| Use a hammer to knock the tierod end from the spindle(use a block of wood to protect the threads if reusing it).Put a hydraulic floor jack(4 wheel type) under the balljoint,but leave about an inch of air between it and the lower control arm.Now,insert the balljoint seperator(also called a "pickle fork")between the spindle and balljoint.Whack it good with a hammer a few times until it"pops".Now,compress the spring as far as you can with the jack. You now must compress the spring with the spring compressor as far as you can.Now comes the most dangerous part of the whole job-spring removal.Remember that the spring is under extreme pressure (350-700 psi),and if you do this wrong(heck,even if you do it right),then it can all be unleashed on your body,and could even kill you!The accepted practice for this is to now put a chain through the spring and attach it to the car loosely(not too loose!) then remove the balljoint nut,and CAREFULLY(stand out of the way of the spring in case this all goes wrong!)lower the jack.Next,you'll need to pry the spring out of it's pocket with a large prybar(again try to stay as far away from where the spring may fly as possible).If you're not in the hospital,then you need to go on to removing the 2 lower control arm bolts,and the arm should come out with a little prodding.Now you can get to the bolts holding the motor mounts to the frame.If rebuilding the whole frontend(HIGHLY recommended),get a 18 mm wrench or socket and remove the upper control arms from the frame(remember to keep the shims organized as to where they came from).Now take the arms to a machine shop,and have the bushings and lower balljoints replaced(ther'e press fit,and a hammer usually hurts something so it's cheap insurance to have it done professionally)You are now done with disassembly,and are ready to start putting it all back together.Make sure to clean and paint everything before going any further. |
