , be
CAUTION:
sure lower control arm i s supported as pointed
out i n Step 1 .
4. Extend bolt from Tool J-23742 to loosen ball stud in
steering knuckle. When stud is loose, remove tool
and stud nut.
5. Center punch rivet heads and drill out rivets.
. Remove the ball joint assembly.
6
Installation
See CAUTION on page 1 of t h i s
CAUTION:
section regarding the fasteners referred t o i n
steps 1 , 3 and 6 .
1. Install new service ball joint, using bolts and nuts
supplied with joint, to upper arm. Torque nuts to 45
ft. lbs.
2. Mate ball stud to steering knuckle and install stud
nut.
3. Torque the ball stud nut as follows:
A. 10 Series 40—60 ft. lbs. plus additional torque to
align cotter pin not to exceed 90 ft. lbs. Never
back off to align cotter pin.
B. 20—30 Series 80—100 ft. lbs. plus additional
torque to align cotter pin not to exceed 130 ft.
lbs. Never back off
4. Install new cotter pin.
5. Install lube fitting and lube new joint.
. Install brake caliper assembly if removed (see
6
section 5).
7. Install tire and wheel assembly.
. Lower the vehicle to the floor.
8
Ball Joint—Inspection
Lower
Lower ball joints are a loose fit when not connected to
the steering knuckle. W ear may be checked without
disassembling the ball stud, as follows:
1. Support weight of control arms at wheel hub and
drum.
2. Accurately measure distance between tip of ball
stud and tip of grease fitting below ball joint.
3. Move support to control arm to allow wheel hub
and drum to hang free. Measure distance as in Step
2. If the difference in measurements exceeds .094"
(3/32") for all models, ball joint is worn and should
be replaced (fig. 35).
Lower—Removal
1. Raise vehicle on a hoist. If a frame hoist is used it
will be necessary to support the lower control arm
with a floor stand.
2. Remove the tire and wheel assembly.
3. Remove the lower stud cotter pin and loosen (two
turns) but do not remove the stud nut.
4. Install J-23742 between the ball studs as shown in
Figure 34.
NOTE: It is necessary to remove the brake
Fig. 35—Checking Lower Ball Joint
to align cotter pin.
1
LIGHT DUTY TRUCK SERVICE MANUAL