Author Topic: 78 1/2 ton k10 ball joint replacement  (Read 9694 times)

Offline howlinwolf

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78 1/2 ton k10 ball joint replacement
« on: April 21, 2012, 08:20:30 am »
whos done it? any clues beyond the walkthrough here http://www.chuckschevytruckpages.com/chevy_truck_4wd_front_axle_ball_joint_replacement.html

i have sprung for the moog upper ball joints with the grease cert on the side, since i have a 10 bolt.
Just looking for other tips or tricks to make it easier.
78 Chevy Custom Deluxe flatbed, PROPANE POWERED

Offline bake74

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Re: 78 1/2 ton k10 ball joint replacement
« Reply #1 on: April 21, 2012, 09:22:07 am »
     I did mine about a year ago, not hard at all, grab a chilton or haynes manual and that is all you need.
#1: The easiest and most obvious solution to any problem is 99% of the time correct.
#2: There is no such thing as impossible, it just takes longer.
  74 k10, 77k10    Tom

Offline howlinwolf

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Re: 78 1/2 ton k10 ball joint replacement
« Reply #2 on: April 21, 2012, 11:18:06 am »
cool. i have a chilton from 1988
78 Chevy Custom Deluxe flatbed, PROPANE POWERED

Offline howlinwolf

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Re: 78 1/2 ton k10 ball joint replacement
« Reply #3 on: April 23, 2012, 09:14:51 am »
rocked out the front end work. note, if you have a 10 bolt be very careful about the ball joint you get. when i ordered mine they were very different. one had a taller collar, a large silver nut, and a double billow boot. that was the wrong one. it wont allow you the proper clearance. the other one was shorter, had a mostly flat rubber boot and a short nut. 

Right now the truck is still in my dads shop, we ran into problems trying to swap the spring mount.  when i get it back ill take pictures of the bad driver side ball joint. the lower was completly fried. also i didnt replace the tie rod ends, i had another axle with decent ones on it, and when we swapped it all out, turns out the stabilizer was absolutely shot.  When we moved it it just scraped around.

why does it seem easier to reasseble the 4 wheel drive hubs this time around. its been 2 years since i had it apart.
78 Chevy Custom Deluxe flatbed, PROPANE POWERED

Offline bake74

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Re: 78 1/2 ton k10 ball joint replacement
« Reply #4 on: April 24, 2012, 07:21:33 pm »
rocked out the front end work. note, if you have a 10 bolt be very careful about the ball joint you get. when i ordered mine they were very different. one had a taller collar, a large silver nut, and a double billow boot. that was the wrong one.

     I also learned that lesson, I always compare when I pick things up at the parts store, especially if there are 2 or more of the same thing.
#1: The easiest and most obvious solution to any problem is 99% of the time correct.
#2: There is no such thing as impossible, it just takes longer.
  74 k10, 77k10    Tom

Offline howlinwolf

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Re: 78 1/2 ton k10 ball joint replacement
« Reply #5 on: May 18, 2012, 10:42:34 am »
just put new ebrake cables on the back. 2 completly different looking cables, but everything was the same length. they fit and work and had the same part number, but i dunno
78 Chevy Custom Deluxe flatbed, PROPANE POWERED