[Tom Mobley]

get the right tool, the one in the pic above. put the hooks part up in the spring towards the top. unscrew the bolt till you can slip the fork part through the coil as low as you can. start tightening. I/2" drive air impact is good, but you can do it with a ratchet, best to find a long handled one. Notice the position of the hooks and fork and which way the spring is curved.

going back in I I set the thing up so it will curve the spring the way I need it. don't get the fork part too low or it could get trapped against the A-arm. I usually have the spindle hanging from the upper arm and the nut for the lower ball joint handy.

 

[BEN67ZL1]

I bought front and rear sway bars from pst for my 75 Chevy step side and the front one was wrong so I called pst and to say the same person who took my order had no time for me and hung up, and the front sway bar they wouldn't replace has resided in the rafters of my garage to remind me NOT to order from pst, great they are a sponsor but they sure scrXXXXed me

 

[robrizzo]

can anyone tell me the hardware ( nuts and bolts needed ) to install steering arms and backing plates for a disc brake set up on a 1972 Chevelle please

 

[baeroth]

Great write up. I'm going to start this project on my '69 today. I can take tons of pictures if anyone is interested in more photos or of anything in the area while I have it apart.

 

[Meangreen1]

Wow, great write up. After crawing around my 70 today it makes me realize this needs done. DIY write ups like this help a lot.

 

[Todd79]

Just FWI, if your front end is "original", you might want to get a good stretch in first. Started working on mine last weekend. Took about 3 hours per side. First encounter with the riveted ball joints (upper control arms). Tried doing the old shave the head and punch out, but to no avail. Went ahead and ordered the UMI uppers with the .9" taller ball joints. Also, doing a right stuff disc brake conversion at the same time. Had to literally scrape off old grease with a paint scraper. What a mess. Can't wait to see how it rides when done.

 

[Todd79]

Got around to sand blasting. Day 2 of the front lower control arms. Small compressor + humid/cold day = slow process. Can't complain about the outcome though. Thanks to this post, it's been a pretty simple process, just a lot of time.

 

[Tom Mobley]

It's a lot of work and most of it can't really be called fun. But, the results are great and you can say you did it yourself.

Keep at it, you'll get it done.

Have you found one of those spring compressors I posted the pic of?

 

[Todd79]

Thanks man. Ran into a snag today. Was trying to do all the pressing myself and didn't realize there was a metal ring in the boot of the ball joint. Got caught in the control arm and wouldn't budge. Spent a good amount of time working on it and finally went to a Goodyear auto repair place that has a hydraulic press. He pressed it in, but it tore the boot. I chalked it up to me being new at suspension work and brought the rest in to be pressed by them. Figured I'd take it to a pro so I wouldn't jack it up. They did it for me ( literally ). Told them to use a 20mm socket that is perfect for the spacing. Pressed the other ball joint in and the two big bushings in ( with no grease and bent the channels ) then came out and showed me how he folded over the metal sleeve. He said he worked at a reputable performance place before here and didn't have the right adapters to do the job. What a tool. So, I'll have that on order Monday. Yeah, the old dude at Oreillys showed me the one you were talking about. They have it for rent ( free ). On a good note, I did get my springs blasted and ready for paint. And they weren't heated.

 

[-SS454-]

Might be a stupid question, but when ordering new Moog parts from Rockauto or Summit, do you need to order 2 of everything? Like inner and outer tie rods, sway bar links and bushings, etc?

 

[Schurkey]

Figured I'd take it to a pro so I wouldn't jack it up. They did it for me ( literally ). Told them to use a 20mm socket that is perfect for the spacing. Pressed the other ball joint in and the two big bushings in ( with no grease and bent the channels ) then came out and showed me how he folded over the metal sleeve. He said he worked at a reputable performance place before here and didn't have the right adapters to do the job. What a tool. So, I'll have that on order Monday.

If you use Polyurethane bushings, you don't have to do any presswork unless the old bushing are so wiped-out that the press-fit outer shell is damaged.

Melt the rubber bushing out, clean the inside of the shell, slide the Poly bushing and inner sleeve into the original shell. No press, no special tooling. Need a propane torch and some sandpaper/emery cloth.

 

[Todd79]

If you use Polyurethane bushings, you don't have to do any presswork unless the old bushing are so wiped-out that the press-fit outer shell is damaged.

Melt the rubber bushing out, clean the inside of the shell, slide the Poly bushing and inner sleeve into the original shell. No press, no special tooling. Need a propane torch and some sandpaper/emery cloth.

You're talking about the bushings with out the sleeve right? The ones from PST in the Super Front End Kit have the bushings already pushed into a sleeve. If you look at the pic I posted, that's the metal sleeve folded over and the untouched one right next to it.

 

[Todd79]

Might be a stupid question, but when ordering new Moog parts from Rockauto or Summit, do you need to order 2 of everything? Like inner and outer tie rods, sway bar links and bushings, etc?

You order two of everything if you want to replace it all. Just make sure you order one for each side just in case it has different lengths

 

[Schurkey]

You're talking about the bushings with out the sleeve right? The ones from PST in the Super Front End Kit have the bushings already pushed into a sleeve. If you look at the pic I posted, that's the metal sleeve folded over and the untouched one right next to it.

The outer metal piece is the shell. The inner metal piece is the sleeve.

If they're Polyurethane bushings, you simply push them back out of the outer shells with your fingers. RUBBER bushings are bonded to the shells and inner sleeves. POLY bushings slide right out.

That's the other un-advertised advantage of Poly bushings--unlike rubber bushings, you can torque the suspension without having to have it at normal ride height. Any position is suitable for torquing.

 

[Todd79]

The outer metal piece is the shell. The inner metal piece is the sleeve.

If they're Polyurethane bushings, you simply push them back out of the outer shells with your fingers. RUBBER bushings are bonded to the shells and inner sleeves. POLY bushings slide right out.

That's the other un-advertised advantage of Poly bushings--unlike rubber bushings, you can torque the suspension without having to have it at normal ride height. Any position is suitable for torquing.

Well, I had pushed the original shell out knowing I had new ones to replace them with. Live and learn right?
I thought you had to torque any bushings at normal ride height?

 

[Todd79]

Beginning to wonder if the a arms are from a different year/model. All the bushings made the a arms cave in, even with a spacer. Hope I can still make em work.

 

[Schurkey]

Beginning to wonder if the a arms are from a different year/model. All the bushings made the a arms cave in, even with a spacer. Hope I can still make em work.

If the arms suffered a "cave in", you're probably looking for different arms. Paid for by the boneheads that ruined your parts to begin with.

 

[Tom Mobley]

upper arm, need spacer similar in length to the distance between the front and rear of the arms.

lowers, need small spacer to fit between the two sides of the a-arms. Look at the pics of what I did.

for the lowers, post #7

uppers, post #9

 

[Todd79]

I did and we put sockets all the way around. I think we used like 3 or 4 of em. Used a hydraulic press on everything. Even sanded a bit to make it " easier " One mechanic that can't get it right = lousy mechanic. 2 mechanics that can't get it right = suspicious. I do have a big ford wrench, so I'll see how it goes

 

[Todd79]

Got the LCAs in. Passenger side took a little work, but the drivers side slid right in. Going to try the PVC pipe seating for the boots on the ball joints, rent the spring compression tool and hopefully have my front end back together tomorrow!