I noticed a clicking sound from the front end of my 2001 4wd Blazer yesterday. It happens all the time, not just when I turn hard. I jacked up the truck today and spun both front tires. There was a clicking noise from each side but the right side is much much worse. I am going to have to replace both of them but the right side is necessary now.

Is there any type of how-to on this? I searched the site and didn't come up with anything really. I did learn that I need a 36mm socket for the axle nut. Do I have to take off both ball joints or will the lower be good enough and do I need a gear puller to get the axle out of the bearing assembly?

I do know that there is a ring that holds the axle in place and it seems like a b**ch to get out.

Any other advice or knowledge of a how-to somewhere would be great as this may put a huge damper on my fishing plans this week.

 

its actually really not that hard. once you get the hub assembly and brake components off you have to pull the pins from the upper and lower ball joints and the tie rod and then the nuts come off fairly easy. the thing that the hub bolts onto (lol sorry for bad terminology) will still hold tight to the ball joints. take a sledge of big hammer and pound on it a couple times it'll come loose. once that is out the cv can come out. I used a punch and a hammer to pound on the end of the cv connected to the diff and it should come out. that is the easy part. I found that to get the new cv in it is much easier to take the shock out then you will have a lot of room to work in. you have to pound the new cv on so it goes over the ring. once its in then its just a matter of putting everything back together. only took me 2 hours and I never did it before. When I do the other side it probably will take an hour at most

 

Thanks for the reply.

So if I understand correctly,both ball joints and the tie rod have to come off. Then the whole hub/bearing assembly that is attached to the spindle/steering knuckle comes off as one piece. I just have to "persuade" the CV out of the hub.

I am still a little confused about how the CV attaches to the inside. From what you are saying, I just hit it from the inside out and that will pop it out?

I am going to have about a 3 hour window of daylight and want to be as prepared as I can be to get it done fairly quickly.

 

the cv is larger than were it goes into the diff so just take a punch or screw driver or whatever you find because it is kind of hard to get the hammer up there and hit on. it'll start to move slowly but you will have to tap it the whole way out I couldn't pull it out. once you get it off you can see the teeth sticking out and the ring maybe 1/2 in back on the teeth which keeps it locked into place

 

Did it last night. Piece of cake.

I removed the whole steering knuckle and had to unbolt the bottom og the shack to get the tripot out. The output(?) shaft came out with the tripot but I got it back in easily.

The only issue I had was the rubber boots on the ball joints ripped. I am going to see if I can replace the boots only as the ball joints are new.

Oh yeah, my buddy helping me put the caliper on with the hose over the top of the upper A arm. So that had to come off also.


I do have a question about the sway bar links though. THe Moog links have 4 rubbers and 4 washers. If put together with all of them the two washers in between the bar and the A arm are metal to metal, is this right?

 

Im not sure i understood your question otherwise id be able to help, So I took a pic of mine. Hope it helps

 

The pic didn't show.

On the long bolt you put one washer then a rubber on, slip it through the sway bar and then a rubber and then a metal washer the a metal washer and a rubber and slip it through the A arm then the metal sleeve then a rubber and a washer then the nut. The ones between the A arm and the sway bar are back to back metal washers.

 

Ahhh im sorry. Hes a pic that should work

 

That explains everything.

The one I took out had that spacer through the A arm. I thought that was how it was supposed to go. Stupid me for thinking that the guy who did it before knew what he was doing.

It was a two man job trying to get that thing in so it will have to be a couple of days before I change it up.