1998 awd ball joints and most steering components

[maing bus]

So I took the 98 awd to get an alignment done the other day. Long story short is they told me it needs to have about 1500 dollars work done. me being me, i took the list of to do items from the local les schwaab and headed straight for napa. got all parts on the list for about 500 dollars!

I am new to the awd astro vans....where is the best place to jack up the front of these things. I am going to replace the upper and lower ball joints, brakes on all four corners and all steering related parts. anybody have any tips on how to make this service go quick and easy?

thanks guys!

Jamie

[ihatemybike]

Sounds like you need to do what I'm currently in the middle of with Green. I used a floor jack in the middle of the front cross member then put a jack stand on both sides of it. Looks a bit close, but it's stable.

It's really pretty straight forward. The rivets for the ball joints are a pain. A 3/8" hex on a ratchet speeds the brakes a bit.

[maing bus]

I need to spin this thing to get access to the bolts behind it. Can I spin the front wheels if its in neutrground both front wheels are off the ground? Van is awd.

Thanks for any help guys!

[ihatemybike]

I had four wheels off the ground and the van in neutral when I did mine.

[Cobra]

in park with both front wheels off the ground you should have absolutely no problem rotating the hub assembly, the other side will just spin the opposite direction