well i grew some stones and im gonna give'r

got this page on tips on replacing balljoints.

http://www.fl-thirdgen.org/balljointreplacement.html

it suggests that its dangerous to let the spring come out im assuming without a spring compressor.

what if i used jackstands under the kmember and one under the other side of the suspension under the spring, and had my floorjack under the other side and slowly let the spring come out? no? yes?

i think the balljoints going to be the hardest.

so what order shoud i do things?

im going to take off the strut first.

also these balljoints were given to me, i dont know if theyre the right ones. moog k-6145 mcQUAY fa-921 and its got 72-10277 on the box above that.

also
my fabricator has a front sway bar from an RS 305, are z28's bigger?

 

IF I WAS YOU
I'd be REAL LAZY AND SMART!
SHOP AROUND FOR THE BEST LABOR FOR THIS JOB, let someone else WHO HAS TOOLS & CAN DO IN A DAY OR LESS.
I had front struts installed at $40 & rears shocks for free due to a coupon!

I recently did the center link & Idler arm, tho myself & friend. WHY? It was easier work. NO SPRINGS or such, just couple of bolts, drop down that old stuff, rebolt up.

Springs & such let someone else do the labor for your.
Should run about 3-4 hours labor.
Be smart seek out the labor & farm out this work.
MUCH safer & easier in long run. QUICKER, TOO!!!!!

Try to score a Z-28 or Trans Am stock sway bar. To that linkage, add poly bushings to the mix, be done! Wrecking yards give away these bars for free many times!
IF this offered bar is best you got, go with poly bushings on the end sway bar links, not the clamped bushings on the bar. When ya score that desired sway bar, then get that specific size in the poly bushing upon install.
Score that better sway bar before this suspension labor is done, as it's cheaper that way.

 

so yesterday i tried removing my strut, took off the top bolt and supported the bottom with the jack, car on jackstands.

between myself and my roomate we have the right sized socket to get the 2 lower bolts. its really on there.

just called my mechanic, asked for a quote to change

struts
front springs
front sway bar bushings
rear brake shoes and springs
front lower balljoints

455$


soooo, im thinking i may be able to replace one thing a weekend for the next couple weekends.
i want to start with the struts as they are really worn out.

anyone replace these here?
or happen to know offhand what size socket is needed?

my landlord has an electric impact gun i may be able to fit back there.

 

PERHAPS breaking down the job may help.
-Changing struts/springs is "one job", cause they are done "same time".
-Doing rear brakes is another.
-Lower ball joints is last.
Bushing for sway bar isn't so bad.
Do that at same time as lower ball joints.
Now try seeking prices.
Hardest is the struts/springs.

 

i tried replacing my front springs, didnt happen. got a shop to do it for 30 bucks a side..not bad!..if u do get a spring compressor make sure its the right one for our car, i had a hard time getting the stupid thing to work , also let those control arm bolts soke up with some lube.. even the shop had a hard time getting those out! . i say do everything urself and leave the struts/front springs for the shop, its to hard in my opinion with just a floor jack and jackstands

 

well i went and bought a 24mm socket and a 24mm wrench. 27$ canadian.

got a jaack under the control arm and the car on stands, with a long prybar i got the top of the 2 bottom most bolts out. then i had to remove the dust shield.

DO THEY MAKE NEW DUST SHIELDS?

mine is flimsy like paper..

anyway the bottom bolt came out easy, and my old struts had a socket head on the actual threaded part so removing the top bolt was easy.

suprisingly all the bolts came out no prob. the bottom 2 needed to be massaged out a bit with a hammer.

im going to attempt the spring, balljoint, and the swaybar endlinks now.

7 hours of labour my ***. (at least what im thinking atm)

 

ouch


my thumb

 

the balljoint is stuck. im trying to hammer it out but its really stuck.

 

ok heres my plan as sad as i am.

once i stop bleeding, im going to replace the swaybar endlink. then im going to pu in the new strut and put everything back together on that side as much as i can. even though i smashed the balljoint boot.

then im going to do the strut on the other side, and the swaybar endlink.

tomorrow ill limp to the beerstore and get a box of corona for me to drink, and head by my mechanics with the springs and balljoints and 200$.

you win balljoint! ILL SEE YOU IN HELL BALLJOINT!! DAMMMN YOUUU!!!!!!!!!111

 

heh good job, your car bit you!

