The truck I'm doing the conversion on has 295,000 miles and still had all the original ball joints riveted in. Someone must have greased it religiously before I got it.
Where did you use the 7 degree? I used the 10 degree on the ball joints and the tie rods but maybe the ES 409RT takes a 10 degree?
Even on the original taper in the GMT800 knuckles the 7 degree taper was tight at the bottom but really loose at the top. I just went by fit and feel. I don't have a...
When I priced mine for the brake conversion it was $80 more for the new arms compare to buying the bushings and ball joints and replacing them. I bought a 7 degree taper to do my tie rods but the taper was too steep. Bought a 10 degree and the fit seems perfect.
It took me less than 2 hours to do mine, even with the Western New York Rust to contend with. My bushings didn't look too bad but my upper ball joints were toast.
I just did them on my K1500 which are similar. The only thing I wished I had done on the first one was to mark on the mounting towers the angle of the flat portion of the bolt rather than just looking at the washer position. If the arms are made the same it would get you close to where it was...
It was fairly easy, I used the proportioning valve off my 94 K2500 which is the one getting the Cummins transplant.( I have a hydroboost with proportioning valve for that). Left the lines from master cylinder on it so the fittings fit right on. Removed the dump valve for the rear antilock...