ok guys. i've search and yes its andy but i cant find the answer to my question.
my question is what will i need in tools to do my front end rebuild. i all ready have sway bars, tie rods. center link, idler arm, all bushing, lowering springs and shocks struts. ball joints. i have everything to do my front end. and for the rear i have an adjustable panhard and lca relocation brackets. what will i need to remove all the old junk and to install. im going to be doing this by myself so i would want to know how long did it take most of you guys. i work on my cars so i have expirience in mechanics. i have air tools compressors. wrenches and what not. all input would be appreciated. Thanks
Martin

 

If you have all the regular tools for working on cars, probably the only specialty type tools you'll need are the pickle forks to seperate the balljoints and steering linkages (two different sizes) and a torque wrench to make sure everything is properly torqued when re-installing. The only crappy part is the ranges of torque settings you need for the complete re-assembly is a pretty large range, like 20 ft/lbs through 175 ft/lbs, might actually need two torque wrenches. The job could be completed in a single day if everything is ready. But the thing that usually takes time is doing the bushings, because the part needs to come off first, then bushings replaced, then its ready to go on. Can't have it ready to go beforehand unless you have spare A-Arm's and stuff. So depending on how you plan to do the bushings, might take longer than a day. I had to take mine to a shop to be pressed, so took me kinda long time (most time spent waiting). If the rear re-location brackets are weld in then expect some downtime as the rearend definately needs to come off and work done to it.

 

Add new strut bearing/bushing to your list. That little mount takes tons of abuse on our cars and ones with miles, they are always worn.

Basically what Hawaiin said, just takes some time, straight forward project.

If u dont want to take the A-arms to a shop, knock/burn out the rubber and cut the sleeves out if they dont come out thru conventional means.

later
Jeremy

 

ok i have the regular tools. but thats what i need the pickle fork and the steering linkage tool. i heard about have the balljoints pressed in? whats need to do this my self. or would it be cheaper taking it to a shop? i would like to start the rebuild next week. so im going to be picking up some tools. i heard about spring compressor, they are a terrible tool to work with. so im doing it the way everyone else did there springs. thatnks
Martin

 

You might be able to rent a ball joint tool from your local auto parts store. IMO, it makes the ball joint install, a walk through the park. After every turn, its a good idea to give the press a tap with a hammer to keep it seated.

 

that would be better. i heard auto zone rents out tools. so ill add that to my check list for tools needed. thanks

 

Yea, set a day aside to do it. I did balljoints, struts, tierods, centerlink, idler arm, and I also removed the screens from the MAF, and assembled a custom set of Accel 8.8 wires on my brothers 89 Formula. The whole ordeal took about 5 hours, with out a lift. The ball joint tool is a time saver IMO.

 

ok cool. im going to do the rebuild this coming saturday. and if i run into any problems i have sunday to finish it. Thanks
Martin

 

I just did mine - here's some more thoughts:

Pickle fork - forget it! You are replacing ball joints and tie rod ends anyways - just hammer those suckers out - leave the nut on at the top of the threads, and beat it senseless with a nice hammer - it also serves as a stress releiver when you get that far.

Ball Joint Press - a necessity. Rent it from Autozone. HOWEVER - it will not work as described in the pictures - you'll have to play with the pieces in order to get it to press in/out the ball joints - I think on the pressing out part, I had to skip the discs on one side, and just use the large bolt alone - you see it when you get there - like a puzzle figuring out which pieces to use/not use.

Also need a 3 foot chunk of pipe with a large enough hole to fit over your rachet handle - necessary leverage for the strut-to-steering knuckle bolts - those suckers are in there!

A MUST!!! - You must get a 1 foot length of chain, and some washers and a bolt/nut to run through the links. Jack the car, take the wheel off, take the brake caliper off, and using a coat hanger to feed it, put the chain through the hole in the upper K member hole, around a spring coil, and connect the chain as tightly as you can together with the bolt/nut/washers. This will prevent the spring from coming out and taking your head off!

