Ok, I'm in the process of a front end overhaul. Long story short, I am replacing ball joints, tie rods, idler, and pitman arms. Vehicle is a 1997 4dr 4x4 blazer with 202k miles.

Question 1: When reassembling the hub/axle/knuckle, do I need to fill the area between the hub and knuckle with grease? It looks to have a seal on the knuckle that I'll be replacing. So should I stick the axle through the knuckle, put in some grease and then put the hub on? There seems to be some difference in knuckles between the 97 and newer models, something to do with the brakes. I think mine are single piston, newer ones are two piston. Anybody got any insight on this?

Question 2: How is the steering shaft connected to the steering gear? I'll probably take the gear out to replace the pitman arm. Do I need to mark it for alignment to make sure the shaft goes back on the same way?

Question 3: Anybody know for sure what the torque specs are for the axle nut on the 97s? I saw Kyle posted 97+ is 103, but I've found some other sources that say 98 and up is 103 and 95 to 97 is 130. Also I've seen a source that says 180 for 95 and 96. Also, are the rest of the torque numbers the same as the ones for the 99 that someone posted?

Question 4: When using these cotter pins, should I torque the nut to the right spec, then back it off if the hole doesn't line up with the castles?

Thanks for your input, and thanks to all for the how-to writeups, its only because of those that I've got the confidence to do this job myself.

 

It won't hurt anything. Ill use antiseize sometimes. That way it comes apart easy next time.

The shaft is held on the gearbox by one bolt. U don't need to mark it. It has a big notch and can only go on one way. If your steering wheel has a airbag don't spin it around when disconnected it may damage the clockspring in there. So just uninstal and reinstal the gearbox centered

As for torque specs I've always just impacted them down and called it a day