1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
One side is in.
Dean's suggestion about the putty knife was a good one. I ended up using feeler guages for the top two corners which worked even better. The dish soap solution was nice. I ended up using a slightly dilute simple green solution that I keep handy in the garage. Probably not as a good as the dish soap because it would dry quickly.
The trolly jack (ie; floor jack) is something that I was already using. I was being sarcastic about that one before. It helped a little but the bushing needs to slide in sideways ie; the bolt goes straight up through the bushing from the ground. That meant that it only helped align it but could not force it in. I had to slightly round the top edge of the bushing so that it would roll in more smoothly. This was before Dean's suggestion of a putty knife.
I ended up using Dean's putty knife and soap suggestions along with a pry bar to get this puppy in there. Thanks Dean. I also had to use the floor jack to raise the suspension up a bit so that the control arm would be more parallel to the ground while putting it in. Another trick was that at the very end the bolt that goes through is pointed to help align it with the hole. I had it this far for quite some time. I ended up using the jack from the trunk of the car under the bolt to push it in and align the bolt with the hole. I would have saved hours had I thought of this earlier.
One note. I have no idea how somebody would do this without a bushing press. I made myself one out of a giant threaded steel rod, several huge heavy duty washers, and bolts that fit. The first level washers were actually very small iron weights and then I just used smaller ones as needed. It was probably the most successful part of the job. Depending on which end, I used the old fashioned kind of weight or a couple of olympic size weights to give room for the bushing to come through at the other end.
How hard was it? I sure wish I had a lift for this one. It was rather difficult to get the leverage and angles that I needed. I have bruises on my arms, shoulders, hip, and a gash on my head. I only did one side and need to do the other ASAP. Although side two will probably take me 1/8 of the time side 1 did, I might just have the other side put in. There wasn't much fun in this one. I would put the value of getting these installed by somebody at around $200-$300 but I bet you could get it done for just over $100.
The results? Currently it feels like I'm driving with one very low tire in the front. A quick measure shows that my alignment is toed out a bit now. When the other side is done, I will need to have the toe adjusted. From what I can tell, the suspension seems tighter up front but I really cannot say until both sides are done and I've aligned the toe.
Was this necessary? Sure was. I had done part "A" years ago and am doing part "B" and Talaiferro suggests doing "C" last. While I was in there with "B" undone, I could see huge amounts of lateral movement of "C". "C" will need to be done soon. "C" also looks MUCH EASIER than the others. See their website for a description of A, B, and C. I guess that B is more important because it would cause more toe out under breaking which would make the steering wheel have more of a mind of its own under heavy breaking.
Best of luck folks,
Bill
posted by 64.3.16...
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
