Dan H.

Good morning,
I'm in the process of putting delrin bushings in my car. It is mostly a track car with little street miles. Its an 02 Z06 with 21k miles. DRM shocks and brace ducts. Stock powertrain.

I'm reassembling the rear suspension and the lower ball joint on the rear is very difficult to access because of the driveshaft being right above it. My question is how do you torque this back on? The show manual has a three step torque process. Something to the effect of
15ft-lbs, then 180 degrees, then 42 ft-lbs.
Do people just tighten it with a combination wrench past 42 ft-lbs? Or is it important to follow the shop manual to the t?

Thank you
Dan

wcsinx

It'll likely take more than 42 ft-lbs to make the interference fit hence the 180° step. Once you're past that, it might feel like the bolt has released again. Then you go 42 ft-lbs after that for final torque.

That being said, if you've been wrenching for awhile, it's not a hard thing for your mechanic's feel.