Another S10 question

[Ozwynn]

First off… I apologize for the Chevy questions on a Ford site but over the last 20 years I have learned that if I can’t find the answer (vehicle related) on this site then the answer doesn’t exist. Second… I appreciate you guys answering my questions. Third…. I hate going to that S10 forum because most those guys are dicks.

that being said…..

I am replacing the upper control arms, lower ball joints, wheel hub assemblies, tie rod ends, idler arm, pitman arm (all comes in a mevotec kit from rockauto), steering gear (because if I’m going to have the front end part I might as well do that too) and CV axles.

Since I am new to torsion bar setups …. Do I need the torsion bar unload tool to do any of that?

 

[dvdswan]

According to the 1st video yes.

s10 torsion bar removal - Google Search

 

[Ozwynn]

Well that adds a new level of difficulty

 

[sgtsandman]

The torsion bars do need to be unloaded for certain jobs. If you don't need to remove the lower control arms for anything, you shouldn't need to unload the torsion bars.

On the Rangers, the lower ball joints can be replaced without removing the lower control arms. It's easier with the arms off but you don't have to.

A caution on the Mevotec parts. The lower end stuff is junk. They normally have the blue boots. The higher end Mevotec parts are decent. They had green boots when I replaced my suspension parts. You might save some money up front with the cheaper stuff but will pay for it in the long run. Better to pay more up front and save yourself some money and work. Plus the higher end stuff had zirc fittings for greasing the joints. The lower end stuff didn't.