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Suspension Inspections

925 Views 41 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  evintho, 
Tynan918
5
Passenger side isn't so bad, but I'm concerned with the driver's side. That lower ball joint looks done for.



I'm also concerned with the grease points on the whole suspension, well some of them are flat and I'm unsure if they're worn...


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Tynan918
Can the grease points be clogged ? Even if I'm pushing down on the hose to give it a better seal, I get this scenario...
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Typically when they won't take grease in and it piles up on the outside of the nipple.....The little spring loaded check ball can get stuck or rusted to the seal area inside the end of the grease nipple.
Tale a small pick or screwdriver and make sure the ball can be pushed into the grease nipple a bit, moves freely, to allow the pathway to be open.

Then make sure your grease gun hose end is squarely on the nipple, not tipped slightly to the aide like your picture shows.
It may also help sometimes to hold the hose end tight onto the nipple with one hand.

Got to get those little check balls free first though.
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blwn31
Replace the zerk fitting, they do wear out.

Keith
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joe_padavano
ericnova72 said:
Typically when they won't take grease in and it piles up on the outside of the nipple.....The little spring loaded check ball can get stuck or rusted to the seal area inside the end of the grease nipple.
Tale a small pick or screwdriver and make sure the ball can be pushed into the grease nipple a bit, moves freely, to allow the pathway to be open.
Click to expand...
^^^THIS. While I've also popped them free, the reality is that as cheap as zerk fittings are, just replace it.
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Tynan918
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Well I popped the balls and springs loose in all zerks. They take quite a bit of pressure to compress. I also used one hand to hold the grease gun with pressure and straight...still got the same results...

I believe most of the rubber boots on these points are torn.

I ended up buying this front end suspension kit and will either replace everything or...more than likely replace everything, who am I kidding ?


I also bought a locking coupler nozzle for my grease gun.
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Tynan918
I need a tool to pull both the ball joints and pitman arms, should this tool pull them or will i need 2 different sizes ?
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That's more of a pitman arm puller. You need pickle forks and a BFH to separate ball joints and tie rod ends. AutoZone has 'em in their tool rental program. Shouldn't cost you a dime!

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Racer-X-
evintho said:
That's more of a pitman arm puller. You need pickle forks and a BFH to separate ball joints and tie rod ends. AutoZone has 'em in their tool rental program. Shouldn't cost you a dime!

Click to expand...
Pickle forks are fine for parts you're planning to replace. But they tend to tear boots. They aren't for anything you want to reuse.

For tie rod ends you want to reuse, this type of puller is the ticket.


And @Tynan918 , to check upper and lower ball joints, you can put the wheel on, run the lugs down snug to tight grab at 12 and 6 and push/pull back and forth. Try to do this while looking at the upper and lower ball joints. If there's a lot of clunking and play that you can see is in those ball joints, they're worn and probably could stand to be replaced.

The official test is to try to pry them up and see how much up and down play there is. But the official published specification for "worn out" is usually way more play than I'd want to have in those parts. GM doesn't like replacing ball joints under warranty, so "safe" and "within spec" extends way past what I'd call "worn out."
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Tynan918
evintho said:
That's more of a pitman arm puller. You need pickle forks and a BFH to separate ball joints and tie rod ends. AutoZone has 'em in their tool rental program. Shouldn't cost you a dime!

Click to expand...
Bought these...
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Tynan918
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Racer-X- said:
Pickle forks are fine for parts you're planning to replace. But they tend to tear boots. They aren't for anything you want to reuse.

For tie rod ends you want to reuse, this type of puller is the ticket.


And @Tynan918 , to check upper and lower ball joints, you can put the wheel on, run the lugs down snug to tight grab at 12 and 6 and push/pull back and forth. Try to do this while looking at the upper and lower ball joints. If there's a lot of clunking and play that you can see is in those ball joints, they're worn and probably could stand to be replaced.

The official test is to try to pry them up and see how much up and down play there is. But the official published specification for "worn out" is usually way more play than I'd want to have in those parts. GM doesn't like replacing ball joints under warranty, so "safe" and "within spec" extends way past what I'd call "worn out."
Click to expand...
My tie rod ends are good as far as I can tell by comparing a new one to mine, bushings look good, but the driver's side ball joints were bad by the look, especially the lower ball joint.

