08 Tahoe lower ball joint removal help!!

[Joseph Garcia]

Replace the control arms, along with the ball joints. I just completed that project on my truck. It is a lot easier, and more effective, to replace the entire control arm, including all related bushings.

 

[mattbta]

I used a chisel on the tabs, but could also use a Dremel. Then to get it out, had to use a pickle fork with a 6 foot pipe slipped on for leverage. You should have heard the POP when it released.

 

[wsteele]

I think I will just replace the arms, can I put steel arms on it or do I have to go back with aluminum like what’s already on it?

I have read a few threads on a few different forums that discuss this question and the general internet opinion has been that going from aluminum to steel is not a problem. The other way won’t work without buying new bolts, as the bolts used on the AL arms are a little longer to compensate for the thicker material of the AL arms.

I have no personal insight, just what I have read.

 

[wsteele]

I used a chisel on the tabs, but could also use a Dremel. Then to get it out, had to use a pickle fork with a 6 foot pipe slipped on for leverage. You should have heard the POP when it released.

Did you restake the new one or did a new snap ring version fit?

 

[iamdub]

I think I will just replace the arms, can I put steel arms on it or do I have to go back with aluminum like what’s already on it?

+1 for replacing the arm. Avoiding the headache of swapping the BJ as well as getting new bushings makes it worth it.
The steel arms will bolt up to the frame just like the aluminum ones. What I'm not so sure about is if the BJ in the aluminum arm has a different taper on the stud. This would cause a problem with it going into the spindle. I might be confusing this with the models that have an aluminum spindle, though. Having said that, I'm thinking the steel arms would be a direct swap for the aluminum ones, BJs and all, since there aren't two different types of drop spindles for the "regular" Tahoes and the XFE Tahoes (they have aluminum lower arms).

 

[mattbta]

Did you restake the new one or did a new snap ring version fit?

This was on a rwd NBS, but the snap ring version worked perfectly.

 

[wsteele]

This was on a rwd NBS, but the snap ring version worked perfectly.

Good to know, thanks for getting back to me.