Front End Question
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Instructor
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 144
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From: Austin Texas
Front End Question
I started out today wanting to get the front end upper and lower control arms out of of the car. I got down to the pindle and pulled the nuts to the ball joints. I thought that the tension of the spring would pull apart the two control arms. I was wrong :cry
Can someone explain how I could get them apart?
Thanks in advance, Dave
Can someone explain how I could get them apart?
Thanks in advance, Dave
Pro
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 587
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From: Leonard, MI USA
Re: Front End Question (blewbyu16)
Use a ball joint seperator. DO NOT allow the spring tension to force the ball joints apart. This is EXTREMELY dangerous. The springs are installed with a TREMENDOUS amount of potential energy, since they are compressed.
Put those nuts back on there immediately, and chain the spring to the lower control arm with a strong floor jack under the lower arm. Then, using a pickle fork or ball joint seperator seperate the ball joints.
Search the archives for CCC. Within in that, you shoudl find a post that is regarding fornt suspension rebuilds. Lars put a fantastic post together with step by step how to do this.
Please, put those nuts back on the ball joints though. If they do break free, you'll have springs flying everywhere and whatever is in the way will be severly damaged or killed. :eek:
Put those nuts back on there immediately, and chain the spring to the lower control arm with a strong floor jack under the lower arm. Then, using a pickle fork or ball joint seperator seperate the ball joints.
Search the archives for CCC. Within in that, you shoudl find a post that is regarding fornt suspension rebuilds. Lars put a fantastic post together with step by step how to do this.
Please, put those nuts back on the ball joints though. If they do break free, you'll have springs flying everywhere and whatever is in the way will be severly damaged or killed. :eek:
Moderator
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 7,117
Likes: 51
From: Dove Mountain Arizona
Re: Front End Question (blewbyu16)
:eek: Agree, put the nuts back on!! I had the body off, engine/tranny out and smacked mine with a spreader and the frame missed my forehead by about an inch as it went half way to the ceiling!! :bb The spring went under (not thru, thank God) my $35,000 ski boat and put a pretty good size hole in my garage wall. This was MAJOR LEAGUE stupidity on my part and I got VERY lucky. The safe & sane way to do this is to put a spring compressor on and compress the spring, then you can seperate the joints safely. You wanna be able to do this :auto: and this :steering: , not this..... :cry :reddevil :cry
Premium Supporting Vendor
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 4,312
Likes: 70
From: Clearwater FL
Re: Front End Question (MasterDave)
:iagree:
Once you put the nuts back on (about 3-4 thread), take a jack like they said and put it under the lower a-arm. Than you can the bracket the ball joints go into and they will pop right out(the ball joints). Than you can let the jack down and remove the spring.
Once you put the nuts back on (about 3-4 thread), take a jack like they said and put it under the lower a-arm. Than you can the bracket the ball joints go into and they will pop right out(the ball joints). Than you can let the jack down and remove the spring.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 17,702
Likes: 3,690
From: Central Arkansas
Re: Front End Question (Van Steel)
My 2 cents is don't try to remove a spring without a spring compressor installed. It appears the short F41 springs might be able to be slowly released with a jack under the lower control arm but I'm not brave enough to try it. Standard suspension springs are just too long to remove or install w/o a compressor. :nonod:
