A nut splitter works great for the upper shock nut...cuts in half easily.

I prefer a pickle fork and a 3 pound sledge to separate the ball joints. It rips the boots, but those will be replaced anyway.

Be very careful with the springs. I ended up in the ER once after a spring popped out and cracked my sternum......

 

Given the nutsplitters i have seen before (long with bolt on end), I question whether it would fit in that recessed area. I had thought about doing that.

I also thought about the pickle fork. However, I was lazy and it was too hot out and I did not want to go get one.
I also stand by my mantra - "Pickle fork thingie bad - hammer good!"

I will take your coil spring advice seriously. I thought about just easing the assy down on the floor jack (under spring pocket) with a rod in the center, AND I decided to do it just that way! My Ford springs were much easier than this one.

 

Well summer has come in WAY too early.
I kinda regret starting this project, but did not anticipate July temperatures in early June! Oh, well – gotta go through with it…

Back on Tuesday, I pulled the coil springs and got all the suspension parts off the car. Left side was done first.
I opted to ditch the coil spring compressor in lieu of a floor jack, blocks of wood, prybars, and a long steel rod run through the upper shock hole down to the bottom shock hole in the control arm. This rod was my protection against accidental spring launches.





Basically I got the lower control arm pivoted all the way down to the ground...


...then with the iron rod still in place, I pried the spring out of the pocket, as it had very little compression left in it. It popped a little, but the steel rod held it in. Once I slowly pulled the rod, the spring popped out (but not violently).



I remember doing my 78 Ford this way 8 years ago with no drama as well.
I will not get into more detail on how I did it, simply for the fact that I do not recommend this method. Use a compressor for safety’s sake.

Once the spring was out, the bolts for the lower A-arm were removed. Of course this could not be easy... I ended up having to turn the steering wheel to move the tie rods and center link out of the way.
Remove each bolt a little at a time. I learned this when I tapped one bolt and it shot right out. The other side was left binding and made itself stuck. Bolts only come out easily when you do not want them to...

So I got the other bolt part way in again, removed each bolt a little at a time, and the arm dropped down.

The upper A-arm pivot shaft bolt nuts were loosened using a 11/16 socket and a ratchet wrench. Do NOT turn the bolt - just the nuts. When the nuts were almost off, I shook the A-arm assy to loosen the splined bolts a little, then used a small prybar against a block of wood against the exhaust manifold to push the bolts in enough to get the A-arm off, just as described in the CSM. Do NOT pry against the steering shaft.



Do not loose the alignment shims – keep them in a safe place and know which ones went where.

Right side was done next, same procedure. However there were two new issues on this side.
First, the front pivot arm of the LCA had some deformation, causing it to catch on the frame mount and not swing down all the way. There was a dent and about 1/16” of an edge burr that had to be ground off with the dremel.



After that it swung down, but the movement was not smooth. I feel there is some damage here that further supports my assumption of this car hitting something big on that side.
The second issue was that the LCA rear bolt did not want to come out, as if it was rusted in the bushing. I had to break it free by whacking on the ratchet with the dead blow hammer and hammering it out simultaneously. It was pretty rusty, probably because the A/C had dripped water near there over the years. It was currently dripping thin oil – evap looks shot…

So after 2 hours, I had a pile of cruddy parts that were ready for cleaning. I went ahead and degreased the small parts and bolts, another hour. So after a cumulative 8 hours, the suspension was all disassembled.

 

Since I'm not a Texas guy and I'm not sure how things are done down there with that Texas heat, but...... do you really do this type of work wearing sandals?

 

Thursday evening I took the big parts out and cleaned them.
Here is the left set & sway bar before cleaning:

And the right set:




The grunge was around Ľ” up to ˝” at the ball joint.





First I hit them all with a 4” cupped wire brush in the angle grinder. At 15,000RPM, it made for fast progress. It made a super mess though – I had dirt, sand, and grease everywhere. Luckily I did it in the grass. My arms and legs looked worse than the parts were when I got done.



After brushing, I used an “industrial” citrus degreaser and a variety of scrub brushes on the parts to get most of the loose stuff off. I did not do the bushings or greasy ball joints, as they will be removed and everything degreased once more before paint.
This cleaner worked very well – surprised me for sure! I was expecting to use Gunk or gasoline, but did not have to go that route. I tried simple green, but it did not work as well.


