Suspension & Steering

Ball Joint Replacement, Upper

Just finished putting new upper BJ boots on my 79 cab. Very easy job, BUT, does anyone
have a clue on how to put that double wound spring on? There was no way in Buffalo they
were going on after I pumped the boots full of grease. On one side I used a very small zip tie,
and the other I cut the spring in half and pryed it open far enough to slip it over the boot. I
figured it is an easy enough job, if the zip tie failed, just do it again. The job would have been
so much easier if they had installed zerk fittings
to the ball joint.

Scott Mohr



I had the same problem. I finally wiped the boot and the arm area clean with mineral spirits,
installed the springs (still with some difficulty) and pumped the boot full using a needle on the
grease gun.

Wally



Ted Childs and I did this on his '87. It's been a while, but as I recall, we used two visegrip
pliers, one on each end of the spring and then rotated the pliers around to open the spring
enough to get it on the boot. It was a two man (person) job. Also, It is not a good idea to add
grease to another grease unless you know that they are compatible. I have seen this done to
wheel bearings (incompatible greases) and the result looks like 90 gearlube and it runs out,
makes a mess, and the bearing fails. The grease under the boot probably does very little lube
to the ball. As long as there is enough grease to keep it from rusting it is probably OK.

Earl Gillstrom '88 5 Speed