Ball Joints 20220520

I've been working on my 1987 Chevrolet (Chevy) G20 Sportvan lately.  I'm busy replacing the upper and lower ball joints.  I took a Sawzall with Diablo metal cutting blades to the ball joint stems and disconnected the tie rod to remove the steering knuckle.  Then I used the chisel bit on my air hammer and angle grinder to get the rivets off of the upper ball joint.  But I used a screw driver and hand chisel to pry the uppers off of the upper control arm while that was secured to a vice and that wasn't a good idea because it warped the front a bit.  It may or may not matter much?  If it does, I may still be able to doctor up the upper control arms at the upper ball joints with JB Steel Stick?

But I've never done ball joints before and since I'm replacing both sides at the same time, the sequence of events  is getting me.  On one upper and one lower, I've been getting the boots pinched and torn.  I got another upper, but I'm out of money for a new lower now.  It's been slow work, but I'm eager to get the front side of the van back down with all four wheels on concrete.  I don't have a garage and I'm sure it's not making my nice neighborhood look good having it all pulled apart for weeks on end?

I was using a ball joint puller kit from the auto parts store, but I just now discovered that I could have gotten them free by removing the tie rod from the steering knuckle and using a scissor jack rated for 1.5 tons upside down to get the lower one to pop out.

The nothing on the left side is mounted yet.  But on the right side, I used a ratcheting strap with one end wrapped around the steering knuckle while the other end was hooked to my car in order to line up the bottom ball joint hole with a straightened stem on the new lower ball joint.  If the steering knuckle isn't just right and the stem turns, it seems that it could cause the boot not to mount and pressurize right when it sits into the lower control arm?

Hydrostatic Pressure

I got a 12" concrete drill bit and 5 cans of DAP Max Fill spray foam.  I drilled into the floor and except for one hole, it was nothing remarkable.  But there was considerable space in the lower NW corner of Compartment SE at the floor.  And then there's a huge cavity under the under porch hatch door in Compartment SW.

The ladder one and possibly others are going to require a supply of polyurethane foam that greatly exceeds the cans that I bought today.

I filled seep holes in Compartment NE.  One of them looked like a rodent tried to burrow there because it was wide.  

New Map Sensor and Code Diagnostic

I installed a new Manifold Absolute Pressure sensor today on my 1987 Chevrolet G20 Sportvan with a 5.7L/ 350 at 149,926.9 miles on the odometer.  Also I ran a code scanner in it and other than the self test, nothing else came of it.

oil change and oil gauge

I changed the oil in both the 1987 Chevrolet G20 Sportvan and 1990 Buick Riviera today.  They both went from 5W30 to 10/30 for the cold days.  The odometer reading for the van is 149,834.5mi and the Rivi's is 126,132mi.

I finally installed my oil pressure gauge in the van.  It's running between 30 - 40psi.

Weather Band All Hazards Radio

 Two year warranties were registered at mygearguard.com for 2 - Midland E-Ready Emergency Compact Crank Radios.  These will be a part of a trial program at the Whipple Section - Buckeye Trail's (North Country National Scenic concurrent) upcoming trail registers in the Marietta Unit of The Wayne (National Forest).  According to the Buckeye Trail Association's map for the Whipple Section, December 2020 edition, these trail registers will be placed at Points 1 & 7.

These are radios that pick up on NOAA All Hazards Radio frequencies.

Fusible Link or Ground Location

I had to install a new PCV in my 1990 Buick Riviera with a GM 3800 engine.  It's located between the power steering pump/ alternator and the intake manifold on the right side of the engine.  I can't get you a picture as my back camera on my smartphone is broken.

But the PCV is is a very tight space.  So I had to disconnect 3 spark plug and fuel injector wires, plus detach some electrical connectors from various other places to reach the PVC.  But while I have all that out, I might as well replace the 31 year old conduit that's been disintegrating.  These wires are routed in such a way that they're in contact with the heat from the exhaust manifold.  So, I'm thinking that I must get as much as I can replaced now that I have the opportunity.

While doing all this, I located a ground, or perhaps a fusible link?  It's located next to the power steering pump between the oil valve manifold for the even numbered cylinders and the PCV.

Ignition Coil

A new ignition coil and an EGR valve was installed in my 1987 Chevrolet G20 Van at around 149,020 miles on the odometer.