There is some residual surface rust, but that will be taken care of with the POR15 procedure.

Usually I am without shoes, but my fear was stepping on metal fragments.
Have not lost any foot chunks, yet...

 

When all was done, I noticed a few interesting things.
First, the upper arms are clearly marked L and R, in case you forget which goes where.

Next, the spindles were originally painted GREEN. Why was this I wondered?





Even after light scraping with a plastic scraper, I found no real paint on the control arms. Or maybe it just came off very easy? The sway bar seemed painted, but not sure by who.

Last, and most interesting, were deformations in the lower control arms. The left had a rounded mash in the edge.
The right had an upwards bulge in the spring pocket and the “dent” near the bolt that gave me fits.


ALSO, the right front LCA frame mount had a dent in it. The left side did not.


Perhaps the car was lifted there incorrectly?

These bushings were shot.



In the end, the wire brush had only about 25 wires left in it, the rest were in the drive, the lawn, my clothes, and in my skin! I pulled out about 10 from my legs, 5 from my arms, and one from my nose. A few of these wires were embedded up to Ľ” in my flesh.



Jeans and a denim shirt would have been a much better choice, but in 100* Texas heat? I will take the slight pain.

However, I would never have done this without full eye goggles. I can endure pain, but I refuse to risk my eyesight.


After 3.5 hours, I was done for the day with cleaner parts in hand.

 

I stopped by otterzone on the way home to pick up a bearing race driver and a ball joint press for some weekend fun.


When I got home, I started the next most logical job – the side marker lights...
Having the wheels gone gives me more room to work, so I will tend to these lights and clean up the inner fender a little.


The lights & brackets were pulled and the lights were scrubbed with citrus cleaner. The lens in one light was loose, so I popped it out and cleaned the crud out of it.



The brackets and nuts were wirebrushed, washed.


And here are the cleaned lights:


To put the lens back in, the housing was heated in the toaster oven on 350* for about 10 minutes to get it hot. I half-filled the seam area with regular hot melt glue, pushed the lens in place, then let cool. The reason for heating the housing is so the glue would not cool too much before I had gone all the way around.
CAUTION - Use an oven mit to handle the hot housings!

Despite the simple nature of the job, I still spent 2 hours on these silly lights.

 

Saturday was a brutal one. Yes, the heat made it even more so.
Time to get the ball joints and bushings out.

The lower control arm ball joints were pressed out with the tool borrowed from otterzone. When set up and used as instructed in the CSM, removal was actually easy! A 24” breaker bar made the job even easier.


Next I tried a similar operation on the LCA round bushing. I did not want to do the burn or drill methods. I got it started out with a steel plate against the bushing and 3 sockets used as spacers (one removed for photo). It was tougher than the ball joint, even after being doused in WD40.


After the plate reached the control arm, I used just the right diameter socket against the bushing and with a LOT of arm strength, the bushing finally came out. That was tough!

Next I tried the same thing with the oval bushing. It was even tougher!! After bottoming the plate against the arm, I took the tool off and dented the side of the bushing in with a cold chisel and baby sledge. I then drove it out easily with a drift punch along the edges of the bushing.

The next oval bushing I skipped the press tool all together. I cold chiseled it like the last one:


And with one sharp blow of the framing hammer:

Success!! Too bad I am done removing the oval ones now…


The last round one was cold chiseled like the oval one, then easily pressed out.


LCAs are done!

 

The upper ball joints were harder to remove than the pressed in lowers…
I started by using a spring loaded punch to punch the center of the ball joint side of the 4 rivets.
Next, I set up a makeshift wooden jig to try to hold the arm while drilling. Given the funky shape and angles, I still managed to get the holes off-center.
I started with 1/8” down Ľ” as instructed in the CSM...


I then went to Ľ”…

Then I went to ˝” and chiseled out the remaining heads. A center and drift punch and a hammer finally knocked the ball joint out.

