So I'm trying to decide if I should do a steering linkage rebuild. It's got about 82K miles on it, and it sat for a while. I don't feel any play, and the steering seems firm. That being said, I never drove it new so who knows.

I already did struts, am in the process of doing springs, so I figure I might as well, but I want opinions. Do I really need it? (1AA Auto has the kits on sale for $167, so that kind of helps me justify it too.)

 

I've got 148,000 on mine and the front end is still good. Granted, my engine is lighter than your V8, but I doubt you would have a loose front end with such low mileage, assuming it has been regularly greased. Struts & springs should do the job. Just be very careful by following safe practices in removing & replacing the springs. I assume you also are replacing the rear shocks & springs. If the front springs are sagging, so will the rear springs. If you just replace the front, the front end will likely be higher than the rear.

Also, if you are replacing the struts, you should also replace the strut mounts with a good set of bearing mounts.

If your transmission is an automatic, replace the transmission fluid with modern fluid and clean the screens. If it's a manual, I'd also change that fluid (don't use synthetic). You may want to put a 1/2 a can of Sea Foam in a full tank of gas.

Check the timing. Also check to see if you need to do a tune up: rotor, distributor cap, spark plugs, etc.

Then set the $167 aside. I guarantee you will need it to pay for a lot of other repairs before you need to rebuild the front end. LOL

 

Cool thanks man. I'm doing a complete engine, tranny, rear swap, and wasn't sure if the front end should be done too. I didn't feel any play and ball joints seem good too, so I'm going to leave it.

When I pulled the rear I noticed the shocks were absolutely shot (which explained the massive bang every time I went over a bump...) and decided to do shocks/struts and springs. Just figured I'd ask what other people's experiences were.