View single post by Glen
 Posted: 03-29-2005 07:37 pm
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Glen



Joined: 03-13-2005
Location: Placerville, California USA
Posts: 21
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Just my 2 cents worth:

I did the front suspension without a press.  I used a drill to drill a bunch of holes in the old rubber bushing and then tore the things out.  Some easier than others.  The new bushings popped in with a little grease.  Probably took a bit more time than if I had a press, but hey, I'm cheap.

 The spring compressor is a pain in the a$$.  I got a free rental from Autozone, but it just wasn't worth the hassle and I ended up not using it.  The best way to go is the method Sportsrodder described, which is put a jack under the lower ball joint, which will compress the spring.  Much easier.

One more thing (I think I'm up to about 4 cents by now), loosen the nuts for ALL the ball joints before you take the whole thing apart.  You can get more torque on them when it's still installed.  Keep in mind that the ball joint bolt is prevented from spinning only because the bolt is tapered and held in place by pressure.  Sometimes they're in there pretty tight, but once these things start to spin, they're a nightmare.  If you have to pound on one of the ball joint bolts to get it off  (do this AFTER you've gotten the nut ALL the way off), make sure you don't pound on the bolt itself or you'll screw up (no pun intended) the threads.  I put a nut back on at the top of the bolt and pounded on that.

#19667

Last edited on 03-29-2005 10:06 pm by Glen