Jack under the A-arm, lossen the a-arm pivot bolts, remove the ball joint from the steering knuckle, remove the strut from the knuckle, and slowly lower the jack until the a-arm is as far down as it will go - I also removed the jack to get it lower. The spring may still be compressed, and greatly bowed (this is where you'll appreciate the chain!). Now take your jack handle and pry against the a-arm and pop the spring out - it'll "pop" loudly, and scare you - but it won't go anywhere if the chain is in place (stand to the side just in case - I actually got under the car, behind the a-arm when I popped mine the first time - that sucker is scary until you've done one).

You should not need the spring compressor to install lowering springs - they should just kinda pop in by hand (since they are shorter). Make sure you get the springs indexed properly. Also, use elctrical tape to tape the isolators in place on top of the springs - that way they don't slip or fall when installing the new spring.

The ball joint press will have to be "worked" when installing new ball joints - you want the new joints to go in straight - to do it you'll have to crank a turn, back off, and adjust the press, and crank again, until you get them seated - it takes some patience as they never go in straight, and you have to **** the press sideways on every crank.

Measure the overall length of each tie rod assembly when you remove them, then match the length with the new ones - then you be close enough to aligned to get to the shop.

Like I said - just some thoughts. You should get it done in a day on your own - I got mine in a day.

 

Hey thanks for the step by step. im definitely going to rebuild my front end this weekend. thanks again for the write up. its going to help out alot.
Martin

 

A pickle fork is a waste.

Buy an $8.00 and $12 tie rod tool. You need two sizes one for the tie rods connection to the center link / tie rod to spindle and one for the ball joints.

This tool goes by different names but it looks like a "C"with a bolt through the middle. You position it around the back of the tie rod an remove the nut and screw the bolt down on the threaded portion of the tie rod pivot. POP that ones loose and proceed to the next.

If you are able to beat these out as previously suggested, I will be amazed. I have never seen that done. These are a tapered compression fit and an atomic hell gun would not remove them, but this $8 tool will.

 

I just finished my frontend as well and agree with all thats been said.

My friend told me a little trick that makes removing the spindle from the Aarm a little easier. With the car supported underneath the front subframe, jack up the Aarm a bit. Loosen the nut on the ball joint ONLY A FEW THREADS, then release the jack. The force of the spring should cause the ball joint to pull out. In my case my car was a little rusty so I smack it a few times with a hammer. Once it breaks loose jack it up enough to remove the nut.

 

Do you have a pic of this tool?
Martin

 

Make sure you have all the impact sockets you need handy. 24mm isn't terribly common (torque arm rear bolts, and front shocks I think).

New bolts are a good idea, and so is antiseize.

A pickle fork worked for me... Hammering a ball joint out didn't work though (ha! yea right!). Use the rented tool. I did, with a 5' snipe, and it was still hard! grease the threads on the tool. Use an impact gun to run the tool too, make that a lot easier.

you're doing LCA'RB's, but not LCA's? or are they already there?

I'd recommend poly bushings for any chance you can. TA mount, front A-arms for sure, etc etc. Good luck with it, sounds like a "fun" weekend

 

im waiting for the lca's but i have the relocation brackets. and im replacing with all poly bushings. i have an air impact gun and a powerful electric impact gun so it will make the job easier. hehe. im looking forward to this weekend.
Martin

 

I've seen my girlfriends dad pop out the spindle to tierod stud with just 2 hammers, one on the back part of the spindle arm and then hit it hard on the front, it'll pop out. But I dont really like the idea of swinging a hammer right by the fender, and I dunno if thats bad for the spindle. So thats why I go with the pickle fork, quick and easy, one swing and its seperated. I don't understand why anyone would say its a waste if it works, they are also really cheap like $10 or something. I think what it comes down to is there's alot of different ways to do it and everyone has their preferances. I've seen the C shaped tie rod tool, that would also work great.

Another thing to add to the list of stuff to buy, some good grease for re-packing the wheel bearings (and dab some into the cap before re-installing). You'll also need a grease gun for all the greasable joints. And if you don't know when the wheel bearings were last changed, might wanna just change em. Also a prime time to have the rotors re-surfaced if needed since they'll be off the car, my local Checks does it for pretty cheap with 1 day turnaround. When I did mine I went a little overboard, even went as far as painting everything. Here's a picture.

Might wanna use the search tool to find more posts on doing the re-build, alot of good tricks out there. Chaining the spring as mentioned is a really important one, safety first. Here's a picture for referance. Good luck!!

