i have to replace my uppers for the first time on my 93 xtra
cab(320,000klm's),and i was wondering if i need to put something between the a arms,because of the tension from the ifs arm?i was thinking of using a bottle jack.anyone with any advice

correct, bottle jack makes it easy
to keep the upper a arm up to take out your upper ball joint.

I did this last fall and I think that I just jacked the truck up and put it on the stands and then pulled the uppers. The upper A arm drops to the stop and can't go any lower. I think I had to pry down on the lower A arm in order to get the ball joint out.

i have had two different toys 90,93,and put a combined 420k
on them over 12yrs and these are the first uppers,amazing!

X2 Placing a block or something between the upper A arm and its droop stop will give you more room to work with, but it's really not necessary. If you were installing ball joint spacers on the other hand, it's almost imperative to have enough room to grind/hammer/bend the metal to fit.

This is pretty much edumacational and you should already know this, but don't put the jackstand on the lower control arm <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" />

Oh and don't forget to seperate the BJ from the knuckle before you unbolt it....don't ask <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" />

HTH

~R

i will be going at this tomorrow.thanks

I think I also found it helpful to unbolt the front sway bar in order to get the lower a arm to drop far enough to pry out the upper ball joint. I ended up replacing the sway bar links too as they were about done.

Randy