I have an '02 Tahoe 4WD and noticed a torn lower balljoint boot when I was greasing all the points this weekend. How hard is it to pull the LCA off and install a new boot? I've never messed w/ suspension stuff before. Also, how vital is it to get this fixed (is this going to slowly kill the balljoint or will it take a long time?).
Thanks
On another note, why does my TA not have any grease fittings anywhere on the front? I found 10 on the Tahoe. My chilton's says it should?

 

I don't think the boots are simple easy to replace. hanging it is best but if the tear is not too big and you keep it full of grease you shouldn't have too much trouble. I grease mine every other oil change.

 

IMO you should just replace the ball joint, it's not too expensive, but you do have to do an alignment after.

 

I know this probably sounds like a stupid question but how do you install the new joint? I know you have to bang the old one out w/ a picklefork or whatever that wedge thing is called but does the new one have to be pressed into the control arm? If so where would I go to get this done? I would rather do this myself so it's not so expensive. Also, what would cause this to tear after 47K miles? Someone put in too much grease and ruptured it or they typically fail around this point?

 

The ball joint bolts to the LCA with a few small bolts and has one long bolt attached to the ball that is pressure-fit into the spindle. You're correct about having to use a ball joint separator (picklefork) to get the bolt out of the spindle. When you put the new one in and tighten the bolt, it will re-seat the bolt into the control arm, so you don't have to press it in other than tightening the bolt up. I dunno about wear, it probably depends on how the truck was driven (off road, etc)...I thought that when the boots were over-filled they just leaked grease out the top, didn't think they tore but who knows.

Autozone and Checker have ball joint separators as part of their loan-a-tool program, at least the ones in AZ do.