Thursday, March 18, 2010 - 12:45 am, by: James Lamont(Wolvesboy)
I am in the process of converting my V8 from airbags to springs/struts. What a pain the front is to do by yourself. There is a lot of conflicting advice on how to get the lower arm down enough to get the new system in- i opted to use the ball joint method and now I am paying for this. In hitting the ball joints to separate them (stupidly) i have rounded the end of one!! Advice to others DO NOT hit them with a hammer but use an arm puller instead- much more cost effective. I also attempted to undue the sway bar nuts and now they just go around and around. Useless tip that one as I was really careful and gentle with them but they still rotated. A question though- as i now need to get another Lower control arm, do I need a V8 one due to the height adjuster?? I f I get another from a JZ80 for example what do I do with the adjuster as it will not connect and in theory it is now useless anyway without the airbags? Do I also remove the height adjuster componenets or leave them as they are. Jeez what an expensive couple of blows with a soft hammer they were!! I might try to re thread it on the end- fingers crossed.
Thursday, March 18, 2010 - 01:33 am, by: Ali Saeed(Ali)
if you are going for springs/struts, doesnt matter. i am looking into a coliver setup which incorporates tiny airbags ontop, which you can raise going over big bumps and stuff.
Thursday, March 18, 2010 - 04:56 am, by: Matt Petersen(Mattmannz)
If you want to use the hammer method to separate the ball joint from the stub axle you must ensure that the nut is on the end of the joint to protect the thread!
Also before undoing the nut thoroughly clean the threads to ensure that the nut comes off easily.
When attempting to do the nut back up again you will need to seat the joint into the stub axle assembly to prevent the joint from spinning around. Downwards pressure of the taper will stop the joint spinning.
Thursday, March 18, 2010 - 02:47 pm, by: Matthew Sharpe(Madmatt)
The Sway bar studs have hex key insert in the end of them so you can hold them in place while you tighten them back up with a spanner. Think its a 5.5MM hex key from memory. Once they are spanner tight you will be able to torque them up correctly no problems.
You should NOT have to seperate your lower arm balljoint , at least you don't in a UZZ30 or JZZ31! All you should have to do for the front is disconnect the caliper and hang it up out of the way, remove the front inner guard linings (and the washer bottle on the left hand side) and the undo the very long bolt that holds the upper wishbone to the subframe. Knock it out gently, then the hub aseembly and upper wishbone will be out of the way, and the lower wishbone should drop down enough to get the new stuts in with just a little pressure on it.
Make sure you settle the car before tighting everything back up again otherwise you will probably damage your upper arm bushes.
As for the rear, there is more room, so I usually do it by compressing the spring enough to allow me to just leaver the shock into position, then remove the spring compressors once I have the shock in place. You can't really use this method at the front as the spring compressors just won't fit.
Miles Baker Goo Roo Vic 66 Mustang GT Convertible, 55 Chevy Bel Air, 69 Firebird 455, 69 Nova SS Clone, 65 Mustang Fastback, 67 Mustang Convertible, 67 Camaro RS/SS
Thursday, March 18, 2010 - 05:56 pm, by: Miles Baker(Milesb)
Which tool told you to hit the shaft of a ball joint? You never do that. You may actually succeed in separating the taper from the spindle but you'll beat the hell out of the entire joint. Not smart. If nothing else you are introducing stress into the shaft which you really don't want breaking. If you are going to use a hammer you use a heavy hammer to hit the SPINDLE side-on with another heavy hammer on the other side. The proper way though is with the tool that costs about 40 bucks. There is no real reason for not using the tool any more. Super Cheap sells a reasonable quality one.
As you have buggered your control arm I suggest you look on Rock Auto at having reconditioned ones shipped out. You will likely pay about the same as a used arm here but you get fresh hardware.
I reckon the easiest way to clean up all the airbag stuff would be to unplug the compressor and lose all the height sensors. You may get a dash warning.
And Matthew is right - it should be possible to change the strut without popping the joints at all.
Saturday, March 20, 2010 - 11:20 am, by: James Lamont(Wolvesboy)
Thanks for the replies fellas! Yeah we all learn from our lack of patience! Even though I have changed shocks before it is amazing how much you forget when you are "on a mission" to get stuff done and finished. Stupid me as I just had to wait until the next evening as the other side was so easy with the puller to split the joint. After reading the excellent thread provided by Scott I now feel a little silly but I did go down the route with the sway bar arm and it was not budging. Just got to sort out a new lower control arm now- a little peeved that I have to get the whole arm. Wel come to Soarer ownership!!!