Front end rebuild

[Chadly]

On my way home today in the 97 my compressor went out. I could tell cause both ends were sagging and the rears started rubbing the fenders about a mile from home, So I tore up my fenders and my tires a little bit, but not too bad. Good news is that when I got home there my coil conversion was sitting on the front porch. Talk about some great timing!

So I started removing everything from the front drivers side first. What a fukking pain in the arse. The only easy parts was the sh1t that was supposed to be hard. The lower bolt on the lower control arm was a snap, came right off. The hardest parts were removing the steering knuckle from the UCA and getting the spindle of the LCA off of the back of the hub or what ever its called it connects to. Took a lot of pounding with the BFH.

It was 101* when I started at 5:00, and after running 7 miles this morning and then working all day with no lunch, coming home and starting on the beer and doing the car for 3 hours, I am exhausted. I hope things go better tomorrow. I know getting that one nut on the left UCA is gonna be a bich, so wish me luck. I'm gonna have to finish it up while I watch my kids at the same time (2 & 4). So I probably wont get a lot done until momma gets home from work.

If anyone has any tips feel free.

 

[Roadboss]

Remember there is an access hole under the insulation that you can use an extension and flex on to get at the nut. I actually enlarged mine to make it real easy to get to next time. I used a sheet metal trimmer on my impact gun, then put some spit rubber tubbing on the sharp edges to dress it out.

 

[shiryu0]

first time i pulled the UCA off of the spindle it was hell, i dont know why, everything else came off without much anger/swearing/hammering

i used a ratchet wrench on the drivers UCA, the access hole was useless i didnt have anything to cut it with either, socket just kept slipping off of it.........

 

[Chadly]

Remember there is an access hole under the insulation that you can use an extension and flex on to get at the nut. I actually enlarged mine to make it real easy to get to next time. I used a sheet metal trimmer on my impact gun, then put some spit rubber tubbing on the sharp edges to dress it out.

I remember reading your post about that somewhere when I was researching how to do it. If it come down to it I will just take off my MC and get to it, but I should be able to get to it thru the access hole if I open it up a little.

 

[kustomizingkid]

Sucks about tearing up your fenders and tires.... good deal on having the replacement parts.

 

[Aquabrit]

If it come down to it I will just take off my MC and get to it

That's the way I did it. If you do go that way, be aware that there is a thin, somewhat brittle rubber seal between the master cylinder and the brake booster that can break / fall out.

 

[BAD97LSC]

all you have to do chad for the uca bolts is take a flat head and break the flags off the heads of the bolts, after you pull the struts out look at the bolts you will see what i mean by flag, pry them off with a flat head then you can put a 6 point 15 mm socket on them to break them loose instead of taking off the master or booster or cutting holes anywhere, its easy as shyt, take a flash light and look at the nut ( 18 mm ) under the booster, use the flash light to guide a wrench down onto the nut, then use your 15 mm on the head of the bolt and break it loose, you can install the bolt using this same method when you put it back together. i break the flags off all 4 upper bolts anytime i do a frontend, makes putting it back together that much quicker too.

 

[Chadly]

Well I am done with the front end. It wasnt all that bad except for a couple parts that were stuck a little. Another 3 hours today and its done with minimal scars to both the ego and the body. I took off the MC to do the drivers side, andused Jamies trick for the pass side. Thanks for the tip bro! Worked like a charm.

All I have left to do is the rear conversion, gotta go to the store and get new shocks tomorrow. And then find a decent alignment shop in this pisshole of a town.

 

[shiryu0]

And then find a decent alignment shop in this pisshole of a town.

nobody out here got my alignment right, the dealer was the closest, they got the rear perfect, tires are perfectly even..........not so the front, i rotated the rears to the front and kinda eyeballed the thing, and i got them wearing down even like the new rears

 

[Chadly]

All done. The rear swap was a lot easier than the front, took about 1 hour total to do the rears. It rides a lot better now. No surprise there.

The UCA's I took off the front were TRW. Thats not factory is it? I think someone before me had reploaced them once.

Anyway, thanks for the tips, time to get an alignment.

 

[BAD97LSC]

yes trw's are factory, thats what was put on in the plant.