Baldy

I love doing suspension stuff, because everything is large, and easy to understand. A little more muscle involved than most things, and I got a nasty pinch bruise between my thumb and finger, but I still like it.



Removed both front control arms, burned out old sway bar end link bushings, pressed new end link bushings in, replaced sway bar mounts/bushings, all under 2 hours (I think). I'll be taking the control arms by a shop today to have them replace the bushings for me, I don't even want to try.



After this I should be getting my mustang GT wheels (with tires that have supposedly more than %50 tread) before Tuesday of next week, then get a proper 4 wheel alignment. Then I'll finally be able to drive in a straight line, and hopefully my steering wheel won't shake! That's the part I'm excited about most, not being scared at speeds above 55 mph.

Apex13B

then we cant call you baldy anymore



i dub thee....tready



suspension bushing replacement is simple and straight foward, no tricks no bullshit

knonfs

I got stock at removing the A arms , removing the ball joint arm WAS a pain in the ***. My last attempt involved a hughe aluminum fork and a hammer; the fork went all the way thru, I ended up with a torn ball joint boot, and not able to brake it loose from the arm



BTW - Mine is a 91, I guess 86-88 are way easier

Baldy

Holy crap, I had no idea replacing the bushings could have made this much of a noticeable difference. My steering wheel shake is all but gone (I can still feel more of a vibration, but I'm convinced that's tire related). I took a detour into a parking lot and took a tight circle, and took some turns a little quicker on my commute, and there seems to be a lot less understeer.



well damn, I didn't think of that.

banzaitoyota

Next time you remove a ball-joint. BEFORE you brake out the pickle fork. Try UNCLE BANZAI's old-timers trick. (Passed on to him from someone else)



Take two 5 lb sledges, hit the knuckle that the ball joint spindle goes thru on opposite sides simaultaneously. One or two whaps will pop the joint 98% of the time. No more split boots or damaged threads!

knonfs

Thanks for the info!

Baldy

Are you talking about where the ball joint is through the hole in the steering knuckle? I just hit the top of the ball joint with a hammer, pushing it down and out. I guess that's bad?



Or you mean how to separate the actual ball from its metal surroundings? (not sure what you call that)

banzaitoyota

Removing the ball joint from the steering knuckle.

Yes, hitting the threaded end of the ball joint is BAD

Baldy

I thought that the tip of the ball joint was smooth, with a groove all the way around for a pinch bolt to hold it in place. I must be talking about something else then, I don't know.