HELP:1968 c10 Upper control arm shaft
 

Today I noticed a KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK....from my front end....I get home and take a look....well the rear passenger side upper control arm cap is almost all the way out of the shaft. GEEZ....well looks like I'm gonna be replacing both uppers for now....
HOW DO I DO IT????? IS this something I can do myself with out any special tools???? I know I need to loosen the upper ball joint from the steering knuckle, do I need to remove the whole knuckle and drum stuff from the lower control arm as well????

Then I need to remove the shaft from the frame.....when putting on the new control arm shaft, do I just use the same spacers that came off with it????

Some one just give me step by step instructions...please...I think I can do the uppers myself...no probs...but I will take my truck to a shop and have them do the lowers.

Let me put a disclaimer, all I know about is an 89 suburban, so I don't know how different your year is, but hey,it's a chevy, so it's not likely to have changed much in 20 years....

But, I just rebuilt my whole front end susupension and steering and the only part I had to go to the shop for was to remove the control arm bushings. The guy at the shop could BARELY get the toughest one out. I thought he was going to give up.

So, with enough discouragement... you can probably do them yourself, but he used a pretty nice (MAC tools) air chisel to get them out. If you can get a better quality air chisel, then there's no reason you can't do it yourself. If you decide, to, PM me and I can give you a call. My in-laws actually live up in New Braunfels.

I may not be able to answer all your questions b/c since I was replacing everything, I took the control arms off and did them that way. I'm not positive if I could have left them on.

If you want to take the control arm off, which you may need to do, then yes, go to Oreilly and rent the suspension tools and you can use the pickle fork to separate the upper ball joint from the steering knuckle (after taking the nut off). Then, there are the bolts that go into the frame. Before you take it off, I would suggest the breaker bar to loosen up those large 1 1/8 (on mine at least) nuts on the cross shaft. And yes, you can re-use those spacers. Those are for the alignment.

I hope that helped at least some. I would be happy to give you a call sometime if you need more info, but again, I'm not sure how much is different on yours.

I am currently rebuilding my 69 c-10 front end and you can do pretty much everything yourself. I removed the old upper balljoints with a drill with a carbite bit to take the heads of the factory rivets off and a punch to knock the rest of the rivet through...it is much cheaper than an air chisel. As for the upper control arm bushings...I got a oversized socket set from Harbor Freight for like $30...I needed two big sockets of different sizes...one for the upper control arm bushings and one for the lower.

I started the upper control arm bushings off while the shaft was still on the truck...then I unbolted the shaft and continued to take the bushings after removing the upper control arm from the truck...as for the lower balljoints...I got a balljoint service kit at Harbor Freight for $20...With the press that comes in that kit I plan on removing and installing new ones...I will attempt tommorrow and will let you know how it goes...but from what I hear it shouldn't be a problem...Check out tech articles at Early Classic Enterprises and Classic Performance...both websites are listed on the homepage of the forum under suspension...take note that when you try to get the balljoints loose with a pickle fork that you want to do it with the castle nuts still on the truck...just loosen them and don't take them completely off and bang the balljoints loose...then use a jack under the lower control arm after you get the balljoints loose to relieve the pressure of the coil springs and then take the nuts off and lower the jack slowly...check out the tech articles previously mentioned...they might be under the lowering of a truck but there are some valid points of reference...If you are looking for parts...I got mine from Early Classic and their tech support is great and they ship it quick...good luck and I will let you know how the lower balljoints and lower control arm shaft go on

The upper shafts are done...its a pain in the rear but its definitely possible to do on your own. You probably can get away with just taking the tie rod off the spindle and then just take a pickle fork at the upper balljoint...be aware that you can and probably will wreck the boots and seals of the tie rod and balljoint if you pound a pickle fork in there. After getting the upper control arm shaft free you can start on the bushings with an oversize socket and ratchet. After a few turns then unbolt the the shaft nuts...after you unbolt that you can take note of how many shims are on each bolt. Then continue with unscrewing the bushings on the floor is the best...one trick I used was to stick a punch throught the shaft holes to keep it from spinning...You probably will have to stand on the control arm and pull with everything you got on the bushings but they eventually come out. With a new shaft, bushings and seals put them back on the control arm...making sure that each of the bushings get threaded just as much...You will need to measure and make sure the the holes on the shaft are exactly the same distance from the inside of the arm on both sides...then after you do that which took me some time...bolt the shaft back up making sure the shims are in place and put the upper balljoint and tie rod back in and you are all set...and its recommended to take it to and alignment shop to make sure everything is as it should be...good luck! and don't forget to lube up the new components

Ok....
 

Thanks for the response guys!!!
Here are the shafts and bushings for my truck....I think they are the same for the 67-72 trucks....and older, my girls 63 has these as well...
aggie dave
yours I know are different than mine, and I have heard that those type are a B!%#$.
I spoke to my girls dad about doing this hes done many. he says it is some work but the upper shafts are the easiest of them. I'm not gonna tackle the lower shafts like I said earlier. But this coming saturday I will have the time to do both uppers. too bad I have to find a ride to work all week.

What size are the end caps????what size socket do I need????
HOW TIGHT DO THEY NEED TO BE SET ON????DO I NEED A TORQUE WRENCH???
What kind of wear should I look for on the a-frame opening? WHat is too much wear....
PLEASE RESPOND GENTS AND LADIES...
-Roger

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hey ante up 13...thanks for the response...I got it just as I posted mine....
using this pics. please describe how the bushings fit inside the opening for the a arm. or do they......explain how the bushings work...thanks !!!!!

I used a 36mm socket for the uppers and a 41mm for the lowers. Although Standard sockets would have fit better especially on the uppers...the sockets I had worked fine. I can give you the torque specs...do you have a C-10 or 20 or 30

I used my 1/2 in drive torque wrench with an adapter to make it a 3/4 in drive

What you will do is position the shaft with seals on it inside the a -arm...then you will thread the shaft into each bushing...the bushings are screwed in from the outside...the bushings are not threaded on the outside but have ridges and will give you some trouble probably as it gave me...they are however threaded on the inside...just take your time and work them in as hard as you can...it seems impossible while you are doing it...but it will happen just give it time

hmmmm
 

you think I can use a prybar to pry the upper a-frame up to pop out the ball joint from the spindle????

To get the ball joints loose you take two hammers and place one on the side of the spindle where the ball joint sticks throught it then carefully whack the opposite side with the other hammer. You will need to loosen the nut on the ball joint but not remove it so it will catch when it comes loose. You will know when you are hitting the correct spot because it will make the hammer you are holding against it pop off. You may have to hit it a few times and maybe gently tap the nut that is loosened to get it to go.

Tim

I don't know if a prybar will do it...You can try but I don't know what you can use for leverage against them. I checked out the bushings again and they ARE THREADED..I have installed the shafts now on my truck and a trick I learned was to screw the bushings in first because they have a real tight fit...then unscrew them from the a-arm and put the shaft in and then start screwing in the bushings again...what the real pain in the rear is to get the shoulders of the shaft to be the same distance apart from their respective sides of the a arm...you just have to play with it for awhile.

As far as getting the balljoints loose...my truck had the factory balljoints which needed replacing anyway...so I didn't care if I screwed them up when popping them out...the were really stuck on there and I was using a pickle fork and pounded away on each of them for 15 minutes at least...WD 40 is good to help them loosen up a little but I really don't think a prybar will do the job...good luck and if you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask

get the pickle fork from Oreilly for free!!! (I'm from Houston so I'm sure there are oreilly in San Antonio)

a jack under the lower a arm will suffice and keep the spring from popping out and killing me right????