Here's where we are at boys and girls....
The e-bay vendor was very responsive. He e-mailed me the next day to get the particulars (year, 4WD, engine) etc... But the e-mail went to my spam filter which delayed shipment for three days.
I received a UPS tracking number and it took 5 days to arrive. The ball joints were in boxes marked "Chassis-1" while the uppers ball joint/arms and tie-rod ends were in unmarked bags. All of the various clips, grease fittings, etc. were included. The parts seem good, with no obvious flaws. The only thing that looked different is the flange on the bottom of the new BJ was a lot smaller than OEM.
I removed the brakes, rotors, anti-sway bar links, shocks, tie rod ends, unloaded the torsion bars, removed the bolts for the lower ball joints. Upon a close inspection, it appears that everything is OEM circa 1995 with 156k. Everything was really loose, rusty, and sloppy.
Here's where things got ugly.
Problem #1
Once the knuckle is freed of the upper BJs, there is barely enough play to slide the knuckle off of the BJ stud. This is due to interference with the CV shaft (it hits the top of the lower control arm). Getting it back on....did not happen. Other posts on the site say to move the joint stud towards the rear of the vehicle and slide it on at an angle. I tried without success. I'm going to try to press the BJ to the maximum height (so that there is a gap between the c-clip and the top of the lower arm. This might give enough room. If not, its time to rip the CV shafts out.
Problem #2
The "pressing" in the right BJ in the LCA was a joke. It was like throwing a hotdog down a hallway (as opposed to a bun). Using a micrometer, it turns out Both BJs were the same size (actually, the new one was slightly larger, both about 1.75"). My RS LCA is shot. $50 at the local bone yard (Elgin Super Auto, A+). Will pick up tomorrow.
Problem #3
This falls under "operator error". I totally goobered up the threads on the left BJ. Duh. I also destroyed the boots over the tie rod ends to the rack and pinion and the inner boot on the RS CV shaft. The boots were crusty old OEM 1995. I'll give myself some slack on breaking those. Every parts store had the CV boot, no one had the tie rod/rack boot (called a bellows at some parts stores). Special order, will be in at Murray's Discount Auto tomorrow.
Since I tanked the threads on the LS BJ, the RS falls out with thumb pressure, and I have to replace the RS LCA...I’m going to treat this like an omen. I’m going to use the "Chassis-1" UBJ and tie rod ends but shell out $60 and get a set of Moogs.
Once I get all of the parts together and have some free time this week, I'll add more to this tread.
