Here you can find information regarding the assembly of the Chevy S-10 front end. In this guide we will cover the
essential repairs for the front end of this vehicle. Included within these repairs
is the inner and outer tie rod removal and change, the front wheel hubs installation, ball joint removal and
installation, the upper and lower control arms, and the front shock installation. Along
with the repair procedures we also include the corresponding bolt torque specs for each fastener involved. These
guides are intended to assist in each procedure to help diyers with the job.
Chevy S-10 Tie Rod Change/Removal
To install a new tie rod on a Chevy S-10 you must first remove the old one from the vehicle. This can be
done by raising the vehicle up by either the use of a floor jack or a vehicle hoist.
Once the vehicle is in the air you can remove the corresponding tire for the side that you want to change the
tie rod on. Once the tire is off you can now access the old tie rod and remove it for replacement. On this vehicle the
tie rod is apart of an entire rod system which controls the steering of the vehicle. If any of the steering rods are loose
be sure to replace them appropiately. The outer tie rod itself connects with another inner portion of the rod through the use
of an adjuster sleeve. This sleeve uses 2 fasteners to tighten down onto the rods and keep them together along with threads that
are used to adjust the distance between the two. Be sure to inspect and measure your old tie rods so that the new ones can be installed
correctly. Whenever steering components are changed I recommend having an alignment done after the job to ensure the vehicle is in good
functional condition. Once you have the new tie rod ends screwed into the adjuster the right amount you can torque the adjuster bolts
to 15 ft-lbs. When putting the tie rod onto the vehicle the tie rod end nuts get tightened down to 35 ft-lbs. Be sure to install new
cotter pins to ensure that vehicle safety is maintained.
Chevy S-10 Tie Rod Ends Torque Spec : 35 ft-lbs
Chevy S-10 Tie Rod Adjuster Sleeve Torque Spec : 15 ft-lbs
Front Wheel Hub Installation
The front wheel hub on the Chevy S-10 is different depending on whether the vehicle is AWD or RWD. On rear wheel drive models the
front wheel bearing bolts onto the steering knuckle with no center axle nut. The AWD van uses a heavier designed system which
uses a cv axle that goes through a wheel hub that bolts onto the steering knuckle as well. If you are replacing
the bearing on a RWD model you will want to start with jacking up your vehicle and removing the tire on the side you wish to replace. From here we can
remove the brake caliper so that the rotor can then be taken off of the vehicle. With the braking system out of the way we can then begin to remove the
3 bolts which hold the wheel bearing hub assembly onto the steering knuckle. Once all bolts have been taken out the hub should be removable from the vehicle
you may need to use a prybar and a hammer to achieve this. Once the old hub is out the new hub goes into its place and can be tighten to 65 ft-lbs.
If your van is an AWD model then you will need to remove the center axle nut from the cv axle and then the 3 bolts which hold the wheel hub into the vehicle.
From here the old part should come off the knuckle and the new part can go on. Be sure the cv axle shaft fits into the new hub nicely. The wheel hub bolts
can be tightened down to 65 ft-lbs and the center axle nut can be torqued down to 130 ft-lbs.
Chevy S-10 Front Axle Nut Torque Spec (AWD): 130 ft-lbs
The Chevy S-10 has two sets of front ball joints being the upper and lower ball joints. The most common one
for replacement is the lower ball joint which on this vehicle is different depending on whether or not the vehicle is RWD or AWD. If RWD the ball joint
will be attached to the lower control arm itself and will need to be pressed out or replaced
together. To press out the old ball joint you will need to remove the entire steering knuckle or lower arm so that you can access the joint and press it.
Start with remove the tire and the braking system and then remove the upper and lower ball joint nuts as well as the tie rod and center axle nut. With all
of these removed the knuckle can be moved out of the way and you can begin to press out the old joint. Using a ball joint pressing tool torque down on
the old ball joint and slowly press it out of place and press the new ball joint onto the vehicle. I recommend using some penetrating oil to make this job
easier. With the new joint in place you can reinstall the steering knuckle and tighten down the bolts to their corresponding torque specs which can be
found collectively at the beginning of this page. If your vehicle is AWD you simply just need to remove the lower ball joint nut and the 4 bolts which hold
the ball joint to the lower control arm. When reinstalling the ball joint be sure to tighten up the 4 bolts to 22 ft-lbs and the lower ball joint nut to
79 ft-lbs. The upper ball joint is also bolted down to the upper control arm and can be removed simply by removing the bolts and then installing a new part
and torqueing the upper ball joint bolts to 22 ft-lbs and the upper ball joint nut to 61 ft-lbs. Sometimes Chevy used rivets to install the upper ball joint.
If this is your case then you will need to cut or drill these rivets out in order to remove the old part.
Chevy S-10 Upper Ball Joint to Arm Torque Spec (AWD): 22 ft-lbs
Front Control arms Installation
Lower Control Arm
On the Chevy S-10 there are two control arms being the upper and lower control arms. Both of which have 3 fasteners that
hold the part onto the vehicle. There are 2 bolts with nuts that hold the control arms to the vehicle frame. There is also a ball joint which
fastens the control arms to the steering knuckle. On the upper control arm the frame bolts need to be tightened up to 85 ft-lbs. The ball joint nut
gets tightened down to 61 ft-lbs. On the lower control arm the frame bolts get tightened down to 85 ft-lbs. The lower ball joint nut gets tightened down
to 79 ft-lbs. When tightening up the lower control arm fasteners be sure to set the wheel height to a level that it would be at during riding or when on the
ground. This is best done with a bottle jack under the suspension.
To replace the front shocks on the Chevy S-10 you will need to lift the vehicle up into the air and start by removing the tire on the side you want to replace.
With that removed we can now remove the bolts and nuts
that hold the shock to the vehicle frame and lower control arm. Starting with the lower bolts we simply remove the nut from one side and then
lightly guide the bolt through the hole on the control arm. Be sure not to ruin any of the bolts threads if you end up using a hammer to
tap it out. With the bottom bolt removed we can move to the upper attachments which hold the shock to the frame. These can be accessed with either a
wrench or socket depending on how much room you have. As these are removed the shock will separate from the vehicle and
can be moved out of the way. To install the new shock simply line up the upper and lower holes for the fasteners and begin tightening them. Once
hand tightened you can line up the bottom bolt hole and install the bolt and hand tighten its nut. From here if your vehicle is an AWD you can fasten both
the upper and lower fasteners to 54 ft-lbs. If you happen to have a RWD vehicle you will need to tighten both sets of fasteners to 16 ft-lbs. As these
numbers are vastly different make sure to know which type of vehicle you are working on.
The front swaybar on the Chevy S-10 consists of a series of brackets that hold it to the frame of the
vehicle and a couple of endlink nuts that fasten it the the outer side of the car. To remove
the swaybar you will need to jack up the front of the vehicle and remove both the endlink nuts as well as the
brackets. To install the new swaybar you will need to move it back into the place as the old one
and torque the endlink nuts to 13 ft-lbs and then torque the bracket bolts to 35 ft-lbs as well.
Chevy S-10 Front Swaybar Bracket Torque Spec : 35 ft-lbs
Chevy S-10 Front Swaybar Endlinks Torque Spec : 13 ft-lbs
