well the ball joints went pretty easy I must say. The hubs came out very easy which never happens. Then a couple of good wacks on the control arms and the spindle dropped out, again very easy. I guess I can see how they might be a PITA but mine went pretty smoothly. I didnt even use the press to get the old ones out. I just tapped the four tabs inward and then pounded it out with a small sledge. I did use the press to put the new ones in. I guess i just got lucky.
You did get lucky. I just finished mine tonight, I started on Saturday.
The biggest problems I ran into were pressing the old ball joints out of the aluminum control arms that the Escalade has. I think the galvanic corrosion between the aluminum and steel of the ball joint body made the job the hardest I've ever experienced. I've replaced ball joints on several vehicles over the years and never had the trouble I had this weekend. The design of the lower control arm leaves no outside area for the ball joint press to grab ahold of with the press cup, it just wants to tilt and slip off. I ended up using a chisel from the side to break the ball joint lip away from the control arm before I could get enough pressure on the ball joint tool to press them out.
I also replaced the upper control arms to take care of the upper ball joint and control arm bushings. This was the other big problem.
I live in an area where salt is used on the roads in the winter. On each side I broke one of the two heavy bolts that mount the control arm to the frame with barely any twisting of the nut. I also needed to use a pickle fork to remove the bolts from both sides of the truck, they were so badly rusted/corroded.
Next time I won't even spend the time replacing the ball joints by themselves. I'll just replace the entire control arm. I'll also order the bolt kits for the upper control arms in case I break them again.
