Ford Repair: 86 Ford Ranger Ball Joints., snap ring pliers, lower ball joints

Question
I have a 1986 Ford Ranger pickup truck 2w drive king cab with the 2.9L V6 with 5 speed trans. I am trying to find out how hard and what tools will i need to replace my upper and lower ball joints....

Answer
On a 2 wheel drive you "can" remove the ball joints with a well-placed smack of a hammer.  However, a good bench vise or hydraulic press and some misc. large sockets will make the job easier.  You'll need to remove the wheels, brake calipers, and upper/lower ball joint retaining nuts, and the outer tie rod ends.  If there's rust, count on spending some time pounding on all this for it to come apart.  Now, with nothing holding the steering knuckle to the suspension beam, use a large hammer to knock it loose.  From there, you can move the knuckle to a bench where its easier to work on.  Snap rings typically hold the ball joints in so you'll need a snap ring pliers (or two).  Once the snap rings are out, the ball joints press out one way, look for a "flange" to see which way to go.  Count on spending an afternoon on this if you've never done it before, there's a lot of grunt work involved but it's easy once it's apart- the new pall joints can be tapped in with a hammer and it usually goes back together quite easily.  Hope this helps!!
Jason