One thing to keep in mind is that the rivets are fitted in the ball joint TIGHT! So therefore, you do not want to support the assy on the ball joint when hammering. After I got mine loosened, I lightly tapped the cold chisel between the arm and the ball joint and got them apart.
EDIT- MORE DETAIL!
Drill the rivet heads out on the bottom (grease boot and stud) side as per the CSM and as pictured above. Then cold chisel the remains of the heads off.
The rivets seem to be pressed in the top side of the ball joint super tight - do not expect the rivets to pop out by themselves.
You can use a drift punch on all of them, BUT - befire to support the cotrol arm and NOT the ball joint top bracket/housing. That will need to come off, rivets and all. I used a cold chisel between the ball joint top bracket and contol arm and the wedging popped it out.


So after 3 hours, everything but the UCA bushings were removed...

 

Ok, now I see the bare feet in one of the more recent photos! HA!

The green paint on the spindle did not cover the entire spindle, just the areas where you see the paint. These were factory paint markings applied by assembly line personnel and was used to indicate something. Maybe that the ball joint nuts were tightened? These paint marks would be re-applied to freshly painted spindles on higher end nut and bolt restorations.

Since you found a little damage to the LCA mounting tab and the LCA, I would take a few measurements of the frame. Measure from a spot that is the same on both sides, like one of the holes near the spring pocket back to a place on the frame just behind the firewall area such as the edge of the cowl body mount bolt hole. I would make sure both dimensions are the same. I would test fit a new bushing by itself into the area where the tab was bent to make sure it fits and if not, try to bend the tab or straighten the damage so it will fit.

When you install the bushings on the LCA's, you will need to make a spacer to place between the 2 ears so the one that accepts the bushing first does not try to fold over as you press the bushing in. Try to use something that is rounded a little so it can cover as much area as possible while still being able to fit over the bushing for removal once the bushing is in there. With a spacer inserted in there, you can pull the bushings into place with a long bolt, washers and a nut. You'll need to use a socket or similar on the side opposite of where the bushing is being inserted so the bushing can pass through that last tab a little. I made a spacer out of either an 1.5" or 2" conduit fitting that I cut down to fit in the space and had just enough removed to slide over the bushing. It looked like a big letter C.

 

You can be sure I will not be treading in the yard where I wirebrushed those parts...

Good point, but thats a lot of paint for just an assy tech marking. L and R are the same color, so that has nothing to do with it.
I doubt i will be restoring those since the car was not original when I bought it.

Gotcha - I used sockets while pressing them out, but some pipe would stay in easier. I will pick up some pipe pieces tomorrow. I will be able to use that big press (with some different size pipe caps) to run em back in. However that oval one looks a bit difficult...

I will see if I can measure anything gown there - it is tight quarters and pretty dirty down there, too.

 

A cast iron pipe nipple cut lengthwise is a good "collapse protector" for the bushing work.

Do yourself a favor and replace all the bolts: upper and lower control arms. Don't take a chance on a broken bolt...ask me how I know....

And, torque the control arm bolts when the car is sitting on the tires. Otherwise, you will have about 4" of extra height in the front end.

 

Thats what I will be after at Lowes tomorrow. Also iron pipe caps for pressing bushings in.
I heard some guys using PVC fittings (think ones) for this work. Sounds odd but I might try that also to test the theory.

Well I may have to ask then!
I bought new bolts but after seing mine just had surface rust, I am hesitant to replace them.
There is only one i considered changing - the rustier one in the upper left.



I am going to soak them in derust solution and see how they look afterwards.
I have new shock bolts but the clip nuts will need reuse.

 

Sunday was pain med day, as I did way too much the day before. My wrists were not too forgiving. Therefore I took it easy and stayed inside the whole day as it was almost 100* outside.

Tuesday I visited the local hardware store for some pipe fittings to make the bushing press-ins a little easier.
When I got home, I decided to try getting the UCA bushings out. I have been dreading this………..
It turned out, despite that pesky shaft going through the center of them, these were VERY easy and look little time.

First the shaft nuts were removed with the impact driver – easy. Then I sprayed in some WD40 to help loosen the bushings.
In reading the CSM, there is a special C-clip-type tool that you use to be able to press the bushings out with that resident shaft. I made my own special C-clip-type tool with a thick, standard grade 5/8” flat washer. The washer’s hole was 0.7” diameter – just right! I cut a chunk out of the side with a hacksaw and tapped it lightly onto the shaft right where the CSM instructs:

NOTE the position of the clip's open section in relation to the missing "ledge" on the shaft. You want as much shaft-to-clip contact as possible!

