I am going to be installing the front suspension rebuild kit (poly) from ZIP this weekend. Are there any words of wisdom? Are there any obvious screw ups I can avoid. Is there any way to keep right and left seperated. I took the WHOLE thing apart for easy of sandblasting. Now I have to go back up from memory :D :D :D :D

 

burn out the old rubber bushings, and use good marine lube for the new poly ones, it will make it last longer without noise.
Paul

 

Don't torque the CA/crossshaft bolts until the the weight is back on the front suspension. On the lower ball joint, one of the bolt heads is actually a bump stop for the steering. You can tell the difference because it looks like a little helmet. The bump stop is used on the back ball joint bolt.

Take your time and good luck.

 

a-arms can only go on one side bolts holes will only line up one way

 

Did it also , use plenty of the supplied grease & buy more at marine dealer, the poly bushings will slide right into original shells , you do not have to remove old shells, only get all the rubber out & clean out with enery cloth a 1" hole drill on a low speed drill will get old rubber shxt out ....tkae your time & have a few cold ones......... :cheers:

 

Money, I'm in the middle of this right now. No crap. I'm doing one side at a time, so I can look back and see what's wrong.

What I've found, so far, is that it's easier to install one busing at a time, rather than inserting the rod and then squeezing the two bushings in at the same time. But you need to be careful, to make sure the front bushing of the lower control arm goes in first. If you put the back bushing in first, because of the shape of the rod, you'll be screwed. You'll never get the rod in, without first removing the bushing you just installed.

I also learned that doing a front end job, without replacing the tie rod sleeves, is not smart. Being able to place the old tie rod assembly next to the new one, is a really nice way of making sure everything is set up the way it needs to be set up (thread count etc.). Besides, I don't know about yours, but my sleeves looked like total sheeahhht and I really didn't want them to be any part of my new front end.

Also, a balljoint press is as invaluable as a shop press for removing and installing bushings. I found that the balljoint press, combined with an impact wrench, can make quick work of the old bushings (once the rod is removed). The torch method works too, even though I've read numerous warnings against doing this (something about explosions--mine didn't).

The other stuff seems pretty straightforward. But who am I to say? :seeya

I'm probably on the verge of something really stupid. This is always a safe bet.