Not enough pickle on my fork

That's a result of working on ball joints on my '99 4x4 LS 5.3 Ext cab in the rain for two days without impact equipment...:headshake

Pickle fork maxed out and I still couldn't get either upper or lower joint to free up. Ended up taking a grinder to them and cutting them out. Was able to press the top half of the upper out no problem but couldn't press the lower threaded half of the upper out. :banghead: Noticed that there weren't any snap rings anywhere and that the joints pressed in from the top of the control arms as opposed to the bottom. Also, the threaded ends have hex fittings in them.

1.) Any chance that, after 10 years and 225k miles, these are original ball joints?
2.) Regardless of OEM/aftermarket novelty, SOMEone please tell me that these damn things really aren't screwed into the spindle and that they're just good and stuck...Because if THEY are... I am... They just plain don't want to budge... PB Blast.... Heat...Swearing...Begging...nothing...

Thoughts short of heading for a machine shop?

not aware that they are threaded in, i have good luck with a hammer, I work on large tractors for a living, I rarely use any kind of seperating tool. take a hammer and smack the spindle where the tapered part of the joint goes in. what this does is shrinks the area that the bj is in and forces it out by the taper. like said i RARELY have to use a separating tool. they tear grease sleeves and I generally do not like them. sometimes you have to use something, but usually they are junk anyway, and who cares then, beat em out by the threads if you have too.

I really doubt they are originals, possible i guess, but i doubt it.

is this a 4x4 truck? if not that gives you more room to play around, as the shaft isn't there, you got access to the heat wrench? it is a very good motivater, melt it out if you have to, just put as little heat as possible into the control arms. focus all your heat on the bj if you can, as in BALL JOINT, not bj as in I know what most of you are thinking.....

delete that last question, you already answered it, yes it is 4x4 you plainly said that, just didn't pay attention, sorry

Thanks, JY... Since I've cut them in half, I'm not worried about the top HALF of the jpint coming out. Have a press and the 1st one I did slid out just fine. It's the bottom half where the nut threads on to secure the joint that has me concerned not so much because of the threads - that's obvious because of the nut. But what's throwing me is that the press doesn't seem to want to budge the threaded half and where it has a hex fitting in it I didn't want to be working THAT much against myself with the press if the thing is actually threaded in somehow.

I'll see if I can find my camera and take a couple of pics before I get into it today. 2nd mission impossible today: find a machine shop that's open long enough on July 3rd.... Murphy must've been a relative of mine....

They press in.
You need a bigger hammer or bigger press to get the gob done.
If you have to take to machine shop you wiill have to emove lower control arm which is a bear of a job.

1999 was a transistion year for chevrolet trucks. 99 1/2,s are actually 2000 chasis. I believe that yours would fall into the later due to the 5.3L engine. As MT2500 suggested, they just press in. No indication from any manuals or parts showing otherwise. BIGGER HAMMER.
On another note, I am not a big fan of beating the spindle with a hammer, that's how they crack. Use a press or a suitible tool on the tapered portion only.

BTW, the next time you run into a pickle fork bottoming out. Get some thick body or alignment shims to make up the extra space needed. Or you might make a spacer out of 1/4" steel or cut some washers. I've even added weld to one of my older worn out forks.

That's a result of working on ball joints on my '99 4x4 LS 5.3 Ext cab in the rain for two days without impact equipment...:headshake

Pickle fork maxed out and I still couldn't get either upper or lower joint to free up. Ended up taking a grinder to them and cutting them out. Was able to press the top half of the upper out no problem but couldn't press the lower threaded half of the upper out. :banghead: Noticed that there weren't any snap rings anywhere and that the joints pressed in from the top of the control arms as opposed to the bottom. Also, the threaded ends have hex fittings in them.

1.) Any chance that, after 10 years and 225k miles, these are original ball joints?
2.) Regardless of OEM/aftermarket novelty, SOMEone please tell me that these damn things really aren't screwed into the spindle and that they're just good and stuck...Because if THEY are... I am... They just plain don't want to budge... PB Blast.... Heat...Swearing...Begging...nothing...

Thoughts short of heading for a machine shop?

4X4 1500 ball joint r/r...

upper ball joint you need to remove the upper control arm and use a press to remove and install the new..

the lower ball joint remove the lower control arm, then using a chissel remove the 4 securing crimps...
then remove and install new ball joint, then install new crimps to secure new..

ball joint nuts torque 52 ft LBS