I then threaded a nut onto the upper end of the shaft (not shown) and supported the lower side of the UCA in a 2”ID pipe fitting, allowing enough length for the shaft to move down with the bushing...


A few good whacks on the shaft nut with baby sledge drove the bushing right out!


The C-clip tool was pried off the shaft and the bushing and shaft removed. The UCA was inverted and a couple good whacks on the other bushing popped it right out, too!


I repeated this for the other UCA and it took less than 5 minutes total!

So in under 30 minutes, all the UCA bushings were out. Figuring out HOW to do it and making the custom “tool” took the longest time.



The next day I Gunked the control arms around the bushings and ball joints, as I could not reach them with them installed. They were then washed again with citrus degreaser. Another hour gone…
I also ordered the painting supplies from Eastwood, as I wanted to try some of their coatings instead of POR15...

 

Nice write up Rob! Unfortunately, my front suspension bushings are not looking to hot either so that is on my to do list as well.

 

Thanks...
I promised myself last week that I would never want to do this kind of job again, but now i discover all the tips and tricks in doing it, the next job would be easier! Hope you can take advantage of some of these, too.

PS - I have a slick little special C-clip-type tool for sale now......

 

Excellent tutorial ! Wish I'd had this a year ago !!

A few things I did differently...

1. For busings like these....


... I drilled out some of the rubber (1/4", 5/16" bit ?) and then the inner sleeve was easily knocked out (sometimes fell out). This made it much easier to 'crush' the outer sleeve.

2. For the lower BJs....

... I just set the arm on the floor and used an old throwout bearing to prop up the lip around the BJ. Make sure the stud is vertical. 2-3 whacks on the stud with a hand sledge and both popped right out.

3. For re-assembly, I took all the freshly painted pieces (fr & rears) & new bushings to a local hotrod shop that had a press (& lots of experience w/ A-bodies). $60 cash & an hour later everything was done & greased where required with only one small scratch on one arm. Worth every penny !

 

My idea was easier - just hit harder!
That rubber was so deteriorated so there was not too much extra resistance...

This makes good sense - I will remember that for the "next" time...

I will press everything in myself since I have tools. Not many shops around here that I know of that will charge so little.

My goal on this is to do it the easiest and cheapest way, so I am gonna give it my best shot. I think reassy should go well... Painting will be MY challenge...

 

I was going to do it myself (cut some conduit for spacers - pound in) after one bigger shop quoted $150 to do it all. Later, I asked a little (2-3 man) shop and asked if they had a 'cash & no receipt' discount ....

I noticed that they lightly greased the outside of all bushings prior to insertion. I've also heard that putting the bushings in the freezer the night before will help as they shrink a bit....

 

I thought about greasing at least the oval ones, as I think they will give me the most trouble. I think my press will get the roundies in just fine.

All will go in the freezer then - they will go well with the cans of R12 I have in there. I bet those things will feel good to hold when i put them on in a 95* garage...

 

wow Rob , you should start making instructional videos , great job ! as far as getting those pesky springs off.....I think if your car was a little higher off the ground...by the time you lower the lower a-frame all the way down the spring just falls out ( of course with the aid of a spring compressor ) , good idea with the rod in the middle for security....me ? I just hid around the corner when I removed my springs....also liked some of the other ideas you have for getting the darned control arm bushings and the ball joints out .....I had a real hard time with those

 

Thanks, but I prefer to stay out of the pictures.
It would take too much extra time, but on the other hand I would be able to sell the bloopers well...

I tried that on the left side but the spring bound in the LCA pocket, so it HAD to be pried out. The right side had limited downward movement, so it would not have helped there.

I did not want a spring stuck in the drywall and did not really know what I was dealing with then. I prefer no surprises (like springs stuck in my nose...)
Thanks - that's just my engineering mind at work outside of work!
CO members and the CSM gave me the most ideas, i just had to make the special tools and swing that hammer!

 

Friday was a fun day of beat the bearing…
I pried out the hub seals…


Then removed the bearings…


…and wiped out the worst of the old grease. I also chiseled and scraped off the stuck on crap from both sides of the hubs.
Next I tapped out the inner and outer bearing races. Using a brass punch and the two indentations provided in the hub castings, I tapped the races out, alternating between the two indentation locations.

