Had the sole mission of changing out a front left wheel bearing/ hub on a 1999 Bravada last weekend. Ended up trying to do more and it became a costly job and my wife is livid with me for working on the Bravada non-stop from 5a.m. Saturday morning to 11p.m. Monday night. I decided to replace the shocks while I has the front end on jacks and Monroe had a rebate. A few notes:

Treat CV boots as the most sensitive and critical item on your car. If they get a hole in them, the hole will get bigger as you drive and spray lube everywhere to include brake parts.

Do not torch a part near a CV boot- the boot will melt quickly

Do not torch the bolts that hold GM shocks with plastic uppers. A tar like substance will fall on your face and hands and burn you and leave large blisters on your body

Do twist your plug wires in a ¼ turn clockwise and then clockwise position before trying to remove them. Even a spark plug boot puller will not work- the ends get stuck on the plugs and I think the rotation mat set them free prior to pulling them off the plug post

Dielectric grease is a great thing, but if you fill the distributor cap side plug wire with to much it will prevent the plug from seating and you will have to clean out the grease

Advance Auto sells a plug tool that will get out the # 3 (or 5) plug on the blazer/ jimmy/ s10/ Bravada. These vehicles are known to be brutal to replace this one plug. Many remove the steering shaft to access the plug. In my case what was need was to slide down the sound dampener on the shaft. It looks tough to slide but was easy. As tight as it goes- but with the tool all six plugs came out easy via the wheel well

If you CV boot is damaged- consider replacing the axle. It saves huge time and hassle and doesn’t cost much more than just the boot

If replacing the front axle you might want to replace the ball joints since they are exposed during the axle removal

Brake cleaner will pool up if enough is sprayed and if it gets to your inner thighs and buttocks you will feel a very painful burning sensation that will not go away for some time.

Are those balljoints riveted in or bolted in from the factory. If they are rivets...you'll find more pain and suffering (along with a beating from the wife).

They were riveted- thanks for letting me know that the rivets are hard to pop. Guess an alternative is to buy the complete control arm from Rock Auto- or is replacing the control arm another can of worms???

Dunno...but you said it might be something to consider. I typically don't replace parts that aren't broken. Reason being is you frequently end up in a bad place.