Justwondering
Well-Known Member
There was a knocking/thumping in the front left (driver's side) wheel well.
The lugnuts were loose.
I tightened them.
Drove about a half mile.
They were loose again.
My brother used his popeye arms and tightened them again. All is good.
So I know I need a torque wrench or bigger biceps.
It was recommended that I check for other issues (wheel bearing, tie rods, ball joints, etc.)
So I have this great service manual. Everything seems straightforward although time consuming. But after reading the manual, I realize this is a good time to check many components.
Here is my picture:
So this is looking from the front of the car to the rear. Inside of tire is on the right.
This is the upper ball joint ? It looks compromised to me. The other side doesn't look like this. Seems like the seal is not setting right.
Many of the metal rods/arms are very corroded. In fact, the tie rod ends where the grease service port stands up all look like the seals are broken since there is tons of grease coating everything.
So I'm looking for advice and recommendations for a good game plan.
There is a reference to some tools (C3564-a and C4212 and torque wrench). I have none of these things yet. I have jack stands and a jack so I can get the front end up off the ground.
Do I also need some grease or lubricant?
I assume I should check both sides.
I should check the brakes since I have to remove the caliper and wheel hub?
Do I just put the rust armature back on or grind off the rust or paint it with something?
There's a big spring that the shock is centered in, do I need to be sure that stays compressed and if so how do I do that.
The shocks look new and clean.
I just don't want to wind up with a mess on my hands that I can't get back together. But I also don't want to go to this much trouble for a ball joint and not take advantage of fixing the other 80% of issues while I have things apart.
So if you could give me an idea of how long I need to have the front suspension out of this while I get it fixed I can work around the rain/weather since I have to do this without a garage.
Once I get everything done, I do have a great mechanic who said he would review everything to be sure I didn't goof up somewhere. But I have to be able to drive it or trailer it to him.
The lugnuts were loose.
I tightened them.
Drove about a half mile.
They were loose again.
My brother used his popeye arms and tightened them again. All is good.
So I know I need a torque wrench or bigger biceps.
It was recommended that I check for other issues (wheel bearing, tie rods, ball joints, etc.)
So I have this great service manual. Everything seems straightforward although time consuming. But after reading the manual, I realize this is a good time to check many components.
Here is my picture:
So this is looking from the front of the car to the rear. Inside of tire is on the right.
This is the upper ball joint ? It looks compromised to me. The other side doesn't look like this. Seems like the seal is not setting right.
Many of the metal rods/arms are very corroded. In fact, the tie rod ends where the grease service port stands up all look like the seals are broken since there is tons of grease coating everything.
So I'm looking for advice and recommendations for a good game plan.
There is a reference to some tools (C3564-a and C4212 and torque wrench). I have none of these things yet. I have jack stands and a jack so I can get the front end up off the ground.
Do I also need some grease or lubricant?
I assume I should check both sides.
I should check the brakes since I have to remove the caliper and wheel hub?
Do I just put the rust armature back on or grind off the rust or paint it with something?
There's a big spring that the shock is centered in, do I need to be sure that stays compressed and if so how do I do that.
The shocks look new and clean.
I just don't want to wind up with a mess on my hands that I can't get back together. But I also don't want to go to this much trouble for a ball joint and not take advantage of fixing the other 80% of issues while I have things apart.
So if you could give me an idea of how long I need to have the front suspension out of this while I get it fixed I can work around the rain/weather since I have to do this without a garage.
Once I get everything done, I do have a great mechanic who said he would review everything to be sure I didn't goof up somewhere. But I have to be able to drive it or trailer it to him.