 

Not even being an I told ya so
BUT for the effort ya put out.......,
The mechanics have the tools & such & really "good (LOLOLOLOLOLOL!)" helpers. These damn struts & springs do take "tools/lifts/extra hands/tools".

 

Ball joint boots go for a few pennies. I have found them for about $4. When I did my centerlink & idler arm swap, I MADE SURE I HAD those spare boots before I tore into my project.
In end you should be very thankful you did NOT injure yourself more. Cars are only metal who cares.....

 

see but i dont return to my old job until may 10th, and ive had all these parts kicking around for a year.

ive been working temp for the past 2 months, and this week i only have 2 days. so the only way to make up for lost wages is to do work that would save me money that i would have spent to have done anyway. as once i start working im going to be too busy to do somthing like this. hell i gave it a shot. got 1/2 the job done. in 1/2 a day. ill tackle the other side earlier tomorrow and ill be laughing.

i know a mechanic could have done it easier, but what. im not gonna sit on my butt and watch movies all da relaxing while i spend money on somthing i could have possibly done myself and learned to do again in the future.

i tell ya ill never pay to have struts and shocks done ever.

 

Blessed thing is the design of the strut set up allows for many miles of usage before ya need do the replacment work. You shouldn't have to visit that job ever again!

 

ah yes, but i have a lincoln coming out of the shop soon with a fresh mustang powerplant and lsc drivetrain that needs some handeling help. and now im not scared to tackle it.

cept i gotta do it early in the morn as it can only fit in the garage to the end of the front doors...

 

awe c'mon Karl, cut in jsut a little slack. a little. I did my front end in teh space of a 1 car garage. Yes, even teh wonder full struts by bouncing on that breaker bar for liek 5mins each bolt/side. No power tools at all. Ball joints: most difficult part was figuring that damn c-press out. new tie rod ends & adjuster sleeves. pitman & center link actually checked out so they stayed. new brakes hile it iwas apart, along w/new bearings & rotors got turned.

More time than money lets you play w/longer, and think up more cuss word combos too

 

I've done the work in similar conditions.
Discovered at some point to farm it out for efficency and time (body parts LOLOL!) saved.
I save the effort for other parts of the job.

Com'n I give ya high praise for doing that work big time.

One thing to definetly look at is the idler arm. Pitman is NON-wear.
On my ride I've changed both Center link & Idler. Those were the items worn. My steering became again slot car style! But for some reason my tie rod ends are still good. 150,000+ miles on originals, too.
While you are at it, do not forget to flush out brake fluid and replace it with Valvoline DOT 4 Synthetic. It's "same price" as DOT 3 stuff and higher boiling point, too. I also changed the rear wheel cylinders/hose. Those cylinders are a bear because of that ring attachment clip.
Hopefully you'll be relaxing prior to work shortly. If ya mean those strut cover plastic dust caps, I found some in a yard that were better than mine.
Last tip.
USE MARINE GREASE on the poly sway bar ends. Keeps all poly very quiet for life of car ownership.

 

the other side went MUCH smoother that i knew exactly what to do.

one idler arm was replaced when a traffic pole jaywalked in front of me.

already have dot4 fluid, and i used lots of grease inside and out of the swaybar endlinks.

just picked up a box of corona and am about to blast some tunes, have a shower and eat some crab.

took it for a short ride to get a box of beer, and the car stays level during breaking and accelerating, low amount of body roll during sharp corners, and before i could bounce the car like a basketball, now even with 2 hands i can barley get it to move

 

That is a wonderful progress report!
Changing my idler & centerlink was a night and day difference. It seemed to compliment the new brake hoses, new pads, & new struts & shocks I had already installed.
Damn traffic poles always seem in way!
I am most envious of the Crab!
I assume fresh from docks?
And Coronas up there?
WHAT NO LABATTS BLUE OR MOOSEHEAD, EH??

 

Hmm, a little late for tips, but when I did my balljoints, I stuck the new ones in the freezer (minus the boots). Once they were good and frozen, I applied flame wrench to control arm and the balljoints slid in with ease. A light layer of grease will help, too.

Also, I couldn't lift the car high enough off the ground for the ball joint press to fit while removing the old ones, so I had to improvise by not using the reciver tube, instead just placing the round end on the control arm, and pressing on the stud. Hammering them out rarely works, believe me I tried. When I finally pressed the right one out, the ball and stud popped out but the housing was still stuck in the control arm! Wicked stuff, I hope I never have to do that BS again.