So I only bought upper and lower ball joints to replace them all...


I also bought zerk inserts and a locking coupler nozzle for my grease gun...
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Apparently, you like spending money. AutoZone or O'Reilly's would have let you use them for free.
To each, his own.
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Tynan918
evintho said:
Apparently, you like spending money. AutoZone or O'Reilly's would have let you use them for free.
To each, his own.
Click to expand...
Yea, but with a down payment much more than what I paid on Amazon, plus Amazon returns are just the same as loaning it from Autozone or O'Reilly's..

I may just keep things to use later on or for someone else.
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Racer-X-
Tynan918 said:
My tie rod ends are good as far as I can tell by comparing a new one to mine, bushings look good, but the driver's side ball joints were bad by the look, especially the lower ball joint.
Click to expand...
You checked the tie rods for play? They aren't worn?

The condition of the rubber boots isn't an indication that they're "good." And a very worn, loose and wobbly tie rod end that's been will maintained looks similar on the outside to a brand new one. But if it's worn, it'll have a lot of play in it when you try to move the wheel.

To check tie rods, idler arm and other steering components, install the wheel and grab and 9 and 3 and push/pull like you're trying to turn the wheel on the steering axis. It should stay solid if the steering wheel is locked and doesn't move. It might move slighly if the steering lock allows movement of the steering wheel. But if it moves more than a very small amount, or if you have someone/something hold the steering wheel completely still and the wheel still moves on the steering axis, you've got worn steering parts. You have to look at the joints and parts individually as you're moving the wheel to see which ones have excess play and are moving. Or if they're really bad, you might hear the worn piece(s) clunking when the wheel moves.
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Tynan918
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Racer-X- said:
You checked the tie rods for play? They aren't worn?

The condition of the rubber boots isn't an indication that they're "good." And a very worn, loose and wobbly tie rod end that's been will maintained looks similar on the outside to a brand new one. But if it's worn, it'll have a lot of play in it when you try to move the wheel.

To check tie rods, idler arm and other steering components, install the wheel and grab and 9 and 3 and push/pull like you're trying to turn the wheel on the steering axis. It should stay solid if the steering wheel is locked and doesn't move. It might move slighly if the steering lock allows movement of the steering wheel. But if it moves more than a very small amount, or if you have someone/something hold the steering wheel completely still and the wheel still moves on the steering axis, you've got worn steering parts. You have to look at the joints and parts individually as you're moving the wheel to see which ones have excess play and are moving. Or if they're really bad, you might hear the worn piece(s) clunking when the wheel moves.
Click to expand...
I'll do this in a moment.

Today I got the locking grease gun coupler and tried to put grease in the zerks. The lower ball joint boots didn't spill grease out indicating the boot is torn. All the others, the boots are torn and grease spills out from them.

Passenger side...


Driver side


There's also this bar that has 2 zerks I can't reach with the locking grease gun nozzle...



What are all these parts called, so I can find and buy replacements ?
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Tynan918
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Tynan918
Tynan918 said:
What are all these parts called, so I can find and buy replacements ?
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Tynan918 said:
View attachment 630242
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Grease should and will come out around tie rod and idler arm and pitman arm that's normal. That's when It's got enough grease stop there. The ball joint boots will puff up no need to over grease them. Ernie.
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Tynan918 said:
I'll do this in a moment.

Today I got the locking grease gun coupler and tried to put grease in the zerks. The lower ball joint boots didn't spill grease out indicating the boot is torn. All the others, the boots are torn and grease spills out from them.

Passenger side... View attachment 630237

Driver side View attachment 630238

There's also this bar that has 2 zerks I can't reach with the locking grease gun nozzle... View attachment 630239 View attachment 630241
View attachment 630240

What are all these parts called, so I can find and buy replacements ?
Click to expand...
That locking grease nozzle is too bulky not usefull or needed in most instances. All you need is a regular grease coupler and a gun that uses a one hand trigger. Use the other hand to hold the coupler. If you have grease all over the ground and the chassis you've over greased everything.
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Tynan918
I found the excessive play...why would the center/drag link have this much play ?

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