(Left) This is what we'll start off with, an old rusted badly painted thirty year abused A-Arm. What we will do in this section of the rebuild, is fix all that and make it look pretty. Now you'll need you Rolling Stones CD because we're going to start painting everything black. We'll also remove old bushings and sleeves and install new ball joints.
The calipers should slide off after the two allen key bolts are removed. If you listened to me earlier you'll understand why you should've loosened the caliper bolts. To remove those when it is out of the car you'll have to do a bit of wrestling.
Take a screwdriver and remove the cap bearing cap. Wedge it under the lip and pry it out(using a hammer can help to get the screwdriver under the lip of the cap. Pull of the rotor and save the bearings for later. Use a seal remover or screwdriver to pry the seal out. Now you can go ahead and remove the splash shield for cleaning and painting prep.
Now you'll want to remove you ball joints. You can use this nifty tool that I rented from autozone. Set it up. It's hard to explain how to set it up but when you see it it will be crystal clear. Then use you impact wrench to pop it out. You could also use a snail-speed wrench and muscle it out too.
This is the best picture I have, sorry. It's a little out of focus. Removal of the bushings is a whole different story. I small lip around the sleeve will hang out. Use a punch to cripple that old wasted bushing sleeve in ward. This will make it easier for it to slide out. Also hit it on the inside to help separate it from the A-Arm. You may find the you'll have to do alot of sledge hammer pounding to cripple it enough. You can either hit it out with a hammer or use the ball joint remover/installer to press it in.
Yeah. Feels good huh. Finally got those bushings out. Go give someone a high five.
Now you'll have to get your A-Arm in good enough condition to paint. Pressure washer, Rust Removing chemicals,Varsol cleaning bath, wire brush, sand paper, or even an ultrasonic parts washer just get it clean. I used naval jelly from home depot, Varsol and a pressure washer that helped remove the cheap factory coating.
Yes. That is me working away.
Paint your A-Arms. I have heard rumors of a paint better than mine. Better than my PPG Direct to Rust epoxy! It's called PQR, I'm skeptical, but I'm going to go ahead and buy some to check it out.
Press in the new ball joints with that rented tool. Make sure they are completely in. There should be a lip that they seat onto.
Remove the polygraphite bushings from their new metal sleeves. You can do so with a vice or press of some sort.
Now your can use that rental tool again (understand why that tool is so cool now). Use the rental tool to press the bushing sleeves into the A-Arm eyelet. However, you will need to insert supports into the A-Arm to keep the press from bending/squeezing the crap out of it. I used some craftsman wrench sockets and hammered them in place.
I didn't take as many pictures for the installation. I was rushed, because I had to meet the deadline to get out of the house. So, no more picture book time. Down to serious business. Layout all your parts and admire their beauty in pure astonishment. After you finish this you'll want to bolt in your new Global West upper A-Arm. This is pretty easy considering everything is out of the way. I recommend getting new lock nuts and putting those on for safety.
Next is the most frustrating part of the whole installation. The new bushings installed in the lower A-Arm don't seem to fit in the frame, the only thing you can do is hammer them in. You can use a couple small washers and a clamp to keep the bushings from catching on the hole were the bolt goes. It's easy to knock the A-Arm up and rip off a piece of that new bushing when it get's caught on that hole. Use some grease to help them slide up in there too. You could also use some help from a buddy when doing this part of the installation(to keep the morale up).
Go ahead and put on the spindle on the upper ball joint and torque the upper castlelated nut to about ??ft/lbs. After they are tightened to that spec DON'T loosen them to put the coder pin through. If you have to, tighten them up to a position where the coder pin goes through.
Next we'll start putting in the shocks and springs. Pull the shock rod all the way out. Screw on the spring seat and locks. Seat the spring and shock in the frame, bolt the shock in place. It may be a little tricky to get the spring on the frame right while bolting in the shock mount. A little pushing and shoving will eventually get it in place. You can either face the shock knob inward or outward as you can access it from both sides. I recommend facing the bottom notch (not the adjuster)of the spring outwards(facing you), if you don't it may cut into the spring seat while adjusting it. This happens because the spring may not seat in the adjuster right, at the angle you will be the shock up at.
Now that it is in place go a ahead and set a jack under the A-Arm and jack it up until the lower balljoint stud slides into the spindle. Now tighten that one down to ??ft/lbs and slide in your coder pin. Only tighten the nut to align the coder pin.
With my engine lingering in a performance engine shop at the time. The front end lacked the weight to compress the springs. By the grace of god, I found two boxes of weight from and exercise machine. The combined weight of my sister and the weights the compressed the springs and I was able to tighten the down the bolt.
