SeattlePorsche

I am wondering what would be the most efficient way of getting my suspension together again on the front. The main reason for the question is the ball joint. Right now everything is out of the fender. So the strut and a-arm are separate, but the old ball joint is still in the a-arm. I think the ball joint needs to go in at a certain orientation.

My plan is to:
1) remove ball joint
2) install a-arm
3) install top of strut loosely with washers and nut
4) put ball joint in a-arm and insert into bottom of strut, then secure with wedge bolt
5) put castellated nut on bottom of ball joint and torque to spec
6) torque up all the rest to spec

then I will
7) put wheel hub with brake rotor on
8) put on brake caliper
9) attach brake line
10) repeat everything on other side
11) bleed brakes
12) adjust front heights and then align at shop

does this sound right? The ball joint is where I find it a little gray. Sometimes I wonder if it would be easier to install new ball joint on a-arm before I install. Thank you in advance!

theiceman

Sorry James can't help you with this one ... I thought installation was the reverse of removal :-)

J. Brinkley

easier to install ball joint with strut and arm away from the car. A shop can do it in a couple minutes to correct spec where you might take an hour with a big breaker bar and spendy socket, or if your car is high enough clearance wise to impact it with the correct socket, it still would take longer.
The problem is that if new bushings are installed on the arm, like ER's, then checking for binding issues becomes difficult with a strut attached to it. ER's control arm mount kit I think would take care of this problem. But either way, I'd do it on a bench with an impact before I put it on the car.

Reason number 152 why I need a lift

SeattlePorsche

Ice- Picture this. I was in La Jolla California sitting in the sun drinking a beer when I checked my messages on my cell phone and read your post. I started cracking up really loudly and people started looking at me. Really funny, thanks. (I ran a half marathon there on Sunday, but am back in Seattle today, but I thought I would torture you with thoughts of persistent sunshine and blue ocean water. By the way, after the race, my bones be ache-in, my feet be swell-in.)

Jerry- Thanks for the advice. Today I have off, so I might go to my mechanic to remove and reinstall the ball joint for me. I called Steve Weiner today and he pointed out that the ball joint has a depression that locks into the a-arm, so proper orientation of the ball joint with respect to the a-arm is not an issue. BTW, I am putting in new a-arm polybronze bushings, so yes checking for binding issues will be much easier.

I will post pictures of today's adventure just in case any DIY guys are interested.

J. Brinkley

are you using the JB weld method with the shims?

911 Rod

James,
I just did this so if you have any questions I can help.
You'll need to secure the a-arms while you place the ER sleeves in so it's a good time to do the ball joints. You'll need the special socket and an impact wrench. I prefer to do it myself so I can clean things up a bit. The ball joints have a position slot so they only go on one way.
After you confirm there is no binding with the ER bushings you can place a jack and carefully raise the ball joint into the strut. You'll need to adjust the shaft on the balljoint so you can see the cut away where the pin goes. Take your time and try not to force anything.
Rod

911 Rod

I used Loctite 609.
It was recommended by the machine shop here at work.
I found you could not make the shims to tight as the loctite has a bit of thickness.

SeattlePorsche

911 Rod,

Is that what you want to be called? Just kidding. I am in a good mood. I plan on using the shims provided with the ER pb bushings. I know I am looking for a tight fit with the bushing race. Exactly what are you guys referring to with respect to the JB weld method or the Loctite method. Do you mean using these instead of the shims, or possibly in addition to the shims.

As for the ball joints, I took my a-arms into John Walker's shop in Seattle this morning. He was tied up so I had to come back in the afternoon, but he said he just buzzed off the old ones with the special socket tool and impact wrench, and then buzzed the new ones on. I didn't ask if he torqued to specs because I am pretty sure he didn't and he exudes total competence, so if it was good enough for him, it's good enough for me. He is a nice guy. He didn't charge me a thing, so all I can do to repay him is bring him some of my business in the future.

