LUVTruck.com

hey guys,
i have a 73 chevy am im redoing the front end (steering n suspension) i need the big nut for the upper ball joint, im from australia and i have no way of getting hold of one of these nuts as they are so big. my only hope is to get one made (very expencive) or im hoping one of you guys could send me one, depending on the price.

help me out guys, id be most greatful

noyz..... good luck with that buddy. I had to get mine custom made and yeah, very expensive. First quote I got was $200 for EACH one. I ended up going with someone else and getting a better deal, but still. Not to mention the amount of time it took to find a guy who could do it and then wait for it to be done. It was months. The nut is overly large... somewhere around 2.25" if I remember correctly, with a odd sized pitch as well. Not to mention that it has a tendancy to get rusted on there and requires cutting to be removed when changing ball joints. I paid a pretty penny for the giagantic socket that would fit on my impact wrench to get that sucker on there, too. All in all the ordeal cost me 4 months and about $300.... and that doesn't even include the balljoints.

Anyway, the solution to your problem lies in the Trooper. The early Troopers, prior to 86, had the same suspension set up as the LUVs. One of the glaring differences though was the fact that Isuzu realised their stupidity at having a humongous nut on a ball joint, and redesigned it to have 4 standard sized nuts. Find a Trooper, rip out the upper control arm and off you go.

To remove the upper control arm just whack the hell out of the steering knuckle with a sledge hammer after removing the castle nut that hold the upper ball joint on. Then remove the 2 bolts that hold the upper control arm pivot shaft to the shock tower on the frame and off you go.

On a final note... I ended up having 3 nuts custom made for me because I figured after all I'd been through it was best to have an extra lying around. My friends actually joked that I should weld it to the hood as a hood ornament or hang it from the rearview mirror. If you can't find a trooper, and run out of options let me know. I might still be able to dig it up for you. Sorry for the long post but I hope I helped a bit. Let me know.

i dont think they have troopers in australia and if they do i havent heard of em, and i know a fair bit about cars.
i dont suppose you still have that spare nut i only need the one

I'm at school right now but I'll be home for christmas break this weekend. I'll see if I can find it and if I do we can work something out.

good stuff, if ya do find it email me at noyzv8@hotmail.com and we shall figure something out

Man my upper ball joints came whith the nut. Thats wierd, the ball joints should come whith it...

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

What?? I've never heard of that, I even asked a couple parts people if they had any that came with the nut. Do you happen to remember who made the ball joints you bought?

or do you know if ya can buy the nut separate?
any help would be great

i bought them from napa and thier made by Dana Spicer.

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

Could you fix the problem by trading out suspensions with another truck?

Like on my 73 it has 4 weel drum, and I think I am going to get the disk and see if they will go on. That may solve one of my problems. But the other is that damn nut.

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More LUV than one man could ever need - Spread the LUV!
- 1976 Chevy Longbed - Daily Driver
- 1981 Chevy Shortbed 4X4 - Needs Help!
- 1981 Chevy Luv 4X4 - Newly put together

i cant really change it because,
1- i got new ball joints for it, which cost a pretty penny, and;
2- there isnt that many LUV's in australia to change it over, im having enough trouble finding parts for this one!

but thanx anyway

well if you can wait for a while i could probly get it off my parts truck. It would take me a while to get it though as right now theres about 3' of snow on my parts truck

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

Only 3" Wow. I thought I was bad off working on it in 75 degree weather this weekend.

I need to grab me a rust bucket parts truck.

Want to put buckets in the LUV but can't remember which years fit. I rekon I can snatch the buckets out of a PUP.

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More LUV than one man could ever need - Spread the LUV!
- 1976 Chevy Longbed - Daily Driver
- 1981 Chevy Shortbed 4X4 - Needs Help!
- 1981 Chevy Luv 4X4 - Newly put together

I have the extra nuts off of my parts truck. If the large nuts off of the ball joints are what you need. Let me know if you are still in need.

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Hammer to fit, paint to match.
If it aint broke, don't fix it.
There's always room for duct tape and bailing wire.

WATCH YOUR PIEHOLE!!!!!!

oh and thats 3 feet, not 3 inches of snow on my parts truck

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

How about sharing some Snow Miser?

Three feet. Nice. Nice to know that snowmen are really full o crap

_________________
More LUV than one man could ever need - Spread the LUV!
- 1976 Chevy Longbed - Daily Driver
- 1981 Chevy Shortbed 4X4 - Needs Help!
- 1981 Chevy Luv 4X4 - Newly put together

I luv snow. My little truck doesn't have enough power to spin the tires, so I can just drive around in 2 wheel drive, barely have to use 4. That will probably change this summer though .

_________________
Hammer to fit, paint to match.
If it aint broke, don't fix it.
There's always room for duct tape and bailing wire.

WATCH YOUR PIEHOLE!!!!!!

grimace YES PLEASE it would be much appreciated if i could get them off you, i will pay for postage plus how much you want for the nuts, email me at noyzv8@hotmail.com and we can sort something out

my truck has a fair amount of power on tap but it still handles the snow vary well. It will spin vary easy from a stop light but starting it in second gear solves that. I only have to use 4x4 to get out of the driveway

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

Maybe I should find a 78-80 4X4 and use my truck I am rebuilding as a parts truck then. I never had a problem in snow with them. In fact, it was always more fun

_________________
More LUV than one man could ever need - Spread the LUV!
- 1976 Chevy Longbed - Daily Driver
- 1981 Chevy Shortbed 4X4 - Needs Help!
- 1981 Chevy Luv 4X4 - Newly put together