Ray,
I believe you should seriously consider replacing the ball joints. I think
you'll be sorry later if you don't. The joints aren't expensive and since
you'll have it aoart anyway, it just makes sense to replace them. You don't
need to replace the entire arm. You can drill out the rivets and just
replace the joints. If I can find a copy of the part numbers and
proceedure, I'll forward it to you.
With that many miles, you should also consider replacing all the bushings in
your suspension if they are still the factory rubber components. When the
bushing are worn out, the tollerances become way out of line and further
promotes premature wear. It will also make a big difference in handling and
overall driveability. If you do this and don't mind a stiffer ride, think
about poly or graphite bushings. Something other than rubber bushings.
Hope this helps.
Rich - Ashburn, VA
-----Original Message-----
From: raymond.irons@gm.com [mailto:raymond.irons@gm.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2003 8:17 AM
To: dakota-truck@dakota-truck.net
Subject: DML: Couple things, this and that
OK Ya'll, I need a little advice and some help from you folks.
1st thing, I told ya'll the saga of the vehicle inspection, and the
inspectors didn't catch the worn out tire. I went to change the tires last
Thursday and found the front brakes needed some attention. So, I bought new
pads, caliper guide pins, and rotors. I went out to install the new parts
Saturday and found the right side upper control arm rear bushing is shot.
Its all cracked and has a big split in it. Now I know the recommended way
to go is to replace these with the bushing from energy suspension. I have a
copy of a FSM but its for a 2001 model and my truck is a 1998. The FSM I
have says to remove the arm and use a special tool to R&R the bushing. I
have no problem with that. My question is, with 109K on the truck and since
I'm gonna have the upper control arm off anyway should I go ahead and
replace the ball joints? If so, can I replace the ball joint by itself or
do I need to replace the entire upper control arm? The FSM I have (again
its not for my year vehicle) say the entire arm should be replaced if the
ball joint fails the inspection procedure. As a retired jet engine
mechanic, I consider myself to be a fairly competent mechanic and I do have
an ASE certified friend that can help me. What I want to know is, is this a
job I can do myself in my driveway or local auto craft center? If anyone
has a FSM for a 98 and can scan the appropriate sections, I'd really
appreciate it. I'm almost afraid to do anymore work to the truck; it seems
lately that everytime I fix something, I find something else, more
expensive broke.
<...snip...>
Ray Irons
Dover, DE
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