First, I just gotta get this out of my system. SDKJFSLHGOWIUQNGOQEJIEJTOWJIFWOEJRTWOGJW OG :cuss :cuss :cuss :cuss :cuss :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

Ok, now that's out of the way. I'd just like to say I might be screwed on my front end. The rear end went on with little problems and looks good. When I went to do the front, OMG, what a PITA. First, the instructions Mid America gives are absoutely useless and the Haynes manual is just as good, so I basically had to figure stuff out on my own. Then I ran into problems with the balljoints. I eventually got those off but now I can't get the stabilizer bar out of the way. The damn bolts won't come out. So I said screw it. I'll put it back together and pay to have someone else do it. As I put it back together, I'm running into little difficulties all the way until I try and tighten up the balljoint again. The bolt keeps spinning with the nut and I can't get it tight again!!! :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: Even a pair of vise-grips aren't doing the job enough. I can't tighten down the last .5". I even tore the bumper a little with the vise-grips trying to get that sucker down. So I'm basically screwed unless you guys can give me some advice or I get a mechanic to come out to the house to fix what I screwed up.

This car is so old and has so many rough miles on it, that its a pain to work with ANYTHING on it. Stuff is rusted is place on so many parts that even the simplest of tasks is a major undertaking. I should probably sell it one of these days and get a new one. Either that or take out a huge personal loan and tell someone to replace every piece of plastic and metal on it. :cry

 

Hmm. I'm not sure about the ball joints...

What part is giving you trouble on the sway bar? The lower bolts for the end links? I'll have to post those pics so I can remember what you're dealing with.

There's three different places you can disconnect the sway bar btw. If the lower bolts are siezed, try taking the other ones out. Soak them RIGHT NOW with WD-40, so when you try later they'll budge. If it's a bolt and nut, and not threaded into some aluminum piece, then just snap them off and replace em. The local bubba would have to do the same.


Here's those pics....

Lowering Pictures :cheers:



[Modified by CentralCoaster, 4:02 PM 8/7/2003]

 

Sorry to hear about the problems but you should be able to drive it (slowly) to a shop with the front stabalizer bar loose.

 

Aw, don't give up so easy. I failed on my first attempt, and had to put the whole thing back together to go to the autoparts store and rent the balljoint pullers.

Also, you can't really use the castle nut to pull the ball joint up into the knuckle. Try supporting the lower control arm with a jack, and push the knuckle down onto it, with some weight and thread the nut on. You need to get the tapered ball joint seated somewhat so it won't spin freely.

It may be that you damaged the threads on the ball joint or the nut when you hammered on it, and the threads are hanging up and causing it to spin the ball joint.

Try using the nuts you pulled off the rear bolts instead.. if the ball joint threads are f*d up, then take that nut to a store, take one of your stock rear lowering bolt too, and find a die that fits over it. I'm not sure how you'd hold the ball joint from spinning while recutting the threads, but it shouldn't take much force if the threads aren't that bad.


Keep us posted.


[Modified by CentralCoaster, 1:49 PM 8/7/2003]

 

I guess there's one advantage to me having to wrench on something new every weekend. I could probably spin off my exhaust bolts by hand! I mean, they're not rusted to hell anymore having to take it off so many times.

 

btw, you're not using vice grips on the castle nut... or on the ball joint are ya?

get yourself some deep sockets.

 

My bad, that link to pictures I gave you was a bad link.

I fixed it now though.

 

Well there's good news and bad news. I had some other people help me out and it ended up being the threads being a little messed up trying to get the balljoint out. I was able to rethread it with one of the rear nuts that I took off and got that fixed. Once I got that, I said screw it, and put the rest of the front together. I'll just pay to have someone else do it for me. Maybe have them clean it out while I'm at it. There's SOOOO much old grease, tar, and crap in there, that its literally 1/4" thick. :eek: I could probably gain a .1 sec if I had that all cleaned out. So now the car is sitting with the rear too low by about 1/4" until I can have the front done. Oh yeah, and I now have a Service Ride Control light for some odd reason. I hope I didn't screw anything up in there... :cry

PS. I think I may have found the mysterious exhaust rattle that's been haunting my car for the past 3 years or so. :hurray: There's a thin metal cover going around my headers and on the drivers side, there are 3 screws holding it in place. When only one is still in place and the other two have rusted out the cover around them, so it rattles when I start shaking it. I'll bet money that if I put washers around them, that problem with go away. I think I'll try it once I get back from vacation. :smash:


[Modified by Lord Odin, 6:21 PM 8/7/2003]

 

I just finished my rear and am waiting to start the front....the rear is lower than the front like yours but I will have to live with it until I can get up the nerve to do what you did...I am thinking of a total rebuil kit while I am in there.....

 

LordOdin,

Why dontcha just take those heat shields off of the shorty headers?

I'm planning to do this probably next week when I replace my header gaskets. I got some high temp silver paint for em, so hopefully it turns out nice.

I'll post pics afterwards.


I have a dream, that one day, I'll live in Chevy dually with an enclosed trailer, and drive up and down the eastern seaboard and be the "Corvette Bitch of the East". I'll work only for beer and food until all the Corvettes are in tip top shape.

 

Will removing the heat shields hurt the car at all? What about other components around the headers?

 

I have ceramic coated longtubes and havent had any problems with anything else. I did have to have new contacts put into the starter selonid but I doubt it was becuase of heat. All of the rubber still looks to be in decent shape for a 10 yr old car. Good luck with the front end, I feel you pain. I am trying to get the nerve to install my camber brace or energy to do it. I think I am more lazy than scared though.

 

You shouldn't have anything touching the heat shields.. so you shouldn't have anything touching the headers. I don't think the heat shields are necessary, only a safeguard. Especially if you put your hands down in there.

I'm in the process of baking my stock shorty headers in the oven, I'll try and wrap em up so I can install em without scratching them up.

I'll definitely post before/after pics when I'm done.


So far, it looks wayyy better without the heatshields. I also ported the headers.

 

You shouldn't have anything touching the heat shields.. so you shouldn't have anything touching the headers. I don't think the heat shields are necessary, only a safeguard. Especially if you put your hands down in there.

I'm in the process of baking my stock shorty headers in the oven, I'll try and wrap em up so I can install em without scratching them up.

I'll definitely post before/after pics when I'm done.


So far, it looks wayyy better without the heatshields. I also ported the headers.


BTW, I don't know about the LT1, but I doubt you can get the back side of the heat shielf off without removing the manifold... or mangling the heat shield.