Replace the Ball Joints on a 4 Wheel Drive S-Series Truck

Steering and suspension on these trucks are pretty loose. The older they get the worse they perform because the various components wear out. If you have a high performance truck or just want get the steering up to snuff, you're going to end up replacing ball joints at one point or another.

This article covers Chevrolet S10, Blazer, GMC S15 Sonoma, Jimmy, Syclone, Typhoon, and Oldsmobile Bravada 4 wheel drive trucks. The 2 wheel drive trucks are nearly identical when it comes to ball joints, but the part numbers and suspension will look a little different.

Required Tools

Removing rivets? Angle Grinder & eye protection
Pickle Fork and a 3 pound hammer (or similar)

Required Parts

Upper Ball Joints: Moog K5320, ACDelco 46D0057A, ACDelco 45D0057 Pro
Lower Ball Joints: Moog K5289, ACDelco 46D2104A. ACDelco 45D2104 Pro
Chasis Grease and a Grease Gun

Step by Step Instructions

Lift the Truck and Remove the Front Wheels

1

Safely lift the truck off the ground using jacks and a jack stands or a vehicle lift.

NEVER get under a vehicle that is only lifted using a jack. Jack stands are a requirement for your safety. Being crushed under your car is the dumbest thing that can happen to you this weekend.

2

Remove the wheel by removing the center cap and lug nuts as needed.

Removing the Old Ball Joint

Here's a photo of the whole front suspension for reference. We've removed the brake caliper and brake disc for another project.

Image 7083 from Replace the Ball Joints on a 4 Wheel Drive S-Series Truck

3

Remove the cotter pin.

Just bend it straight and remove.

Image 7082 from Replace the Ball Joints on a 4 Wheel Drive S-Series Truck

4

Remove the large castle nut using a 7/16 closed end wrench. Use a 6 point wrench if you have one.

5

Loosen the ball joint from the steering spindle.

Slide a pickle fork between the upper a-arm and spindle. The opening in the fork should slide around the ball joint shaft.

We used a 3lb. mini sledge as it takes a good amount of force to loosen. Note that Pickle forks will destroy the ball joint's rubber boot most of the time. Make sure you have a new one.

The upper ball joint is the easier of the two. The lower requires you to turn the wheels to have enough room for the pickle fork to work.

Image 7084 from Replace the Ball Joints on a 4 Wheel Drive S-Series Truck

Image 7085 from Replace the Ball Joints on a 4 Wheel Drive S-Series Truck

6

Remove the 4 fasteners that attach the ball joint to the A-Arm.

From the factory - these are rivets. Most aftermarket ball joints come with bolts and nuts. If you're lucky, someone's already removed the rivets and you'll only need a wrench to remove them.

If the rivets are still there, you'll need to get them out using a grinder or drill.

Again, the upper ball joint is the easier of the two. Grinding out the rivets on the bottom is a little harder because there's more in the way.