OK, digital cam ready. Time to hit the garage before my day off is done.

theiceman

Well I am happy to hear that at least if you are sitting in the sun having a beer you are aching, it is still pretty cool hear and I am not out drinking beer yet. Sounds like you are well on your way. If I take the front suspension to bits again I know who I am calling. I may do the front ball joints next anyway.
oh by the way I don't think we sing the praises of JB weld enough on this forum. I am not sure how it is used in your application but boy is this stuff great .. it is like freakin concrete...

I look forward to your pics James.

J. Brinkley

I'd call Chuck to get the full scoop on that
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showt...hreadid=279107

theiceman

love that JB weld ,,,

SeattlePorsche

There is always just one...

No pics to share just yet. The ERPB bushings "almost" went in very smoothly. The races went in over the a-arms very smoothly. Had to use various shim combinations to get it tight, then I dripped some loctite on the shims and pushed the race in the rest of the way. But one race must have stretched a little and the bearing was too small an inner diameter for the race, and so it would not freely rotate. I was a little freaked out, but then just carefully sanded it first with emery cloth and then fine 400 grit paper, and I kept doing this until the bearing rotated so smooth it would just spin like the other three. I should mention that I tried to only sand down the part of the race that was stretched, and that was the end where the flange is. I think it stretched because the shims buckled at the final push, which made the outer diameter of the shaft bigger than the inner diameter of the race. (I just had a conversation earlier with a plumbing contractor earlier yesterday who told me how they stretch the end of a copper pipe so it will fit over the end of another pipe. Same thing that happened to my race.) So problem #1 solved.

Then I had to put the bearings into the a arm covers. There is a rear and a front cover, and corresponding rear and front bearings. The bearing is the part that has an outer cover made of about 2-3 mm of polyurethane, and an inner bronze piece that should rotate freely over the race. As the directions stated, I cleaned the hell out of a arm covers with sanding to remove the old rubber that had burned off inside the cover. Then cleaned them with carburetor cleaner and then when dry, soaped them up. Then I applied soap soln to the bearing and used my bench vise to press them in. I was very easy for THREE of the bearings. But the forth would not go in so smoothly. The polyurethane began to separate from the bronze slightly and a bubble would form as you try to push the bearing into the cover. I was so pissed. I tried to pop the bubble with a razor blade, but this didn't do anything. Then you gotta hammer out the bearing and start all over again. The poly had separated enough that I could lift it up and so i tried to glue it down with loctite and tried again tonight.

Same thing. Bubble formed in the same spot. So I inserted the bearing assymetrically to get the separated part of the poly as far into the cover as I could. Then I carefully pressed the protruding part of the bearing until it caught up with the rest. But eventually a bubble formed again. Then I realized a small amount of damage to the poly shouldn't matter. It is the rotation of the bearing around the race that make this superior to rubber. So it was slow brute force time. I used my car jack lever as a 6 foot breaker bar to torque my bench vice down. That bubble just made it very difficult to slide the bearing in, but I did it. If you look inside the cover, you can see that the poly is still there. I was tired and quit for the night. Problem #2 solved. Hopefully this works.

Sorry about the length, but I thought this might help someone one day.

theiceman

James, sounds like you are having quite the adventure , but hang in their, we have all been there at one time or another, I have never tried what you are doing so I look forward to some pics.

ice

911 Rod

Hey James,
911 Rod beats Corvette Rod
You used a bar to tighten you vise! I did too. So after I install my new vise because my old one was in two I continued.
Too late but. I had the bubbling and just pushed on the bubble as I slowly turned the vise.
Any binding after the dry run without the torsion bars?

SeattlePorsche

Glad to hear I wasn't the only one with the bubbling. See my more recent post with photos. I have not had any binding problems -- I think. I did install the torsion bar already, but not the index cap or adjustment screw at the rear. When everything is loosely screwed and installed, the arm just drops with no resistance. But after I torqued the front and back bolts to spec, there was a little resistance.

I got the idea to use my sears jack handle as a long breaker bar from a previous post. Maybe it was yours!