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Topic: Two. whole. hours. (Read 3098 times) previous topic - next topic

Two. whole. hours.

That is how long it took me to get a single bolt out of the left front lower control arm in my car. All other nuts & bolts came off smoothly, including the rear pivot bolt. The front pivot bolt was a completely different story - it had rusted into the sleeve. Two solid hours of beating, pounding, cursing, swearing, and yes, even pleading, that sunuvabitch finally came out. My car is now completely sans front suspension :hick:

Once out it amazed me how soft those factory bushings are. They're like jello. I can well imagine how much they deflect during norma driving, much less any kind of spirited motoring. Can't wait to see the difference the urethane busings, new ball joints, new tie rod ends, urethane rack bushings, TC springs, brackes and sway bar (with urethane bushings and links) makes to this mushmobile. I know it'll ride harsher, but at least it will have some road feel instead of feeling like it's floating 6" above the pavement...

...Sorry for the rant, but after nearly chewing that control arm out of that car with my own teeth I need to keep telling myself it's all worth it :D
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

Two. whole. hours.

Reply #1 –
Quote
even pleading


lol, I've been there.. its always just one bolt :)

Hey we pulled my hpipe, driveshaft, tranny, shortblock, ate a pizza and cleaned up in 2 hours on Friday Night :)
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

Two. whole. hours.

Reply #2 –
Carmen, go ahead and bolt all that front suspension together and then just send me the whole front clip from  your car.  I had forgotten how wishy-washy the stock suspension is on these cars until I went from driving the Neon exclusively for a year, then back into the T-bird.  Wow! I needs me some suspension work like crazy.

Two. whole. hours.

Reply #3 –
Yeah, I'll get right on that, but only if you promise to send me your old, worn, mushy suspension in return :p

I got the old bushings out today (what fun, burned 'em out) and the new ones in. Also got the new ball joints in, and cleaned and painted the a-arms. Now I've just gotta get the springs, spindles and brakes from the TC later this week and it'll be reassembly time :D

About the ball joints: Say what you will about the factory sealed ball joints, but those suckers were over 18 years old and still tight. I'm only replacing them because they were squeaking last year, and I'm going in all the way with this suspension thing...
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

Two. whole. hours.

Reply #4 –
Which bolt was it? Front side or rear side of the front driver's? I never did get my front side one out so consider thy self lucky. :D  lol, actually your EXACT situation happened to me on the driver's RLCA. Got to the last arm on the last bolt and that darn sleeve rusted to the bolt! I was so tempted to cut it in half. I hate rust.
2005 Subaru WRX STi|daily driver

Two. whole. hours.

Reply #5 –
I can guarantee it was the last bolt you tried taking off.  That's another rule of auto repair.  Kinda like the rule where 'any tool dropped while working on the car will roll underneath to its exact center.'

I've never gone farther than the wheel bearings on the front, but on the rear I had a hell of a time with the CA bolts.  But!  The simple solution to it was to heat the bolts with a small propane torch, spray some blaster, repeat.  That, plus the impact gun at 150 PSI cracked those suckers loose quick!
 

Two. whole. hours.

Reply #6 –
Ether: It was the front bolt on the left control arm. The nut came off easily (well, as easily as using an 18"  breaker bar with a 4-foot jack handle over it to get it started can be considered "easily" :p), but that Goded bolt itself resisted me every ed bit of its length. The rack being in the way didn't help either, so that came off in a hurry (got urethane ushings for it anyway). Both bolts on the right control arm came out easily.

Ifixyawata: You are indeed correct - it was the very last bolt that I had to take out. The right side was completely removed, the left side was 99% - all except that Goded bolt.

I very seriously considered cutting it and using one from the TC, but I was just a bit more stubborn than the bolt, and I was making progress. Slow progress, but progress. Had it not even budged initially I'd have cut the shager!

The rear will be another big project, I'm sure, but at least I'll be going in knowing I've got new everything (control arms, bushings, bolts, nuts, washers, etc) so I'll be a little more willing to break out the hot wrench :flame:

I may start the rear next week. On a related note, anyone know what speedo gear to use with an AOD, 3.55 gears, and 225/60R16 tires?
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

Two. whole. hours.

Reply #7 –
Hah! I knew I was right.

Over this winter I'm going to be doing a bit of (I should say a LOT) of work to my car overall.  What all are you replacing on the front suspension?  So far, I've accummulated some TC brakes and some new struts.  I guess I'll need what else, ball joints, strut mounts and CA bushings?

Two. whole. hours.

Reply #8 –
For a 1/4 of a million miles my rear control arm bolts came out pretty easy.. Only one took one tap (read 4 pound sledge) of purswasion.
One 88

Two. whole. hours.

Reply #9 –
Quote
I may start the rear next week. On a related note, anyone know what speedo gear to use with an AOD, 3.55 gears, and 225/60R16 tires?


I *think* you need a 21 tooth gear (the purple one).
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Two. whole. hours.

Reply #10 –
Quote from: Ifixyawata
What all are you replacing on the front suspension?

Pretty much all of it - control arm bushings (poly), coil springs, spring isolators (poly), ball joints, tie rod ends, rack bushings (poly), spindles, struts, strut mounts, sway bar & links...

Basically the only things that will not be replaced will be the control arms themselves and the steering rack (was replaced juts before I bought the car).

The rear will be getting similar treatment: Replacing the rear itself (3.55 TC rear), CHE arms, TC swaybar, etc...
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

Two. whole. hours.

Reply #11 –
The front suspension in the '86 is driving me nuts.
I replaced the tie rods, struts and strut mounts. It felt nice and tight with no bad noises. I then paid for a good alignment and focused on other things.
What is it doing now? Popping and clunking when I brake. I'm so freaking pissed off about it.
I'm thinking it's the ball joints or control arm bushings. More money...
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

Two. whole. hours.

Reply #12 –
Carm, youre doing something similar to what im going to do with my red bird...if my funds are able to make it to the red bird... TC hitting me with expenses.

Difference with me is, im swapping the k-member and control arms to mustang, then using aluminum rack bushings, coil overs, and a whole mess of other stuff. Im still interested to hear how different the car is, because the TC may recieve similar treatment to yours.
It's Gumby's fault.

Two. whole. hours.

Reply #13 –
I had considered coilovers, but I'm not convinced the strut towers in these cars are strong enough to hold up the front end, especially in a street-driven car. It ain't a daily driver, but it will be road driven plenty often. The road driven aspect is what prevented me from using aluminum rack bushings, too - I'm sure it'll be harsh enough with all poly busings :hick:
 
The strut towers aside, I'm not entirely sure a tubular K-member would hold up on our frost-heaved roads either. I'd like to shed some weight in the front end, but I don't want to sacrifice durability.
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

Two. whole. hours.

Reply #14 –
Quote from: thunderjet302
I *think* you need a 21 tooth gear (the purple one).

I just checked TCI Automotive's website and it says I need the tan 19-tooth gear. Steeda says the orange 20 tooth gear. Since Steeda doesn't take tire size into consideration I'll go with the TCI figure (the TCI site converts P-metric tire size into tire height, then you enter the rear ratio, drive gear teeth (7 for an 88 AOD), tire height, and click "calculate" and it gives you your number.

The TCI website: http://www.tciauto.com/tech_info/speedo_gears.htm

And Steeda: http://steeda.com/store/-catalog/speedometer.htm

For my own reference, the Ford part number for the tan (19t) gear is C7VY-17271-A. The orange (20t) is C8SZ-17271-B. The purple (21t) is D0OZ-17271-B
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