I climbed under to grease the chassis for the first time. The lower ball joints took a little grease then the old stuff started squeezing out all around. It seems to me that the rubber seal was/is ruptured. Time for new joints?

 

It will be fine as long as you keep grease in it. The ball joint will go bad anyways as they usually do on blazers. But they will defiantly last longer if they are kept greased. And quick oil change places hardly ever grease them correctly.

 

If you go offroading grease them up EVERYTIME you go get the truck dirty, that is very important. If you don't then grease them up once a month and they will likely still last a long time depending on how tight they are right now.

 

Sounds good to me. The joints seem to still be in good working order. The front end it tight and doesn't make a lot of noise. For future reference, though, when I do end up buying new joints, should I grease them until I see grease coming out, or just give it a pump or two until the boot is firm?

 

You pump them until the boot starts to expand, then one more pump for good measure.