Anyone know where a guy could get a ball joint boot for an '04?

 

The help section at O'Reilley's auto parts is where I found on for a friends 03' truck. They are usually not sold individually like that. You may be able to buy the exact one from the dealer's parts department. Though I'm not sure.
The one we found in the help section worked perfect. It doesn't look 100% the same, but it did what it is supposed to do (Seal in the grease, and protect the balljoint). Give it a try! Worked for us!

Jim

 

I have some busted boots on my lower ball joints.....how do you go about puttin the new ones on?Just unbolt everything and slide em into place or what???

 

How long have they been torn open? Sometimes torn open boots will collect a lot of dirt and will prematurely wear out the balljoint. If you decide to go that far as to replace the boot, then you might want to replace the entire balljoint as well. They are not that expensive, but are a pain in the A$$ sometimes to replace. The hardest parts are separating the balljoint from the spindle, pressing out the old balljoint, and pressing in the new balljoint. If you have the right tools, it's pretty easy. You can rent the tools needed for free from some of your local part stores. I know Autozone will rent out tools for free.
If you think the balljoints are fairly clean of dirt, then you just need to separate the balljoint from the spindle using a big hand sledge hammer on the side of the spindle where the balljoint goes through. Usually a few decent whacks will loosen it.
Good Luck!

Jim

 

Mine are not the press in type its just a whole unit with a flat plate that goes in by 4 big bolts....i think i got a break on that one.I have 1 new balljoint cause i want to replace it but the other side just tore open.....i think the guys at the shop i went to over lubed them and caused them to pop.....cause i'd have to look in the day instead of at night but i think my top ones are torn as well....other than them over filling them why would they just tear like that?Any ideas?

 

Overfilling them could do it, if the grease does not release somehow.
The lower balljoints that have the 4 RIVETS holding them in are not easy to replace either! You have to chisel off the rivet heads, then chisel them out of the holes. The new replacement balljoint comes with 4 weak bolts and nuts that replace the rivets.
I used Grade 8 bolts and nuts, because the bolts that came with the new balljoint broke when I tightened them down.
I replaced one lower balljoint on my 2000 Silverado that have the same type as you do. I'm not sure if the newer trucks use bolts and nuts now to hold them in, or the same rivets that my lower balljoints were held in by.
My 05' VHO silverado uses the press in type due to the front end set-up being identical to a 4wd or AWD truck. Mine also uses torsion bars as the suspension unlike yours that uses coil springs like my old 2000 Silverado.
Either way, both balljoint types are not real easy to replace.

Jim

 

Damn you for getting my hopes down Jim damn you.J/k bro thanks for the heads up i'll check it out tomorrow to see about the rivets and if it is like that then i will get some better bolts...where did you get your 8 grade bolts from?

 

Dealer told me they can't get them either. I'll try O'Reilly's, thanks!

 

I believe I got them from Sears hardware, Home Depot, or something like that.
You just need to make sure the shank diameter of the bolt is the same. The threads can of course be different.
There are also specific bolt & nut fastener places in and around Houston that have any kind of nut or bolt you can think of. Though I forget their name.
I don't even know if you live around me! LOL.

Jim

 

busting the ball joints apart is not that hard. take off wheel, rotor and caliper assembly and loosen upper ball joint (back the nut off a little but do not remove it) smack the side of the spindle up near the upper ball joint and the spring tension should pop it out. suspend a jack under lower control arm to relieve spring tension and remove the upper ball joint nut completely. Now pull the upper control arm out of the way and remove the nut on the lower ball joint. Then smack the spindle straight down from the top. The lower ball joint is inverted meaning it faces downward towards the ground. After a few good smacks the spindle should fall off in your hand.

Now DRILL the rivets on the lower ball joint. This will make them 100x easier to get out. get an air chisel and knock the heads of the rivets and then the chisel should push them right out. by drilling them first you allow an area for the rivet to collapse in on itself and it comes out much easier. As mentioned use grade 8 bolts during reassembly and I would use loctite as well. If it were me I would go ahead and replace both sides upper and lower. With the upper control arm free from the spindle there are only 2 bolts securing it to the frame.

I would recommend the moog replacement ball joints from the auto parts. They are a much beefier ball joint and will no doubt outlast the weak *** factory ball joints. the boot design is much better on them as well. You should plan on getting a front end alignment right after replacing the ball joints. Good luck!