since i've owned my truck about once a month i have to grease my driver side so it will stop squeeking. the other day my passenger side started and i got under there and saw there were no grease fittings. i can get a set of lower and upper ball joints for like 150. my questions are.
what are the pros and cons of having the grease fittings?
i know one pro is you are able to grease them but it seems that its a constent thing i have to do to avoid squeeking.
second question. are ball joints something that i could do myself? i don't need a compression tool or anything to relieve the spring pressure do i?

 

i take it you have 2wd??? on the 4wd they all come with the control arm as a assembly at least 97- 2001 i think. not sure on 2wd though.pick up a haynes manual all thats in there.

 

you dont need a spring compressor, but it can be very tricky to get the old ones out, and new balljoints in.

Go greaseable, and grease them every other oil change

 

ball joints are a subject near and dear to my heart. i joined this site specifically to talk about this. first time poster.

my 01 4x4 has 104k miles and is on the third set of lower ball joints. the first set wore out at about 80k miles. i now know that the first sign of failure (so all the 'experts' said) was the squeaking. they were pretty loose when they were changed out. the next set were made my moog chassis parts; a pretty reputable company. they lasted about 15k miles before the left side started squeaking. the front end shop comped me the next pair. so far so good on the third set; unfortunately, i can't remember the brand.

unless you like grease and rough work and own a four pound hammer, i wouldn't do them.

so i'll hijack your thread. who makes the best lower ball joints? seems like aftermarket lift kits still use standard 'non-trick' ones, which seems to be the point of failure. has anyone else had such problems and if so, how is it corrected?