Hey guys. I am installing my Daystar and ran into a problem. I cant get the upper ball joint seperated properly. After enough finagaling around, I used a hammer on the underside of the bolt that holds the joing together. Well after a few taps, I noticed that the end of the bolt was beginning to get deformed so I ran to the hardware store and got one of those big ball joint forks. Well, after putting the fork on the joint and hitting away at it, the rubber seal the seals the ball joint tore. What the heck....am I the only one with this problem. Am I not doing this correctly. Thanks guys.

 

The pickle fork is a waste on this truck. What you need to do is get a hammer and a piece of brass. (Softer metal than the bolt so it'll bend rather than the bolt on the truck ) and whack the ***** out of it. Takes a few wacks and it'll pop right out. I tried a pickle fork as well and tore the boot.

Hope you have a 30mm socket.

 

I have a 30mm, thanks anyway for the heads up. What did you do about your boot????

 

Left it. Filled it back up with grease and let it go. Been almost a year now and so far so good. I check it now and then just to make sure. The tear wasn't to bad though. You can get them replaced ya know if you are worried about it. I'm not sure of the price though.

 

I installed the Autospring kit w/ advise from guys on this forum.
If you hit downward on the spindle(the metal that the nut side of the ball joint goes into)about 4-5 times w/ a 3lb lump hammer, it (ball joint) will pop right out w/ no harm to anything. If it were me, I would probably replace the ball joint as it will now wear out much quicker. If you leave it at least get a needle end for your grease gun and fill it that way.

 

As for the boot, you can get a high quality black caulk and patch her up. Make sure you cover the holes with duct tape or something so that the caulk doesn't mix with the grease. Be sure to take the caulk and cover the whole boot, and take it above the top of the boot onto the metal of the control arm to get a better seal. I hope that helps.

 

What you do is break the nut loose and run it down until you have about 1/8" space between the nut and the cast iron part (part that needs to drop) and then you take a small sledge hammer and whack that cast iron part a few good times. I guarantee it will pop loose and come down to the nut (reason you leave it on). I did mine in the driveway with nothing but big tools (no air compressor just muscle). It's not that difficult if you know the process of disassembling a front end.