i bought a front end rebuild kit for my 4runner. It includes Upper and Lower ball joints, inner and outer tie rode ends, idler arm, pitman arm, and the sleeve thing for the tie rods. I have searched on here and found out how to purdy much do all of it but im just askin the general question of do yall think i can do this myself. I know im gonna need to just buy/return a ball joint puller and tie rod puller and pitman arm puller but is there any other tools i need? is there anything that i should look out for or any little helpfull hints that i should remember when doing this? also, if yall have any good links to doing all of this on a 2nd gen then i would appreciate it as well. Basically im trying to learn. I want to be able to do my own stuff to my runner and this is a great way to start. thanks for the help.
-Kyle

 

A torque wrench is a good idea. Never back off a castle nut to align the cotter key hole.

Don't allow the brake calipers/steering knuckle to hang from the break lines.

Do one joint at a time. The knuckles are heavy so having one end tied down makes them easier to handle.

Make sure the tapered holes for the joints are clean before assembly. You might also want to clean any rust or grime from around where the boots will be rubbing. A light dap of fresh grease on the surface will help the boot seal and keep it from wearing.

Some joints come without grease. Be sure to grease them if needed.

 

alright, i got the majority of that. it might be a newb question but o well, how do i tell which joints need to be greased?
-Kyle

 

another thing is what type of puller should i use for all of the joints. the pitman arm puller is the same as the one at autozone but the ball joint and tie rod puller is different. at autozone, the puller looks like a pickle fork and in my handy Haynes manual it looks just like the pitman arm puller. which puller should i buy/return, the pickle fork one or the two prong puller like the pitman arm is. does anyone work better, and does one of them cause less damage to the old ball joints?

 

I used a pickle fork on my tierods pitmad arm etc and it worked just fine, the one I rented and the ones I have here didn't work with the lower BJs because they didn't have a tall enough wedge so I used my gear puller. For the uppersjust take off the nut and pound on the knuckle with a BFH and it'll drop out after a few good wacks. Those knuckle/ brake disc/spindle assemblies are heavy and akward so have a strong friend or a good jack handy. It wasn't that hard just took time, good luck. Oh and if you bought the kit off ebay you need to grease every joint

 

Pickle forks do work, but they tend to do some damage to the mating pieces. The 'prong' style pullers (the ones with the center bolt) are the best way to do the job if you can get them. They are also the easiest to use. Don't be surprised if you really have to crank on them. The joints will come apart with a big bang so keep your fingers clear. It's a good idea to leave the nut on the shaft so parts don't go flying when the joint breaks apart.

The replacement joints will probably come with install instructions which should tell you if you need to grease them. If they don't then just look at the new joints. If the don't have grease fittings on them, then they are already greased for the life of the joint. If they do have fittings, then it won't hurt to give them a shot of grease just to be sure. A third possibility is that they came with fittings, but the fittings are not installed. Just install them and give it a shot of grease. If you see the boot start to swell or grease starts to spurt out from under the boot, then they are full.

 

Chances are if your new parts come with grease fittings (and they should) then they're not going to have grease in them. At least that's how I've always got parts.

Everybody's pretty much got you on the right track. I prefer pullers to pickle forks as they're easier to use and less likely to mess anything up. I managed to use a tie-rod puller for the lower BJ, so just because it's labeled "ball joint seperater" doesn't mean it will necessarily work on your ball joints, but then again it may work for every joint. That's just something you'll have to determine when you get there.

One hint of advice not mentioned is to loosen the tension on the torsion bars if you've got them. It will make maneuvering the control arms a lot easier. Putting a block of wood between the upper control arm and its bumpstop isn't a bad idea. Basically the write-up on ball joint spacers can be used for replacing the upper BJ's.

Be careful that the steering wheel is straight when you start. I'd use a long piece of wood or something similar to keep the steering wheel straight since you're changing the pitman arm. One spline off and your steering wheel will be off.

Try to get the new tie rods the same length as the old ones assuming your alignment was good to begin with. And speaking of alignments- don't forget to get one done afterwards!

By the way, Advanced Auto and/or Autozone have loaner tools which I think includes pullers. You might want to check before dealing with the hassle of buying/returning them.

 

The pitman arm should have alignment marks scored on its underside. Match the marks to the ones on the shaft from the steering box.

 

alright sounds easy enough to me. im just lookin for a nice clear weekend and ill get to work. im gonna guess that i need to grease the ball joints so what type of grease do i buy for them and umm how do i do it. i've never done this before. thanks for the help.
-Kyle

alright, after looking over the ball joints i see that on the bottom there is a little threaded hole. im guessin i just screw the little fitting into their, then get the grease gun and stick it up on there and give it a few squirts??? am i doin this right? and wow that did not sound right.