Ooops...sorry. I am a slow SOB at times. But MeinPappa brought the whole ball thing up again. It's NOT my fault! (Can I whine or what?? )
Yes, the U-joints and shocks are easy, but not when it's raining out. Shadetree mechanicing is best done if fairly dry weather. Getting that bloody annoying little runnel of water down your back is SO very distracting...
Somebody posted a thread recently about a good way to keep shocks compressed during install. A search will turn it up, I'm sure. I usually just leave the wire that they come with on until I get them on, then cut it. Easy.
But I WILL say "I told you so" on th U-joints. I was right, i was right!!! (does the happy daddy dance...). Seriously (yeah, right! ) The u's are really easy. I was shocked and surprised when a friend showed me how to just beat them silly with a ballpeen hammer until they come out, but that's the best way, I guess, to do. It worked for me twice, anyway. Poor p/u has had 2 sets installed now...

Edit: I quit wondering "why" when it comes to women a looonnnggg time ago. I gave up. I don't wonder "why" any more, I just enjoy their existance, and appreciate the heck out of them at all times. That seems to work for me...

 

Sometimes I wish my truck was in wrose condition when I bought it...I like working on it, but it's been too good...damn yotas.

 

Yeah, wrenching and tweeking on your ride is fun (with the shinned knuckles, grit in the eyes, occassional cut here or there, bumped noggins and all) and helps with reminescing times when you were wrenching with friends or when you managed to come up with a way to finally get that part off after so many failed attempts...., ah, the memories.

That is perhaps one of the reasons why we are so eager to jump in and offer assistance or advice when we get someone here whose run into a bit of trouble, i.e., because we miss working on our own rides due to the dependability of our 'Yota's, so we "relive" the experience through the postings of those we help, their triumphs and upsets..., it's almost as equally rewarding, huh ?!

 

Synthetic oil makes leaks when;
the seals have shrunk from lack of oil contact, and the crud is cleaned away (by the synthetic) and you see an new leak. Often these leaks stop after a few weeks when the seal sofens up again.
or
when there was a small leak that gobs of crud have plugged, and the cleaning action has removed the crud plug and you have a leak.
or
you dump it in a high mileage engine thats not been properly oil changed regularly to keep its innards clean to begin with.

the owner showed me his pile of jiffy lube slips so i am reasoonably sure he has (as long as he has had it, but he only had slips for 4 yrs back and a promise) kept the oil changed twice a yr. being since in 17 yrs it has only been driven 95K or so, that being a little over 5k a year, the fact the compression test was 160 +/- on all 4, (that may go up after a month with the syn oil in there) and there is no visable leaks anywhere on the engine....(the valve cover seems to have stopped) and the oil in it was not that dirty... and he gave me 4 spare oil filters...
I'm comfortable taking the jump for the benifits of the syn. if it pops a leak, it shows me then where ever that is found there is a weak gasket bound to go anyway.
no, you shouldnt blindly change to syn oil without taking a lot of things into consideration, I agree. In this case i think the benifits of the syn outweigh the risk of any small leaks.

I did ask him the other day what the front ball was for, he said to make parking his boat trailer easier, and he has never towed it behind a motor home.

I did discover the rear shocks are shot, and I picked up a set today.

 

Well, there ya go. I was wrong again. It's a fairly normal condition for me
But the u-joint and the rear shocks were shot, as I thought they might be, but not for hte reason I thought. Oh well, stuff happens. Usually to me
I am a huge fan of synth. Love the stuff, and I feel fairly safe if for some reason I won't be able to change it at 3k. The filters I've been using are another story entirely...

Good luck! and keep us up on the progress

 

Granted, a well thought out decision to do the change to synthetic with the proper amount of researching behind it, I'm impressed and heretofore retract the "blonde" retoric I've been heaping on.

Boy, are you going to have fun with those shocks..., a "ratcheting" wrench would come in handy for that job.

 

I have an air impact gun and an air ratchet.

it sure beats straining screaming and crying.

 

Gee, that's usually the same order I do them in. Straining, then screaming, and then the crying starts...

 

Cheater..., that takes all of the fun out of it.

 

they came out pretty easy.
the new shocks are yellow... like the new coil!

this might be the start of a color scheme...

 

Yellow coil, yellow shocks, yellow..., I'm not going to say anything on the grounds that I may incriminate myself...


p.s. It was just there and damn hard not to trip over, all's fair in fun and games ?!