I had to hit fairly hard to drive em out.


Then I took them outside and wirewheeled the rust and hard crap off of them. Not hearly as bad as the control arms thank goodness. This took another hour.

After then it was wash time for the hubs. First Gunk, then water-based degreaser, then rinse well, and dry with the leaf blower to prevent flash rusting. It was hot out so they dried fast.
While I was playing in the water, I decided to wash the control arms, spindles and sway bar once more with water-based degreaser and blow dry them. While I did not think this all would take long, another 2.5 hours past!!
Nice to see the part #s in there!

Now I patiently wait for the paint to arrive………..

 

You should put together a compilation of your photos and descriptions - they are first class. They also elicit additional hints from others.
Perhaps the other experienced and knowledgeable members could do similiar stuff, and a database of "how to do this" could be added to the site. I am inexperienced, but cannot wait until I have something of value to contribute.
Crocks, barefeet and sandals so close to that hammer in the photo - I know I would have lost a toe. Hope you have had your tetanus shots!
Were you able to get a measurement on the frame? Not knowing what caused that damage on the right side, and what else might be off, would keep me up at night.
An easy way to measure things like this which are supposed to be equidistant is to run a length of wire (does not stretch) with a little hook on one end (I use a wire fishing leader with a flattened fish hook) on one dimension, mark it, and then transfer it to the other dimension. You can easily see if they are out by too much (there will be some error and distortion allowed).
That way you do not have to use a tape measure at all, unless you wish to measure the length on the marked wire. I did notice in the service manual that there are some standard measurements that can be made on the frame.

 

Many thanks for the complements.
Suspension rebuilding is a very intimidating job. Stripping for paint and detailing is 3x the work. I figured it would be nice to have a nice online step by step instruction sheet, so others can see exactly what they would be getting into. lots of work, but can be done with the right tools and some southern engineering...
There are lots of threads on suspension work, but not many that guide one from start to finish, so thats my goal.

Others here have done similar and I enjoy reading them.
It takes a LONG time to do the pictures and writeups - many hours of more work.
Next time you do a job, document it after you are done - you will then know what worked and what didn't! Note I did not say anything about my failures - just added the stuff that worked! I left the bloopers out.

Haven't had a shot for a long time - 25 years ago i think.
Given the hot, stuffy, tight quarters I am working, I cannot wear shoes. I find crawling under the front of the car easier than squeezing by the workbench (only 8"!)
When I start swinging the hammer, I DO make sure my feet and other body parts are well away. I am more relaxed in the photo shoots. I have never hurt my feet doing work like this. On the other hand, I have sliced them open and broke off toenails by just walking through the yard at night. Rocks and sprinkler heads attack then.
Not yet, but is on the agenda, which is getting to be a mile long now!
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...o-unknown.html

 

Not wanting to sound like a mother, but please get your tetanus shots - being stuck by all those wires is definitely high risk for Clostridium tetani. Tell your medical guy about your recent activity - they may want to just do a quick test. I seem to recall that you have sliced your fingers up pretty bad on occasion, so this may be a recurring theme.
For anyone working in an environment where there is rust, dirt and potential for skin lessions (cuts and especially punctures like when a wire is inserted), the shots are essential.

BTW those hubs look great. Do you ususally have to replace the races and bearings, or can they be reused?

 

Thanks for the advice - very valid points on the flying greasy, rusty wire brush bristles. I also took a little hide off when the wire brush slipped...
Being I heal quickly and am in very good health, I do feel invincible. However I am a looney for thinking that...
I will make a mental note to get a shot the next time I visit the dr.


Thanks...
Since I did not know the history of this car, i chose to replace the bearings. The right side looked a little bad, too.
Races must be replaced if new bearings are being installed to keep the wear uniform.
If everything is well with the car and the bearings have been repacked with each brake job and tightened correctly, then they can last a very long time. My Ford's bearings looked great after 135k miles, but I replaced them just since I was doing a big front end job on it. That was the first time its hubs were even removed!

 

Good post and thoughtful pictures and comments.

Thanks!

P.S.- I strongly suggest you change the upper control arm bolts (splined ones in the frame)

If one of these bolts break, you have a major loss of steering control.

Got to think and be safe.

 

I already had one break 3 years ago - NOT fun.
Therefore I had already replaced all 4 of those bolts with correct repros. Those new ones will be reused.

