Bill Ball

You don't sound quite as enthusiastic as you did before. This really is a nasty, dirty job. If the crossmember goes back in as easily as it came out, consider yourself blessed. Sometimes they pop right in; other times it's a wrestling match. Same with the lower control arms. Use a jack on them too, and have a prybar handy to coax them a bit so the bolt holes line up.

Oh, I see that after I started my post you are back and just about done. Good job.

Iwanna928

There is light at the end of the tunnel

Stephen!

shmark

Getting the cross member back in was a wrestling match. I used the jack to support it and ended up bolting one of the mounts to the engine block before I could lift the cross member in place. Hardest part was getting it back on top of the control arms. I did have to jack the control arms to get those bolts back in. I don't have the upper bolts back in yet, figure that'll be some fun for tomorrow morning. It's beer-thirty!

Bill Ball

Yes, use the main lower crossmember bolts to draw it into position. Hopefully those upper bracket holes will line up. They have to be near perfectly aligned, although a large screwdriver, etc. can be inserted an used to pry them into alignment as you drive the bolts in.

shmark

One of the tips I read was to grind a taper in them before reinstalling, definitely going to give that a shot. I've got a glass of wine, marinated pork chops on the grill and my wife has something yummy going on the stove right now. That and some ibuprofen, and I'm good for the evening. We picked up Avatar in blu-ray, going to have movie night tonight.

Bill Ball

Avatar on Blu-Ray - enjoy! And I understand the ibuprofen. I have developed what appears to be a semi-permanent neck kink from swapping a transmission and changing a climate control setting motor.

dr bob

Bill, I had that same neck kink from a little whiplash in a skiing event in my 20's, and a serious (20+/day)Ibuprofen habit followed. Two years ago I bought a back inversion machine to hang on, to stretch the lumbar more than for the neck. But the correction for the neck is pretty impressive. a few mintes at a time, a few times a day, and I'm off the pills completely. I see Teeter machines at Big-5 stores on sale every once in a while for about $100. The one I have is called a "Back Revolution", more $ and it only stretches from the hips. The Teeter stretches hips and knees too, a plus for tired ski-knees.

Now back to your regularly-scheduled discussion...

shmark

Done! Everything is bolted back up and torqued, all the work under the car is done. True to form, I had a total of 8-10 hours in the job and yes it is a long dirty job. Not really that hard if you just take your time, but some things are a pain. Like those upper cross member bolts. It took me a while to find the right combination of screwdriver and prying to get them lined up, and then the bolts just tapped in with a hammer. Wrestling the steering rack and cover plate into place is also a pain, but a jack helps a lot.

Interesting pic. After loosening the bolts I can see the results of my work. The engine is sitting almost 3/4" higher now, really amazing it was that low.



I have to say Dwayne's motor mount page is AWESOME. I followed it to a T and really didn't have any trouble at all. Great resource. Now I just need to get a few (much smaller) things done and I'll be driving again.

shmark

Just got the car back on the ground and the wife and I went for a drive. Amazing difference, the car is so smooth to drive now. I had no idea how much of the vibration was coming from the engine, figured it was mostly the stiffer suspension. I was wrong. My wife agreed too, saying it was a night and day difference. Totally worth the effort to get the new mounts installed.

Chuck Schreiber

Awesome Job Mark!!
Make sure you get an align as well, you don't want to chew up those nice wide tires!!

shmark

I need new tires anyway. I'll drive it a bit and let the suspension fully settle, then take it to get an alignment done. Hopefully I can get it done tomorrow afternoon in time for a mountain drive Saturday. But it is tracking absolutely straight and the steering wheel is perfectly aligned, so I don't think things changed much. Drove it to work this morning, I really like driving this car!