1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
The broken control arm brackets can be replaced later, IMO. When they are missing, it causes some "hunting" in your steering, but that is all. To do this job, get yourself 16 and 18 mm end wrenches. These sizes don't come in most wrench sets. I have done this job three times on different cars and find the control arm difficult to remove, although it gets easier with each time I do it. I would take the whole thing out, although you could just loosen the back bushing so you can get the front to swing away from the frame a bit.
This might be a good time to put in new rear bushings, too. You can cut/burn out the old rubber bushing from the housing with a torch, which is one of the least fun jobs I've done, or buy new poly bushings with new housings. I think Scanwest in Seattle has these. You'll pay more but you'll save yourself about 4 hours of work. Be sure to ask about the tightness of the metal sleeves within the poly bushings. I bought Powerflex bushings without thicker sleeves, and there was about 1 mm of play between the two and quite a bit of torque steer. Then I bought the new stainless sleeves and it made a world of difference.
Sway bar bushings are easy to do yourself and don't need to be replaced before a long drive. Call around for poly bushings. I also agree that the motor mounts can wait, if you're gentle with the car. Do the tie rod ends now, and have the shop put in a new heat shield for you, because it needs to be riveted with big rivets, and that takes a very strong rivet gun. The heat shield comes painted black, which I've always thought was stupid. I painted mine silver, heat-resistant paint.
posted by 205.213.12...
, Wed, 4 Feb 2004 16:59:18
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