 

hey crazyhawaiian what would you recommend for replacing those rubber brake lines. i all ready have a greaser gun and grease. yeah im going with the pickle fork since everyone says its easier.
Martin

 

tomorrow morning im going to wake up early and star the rebuild. i got myself a balljoint press tool and a tie rod pitman arm puller and i going to get to work. ill keep you guys posted. i got my haynes repair manual that will be handy (hopefully).
whats the first thing i should do. can someone run down the step by step or is there a site with a step by step process. i remember seing a site but cant find it.
Martin

 

There's a few posts on this forum that cover it pretty well, might wanna do some searches. I followed a Chiltons manual my first time and it wasn't too bad. Maybe a combination of both a book and peoples experiences on the forum?

For the brake lines it depends on what you want. There are rubber replacements and steel braided replacements. I'm on a budget so I just replaced my worn lines with new rubber replacements front/rear. If I had more to spend at the time I would have gotten the steel braided ones like Earl's or something similar.

 

The brake lines may be difficult at best - I know mine have rusted quite well! I was going to replace them when I did my front end rebuild, but they were really seized up, so I've been hosing them with the PB Blaster every weekend since (haven't had time to actually do the lines yet). If there's any rust, you may need flarenut wrenches - they are the ones that grab the nut on all sides, but have just a small opening in the end to get the brake line through.

Flarenut Wrenches

 

i ran into a problem. i cant get the bushing off from the front lower control arm. what tools do i need for that? any help? thanks
martin

 

ok guys it took me 12 hours to do this front end. i ran into problems and i need to go get a spring compressor as much as i tryed i couldnt get the spring to sit where its suppose to on the a-arm. and the energy bushing for the a-arm was a pita. im all done and the front didnt drop atleast 1/8 of an inch. it raised the height about an inch from what it was before and im guessing because i didnt install the spring correct due to it no letting me without a spring compressor. and another question. the springs for the front, how do i know which way to install them. on one end its flat and the other end its round?
Martin

 

No worry man, I've made that mistake before (installed the springs upsidedown). The front springs should be installed with the flat part up in the crossmember pocket and the pigtail end on the a-arm pocket. Another important thing here is indexing the spring, makes a difference in the ride height. The manual should cover it, my Chiltons did. Autozone also has some good online manuals on their website that are free. But if you cant find the information let us know and I'm sure someone will help. Another thing to remember is to roll the car forward after putting it back on the ground, if you don't it will be sitting higher than normal because of the way the tires are sitting.

Not too sure what to say about the bushings, I personally don't like to mess with them after trying once. Since then I prefer to take the part off the car, take it to a shop with a press, and pay em the $20 or $40 or whatever to install the new bushings while I go drink a cold one or something.

 

thanks crazy. after a few hours i did get the energy bushing in. what happens if i dont install the spring insulators. also the springs i have not sure what brand but they are suppose to lower my car 2 inch. and no they are not eibacks. seems awful with the gap i have. i wish i had taken pics of the springs. but does anyone have close up shot of the bottom of the spring? im confused. my front springs had one end (the last coil) that is flat and the other end the coil is rounded. i dont know if it makes any sense to anyone else. i got a spring compresser so tomorrow morning im going to try to seat the springs correct and do the rear.
Martin

 

The flat end is the top end that sits inside the Kmember. Make sure you tape a rubber isolator to that side before installing. The completely round side sits inside the Aarm. It needs to be indexed, meaning the end of the coil should sit between the two holes spaced 1" apart in the Aarm's recess. When I put in my Eibach Pros I didn't even need a compressor, the spring was short enough I could force it in there,

Ebmiller has a great site site with a bunch of pics, I think this is it, but its down:

http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/tar...m/taramiller72

 

what would happen if i dont install the spring insulators? i have a set but they are pretty thick? ive heard people using rubber hose.
Martin

 

I guess nothing but a noisy ride.

 

ok i finished the front and the rear. all i need is install the panhard rod, the lower control arms and relocation bracket. but the lca are on there way. and about the front bieng to high i figured out the problem. and this might solve everyone whos had the same problem like me the front being raised instead of lowered. i installed the sway bar wrong. i had it upside down.
Martin