 

At least that’s how it felt yesterday. 94* at 60% humidity. I prefer a dry 100…
The first half was spent treating control arms, hubs and sway bay with POR15 Metal Ready, a phosphoric acid that etches the metal, giving it ‘tooth’ for the new paint to bite into. It also leaves a zinc coating to promote adhesion.


From shiny…


To etched and glazed. They feel like a chalkboard surface now!

Actually it reminds me of sugar glaze on a donut.

It was a slow process of keeping the parts wet for 20 minutes, then hosing them off and drying immediately to prevent flash rusting, which was easy to happen in our high humidity.

The second half was pulling the power steering pump and gear, draining them, and packing them up for shipment to Chip at Power Steering Services.

The problem center link to pitman arm stud was popped off with a pickle fork and a just a few light hammer taps.
The rest of the steering system was already loose, so when I pulled the last bolt from the 30lb gearbox, I dropped it down half an inch onto a variety of wooden blocks. I then grasped it with both hands, kicked the blocks away and lowered it down and out.


I emptied the pump as best I could, then removed the hoses from it. A line wrench is essential!
The hoses were drained then removed from the gearbox and the pump was propped upside down to completely drain. I tried removing the front bracket, but it seems as if it would not come off with the pulley on it. I gave up and Chip will get a bracket also. He can refinish it and install it back so I do not mess up the new finish. The pump was wrapped in newspaper, put in a thick bag, boxed in a small box, which was packed in a bigger box.

The gearbox was a pain to drain. With the hose holes down, the pitman arm must be swung many times to get the oil out. This box has almost 3.5 turns lock to lock.

I got most of the oil out and wrapped it in newspaper and a bag, then put in a bigger bag, then put on a flat thickwalled box, then packed into a custom made double-walled carton with lots of packing. I think it will survive fedex now…
It will be insured for actual rebuilt value.


Well, send one right over! In dark saddle, please........

 

I made some custom masks for the hubs to help keep paint off the discs. All it took was securing some thick paper to the back side of the hub and carefully cut out the 7” hole in the center with a razor blade. I took the piece I cut out and traced it on cardboard and cut that out. Now they work on both sides very well.
Studs and the bearing holes were masked with tape..


Eastwood Brake Gray went on well and dried fast. I did the bottoms first, then the tops, then the edges.


Make sure to mask the edges where the bushings and ball joints will press in!
I shot the control arms first with Eastwood Rust Encapsulator…


I then waited 30 minutes, then shot with Eastwood Extreme Chassis coat black. These paints went on very well with NO runs!





Personally I think they are too glossy, but they are what they are. I bought the satin variety but it looks more like gloss. I had the same opinion to POR15 chassiscoat black, so maybe they are all this glossy.

 

Rob, a little tip for that power steering fluid issue. If you remove the pressure hose from the back of the PS pump, you can thread it into the return port on the steering box. This way you have one hose that connects to both fittings and seals everything up. Works well for storage (and carrying the steering box if it is a junk hose) or shipping as long as you don't need that hose or if you can be assured you will get the hose back from the rebuilder.

On the rotors, I would have used a high temperature paint like a caliper paint or even a manifold paint. Those rotors can get a little warm. I would have sprayed everything, covering only the bearing area. When it came time to assemble (leave the rotors and calipers to be the last thing) take them to a shop and get a light surface cut done and complete the installation. Just my 2 cents.

 

Nice tip there - too bad my hoses were new and wanted to keep them.

This "brake gray" is rated for up to 400*, as it is made for calipers, rotors, and MC's. It has actual stainless steel flakes in it - neat stuff. I think it should be fine.
In thought, I would like to have the rotors turned before reinstallation, but after a very bad experience with turning rotors, I will not chance them.
Eight years ago my Ford's rotors were taken to a parts store for a $10 each turn, but they gave them back to me with a wobble. I took em back and they tried again. A little better but not as good as they were originally. One more turn could have made them past the minimum thickness so I gave up on it. I have a very slight pulse felt in the pedal but all has been well for 35k miles.
Now if I can find a skilled REAL machinist to do it, I would feel better about it...

