Hello,
All four of my ball joints are ripped…So I am about to attempt to change them out along with "flipping" the upper ones on install.
I have been an aircraft mechanic for 25+ years and have worked a lot on my own cars over the years... So I am familiar with mechanics... but…
I am a newbie to suspension work and have limited experience…. So any info and advice will be very welcome!
My truck is a 1995.5 Passport 4x4 with a 3inch body lift and 6 ½” calmini shackles (bolt hole to bolt hole) in the back with the torsion bars fully cranked.

I have read a couple of the how to articles here on flipping the upper ball joints…
Just a couple starting questions though:
Should I change the lowers while the uppers are disconnected?
How do you get the lower ball joints out?
Do I need to release the tension on the torsion bars before starting?
... and when attempting to break free the lower ball joints, should I support the lower arm with a floor jack or just support the frame?

Thanks much for any info

I would change the lowers. They wear out faster than the uppers so if there is any question as to their age, they should be replaced while it's apart.

The lower ball joints are sandwiched into the lower control arm. Remove the four bolts and they pull out. If they've been in there a while, it may require a bit of force.

You don't need to mess with the torsion bars. Just put the truck up on jack stands to separate the joint stud from the spindle. IIRC, a pickle fork won't work here. You're going to need a big pry bar and a hammer to rap on the spindle where the stud goes through.

Had to use a pickle fork and a torch to get my lower ones popped loose from the knuckle. It was a good qualitly heavy steel pickle fork though with a steep ramp, not the cheap ones the auto parts stores sell I destroyed one of them. As cat fuzz said, do the lowers while you are there. The are no fun to do later without taking the upper ones loose again.