 

I agree, I had the same issue with Extreme Chassis satin black paint. I ended up topcoating it again with rust encapsulator and I felt that gave it a much better original look. (It says you can leave it as a topcoat)

I made a coil spring removal tool out of a piece of 3 ft of threaded rod, 5/8 coarse thread, with two steel pulleys, one for each end. I got that idea from a friend who told me to remove the shock, run the rod through the holes, put a pulley on each end with flat washers and nuts and snug it up. Put a floor jack under the lower control arm for safety, then separate the ball joint with a pickle fork. Then you could loosen up the nut about 1" and start to lower the floor jack. Continue until all pressure was off and then remove the rod and lower the jack and your ready to take it out. Was planning on trying that the next time I needed to remove springs.

 

Well, back to the suspension drama...

What is the secret to getting the lower ***** to press in - STRAIGHT?
I have the big ball joint press (loaned from Otter zone) and it pressed the old ***** out really easy.

I tapped the new Moog ***** in straight with a hammer to get them started.
But when I use the press, set up like this...

...and a LOT of arm muscle, the new joints just tend to press in at an angle. They go in a short way, ****, and bind.

I have to remove the press, press out the deeper side, and repeat. They are about half way in after a sweaty hour of battling them .
I had used oil on the hole beforehand and there was NO paint there (I masked it off during paint). They are SOOO dang tight!!

I used a BFH on one joint and now the stud seems to move easier (but not loose)- I mighta damaged it.

The bushings were a cakewalk compared to this!
Any experience with the press method?


Now the easy part - the LCA bushings!

I used the ball joint press along with a couple 2" plastic pipe couplers.
One went on the receiving side with an old sock to protect the paint.

I cut a section out of another one and trimmed the side and it fit between the tabs well. The nice thing of being plastic was that it did little more than scuff the paint during press. The bad part was I broke it when prying it out after a pressing.
In goes the rounds!

Contrary to some who insist that this insert must be as round as possible, have not seen what the factory "tool" looked like, which is more like this: "("

Bushing IN! The pressing disk had a nice indention for for the round bushing:

I quickly found this was easier than using the pipe cap seen in the background...

The ovals used the same setup. The edge of the pressing disk pushed on the rubber of the bushings, but not the metal tube.

The pipe coupler was crushed in a vice to give just the right shape for the oval bushings to go inside.

Not as bad as I thought. Now for those stupid ball joints..........

 

Just what they never taught us in school, huh…

My problem is easily visible in this picture.


The setup is on the workbench, which is not allowing my muscles to work efficiently. I put the whole setup on the ground and got a lot more leverage into it, forcing one of the ball joints home.

I did the same with the other but it was even more stubborn. I actually had to put my feet and legs into action.
One foot on the breaker bar and one on the clamp, I forced that ball joint into place to the tune of Sammy Hagar’s “I Can’t drive 55”… I thought for sure something was gonna break, but if it did, I would figure it needed replacing anyway!
In the end, nothing broke, but my arms are sure sore!!

 

Now these went in easier than expected…
The first bushing was pressed in kinda like the lowers, but I had to use the pipe cap, as the press disk would only press on the rubber, not the shell flange.


The shaft was inserted (important step here!) with “wheel side” facing the ball joint.
The second bushing got a small tad of oil smeared on the shell and was placed over the shaft. A block of wood supported the arm at the bushing and the bushing was hammered in.


It was tight but it went.

The gap between the bushings and the shaft ledge is about the same as before disassembly, which seems a bit excessive. Hopefully the nuts will crush the thing together…

So now everything is pressed in so I can return the loaned tools to Otter zone.
PROGRESS!!

 

Saturday I decided to finish the upper control arms by bolting in the ball joints. Since this was a relatively clean job, I did it in the house. It took 20 minutes to collect the parts and tools, read the directions (yep), set the torque wrench, etc. It took 5 minutes per side to do the actual work.


I then decided to dig in more to the right side of the engine bay, the unknown becoming clearer...
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...unknown-2.html

 

You did remember to liberally grease the cross-shafts prior to bushing install, right ?!

 

No grease used on the shafts. Neither the CSM or part instrustions call for it.
If everything is assembled correctly and the control arms are not spread too wide (as in damaged), then the clamping of the shaft nuts are supposed to secure the inner bushing shell to the shaft itself. The actual twisting is done in the rubber. At least that's how I understand it.