Goughary

I bought it at northern tool when they had them on sale a few years ago, basically to break loose and torque the hub bolts. Has become one of my most appreciated tools.

This isn't the one, since they don't sell the same one anymore, but this is virtually identical.

http://m.northerntool.com/products/s...duct_200623947

John McM

Would the smaller one be adequate for hubs etc? I ask as my torque wrench and cheater bars are 1/2"

Goughary

Honestly, for what I did today, no. Mine is 3/4 by 1 inch and I'm suprised I didn't lift the car of the jackstands on those rediculous bolts.

But, that's on the extreme end. To torque a hub nut to 339 ft/lbs, the 1/2 by 3/4 would be more than fine. But if your hub bolts have never been broken loose, who knows.

Is much rather mine were smaller, but then again, for the few times I've really need this thing to be strong, it was.

Does that help at all?

John McM

Yes that helps. My car has had 3 geos in the last two years so I may take my chances that the smaller one is ok.

spenny_b

Smaller one would certainly be more wieldy and potentially able to get in more spaces (and thus be used more)...can't immediately think where, but I'm sure there's some restricted access, f-tight bolts that would benefit from a multiplier.

Like Goughary, by happenstance I also ended up with a 3/4" > 1" multiplier and very glad I have it....one hub nut was fine - took some effort but was loosened in a few seconds. The other side really did take some weighing-on....a 3ft / 3/4" drive breaker on the inside of the hub, my Brother standing on the brake and me (ok, I'm only a light fella, am no linebacker!) giving it everything.

(To start with, pre-multiplier, I had a 2ft 1/2" drive breaker on the inside, the 3ft 3/4" breaker on the outside with 32mm socket; the 1/2" bar broke at the knuckle....so I feel a lot happier for now using 3/4" and 1" drive hardware for these sort of torques)

The only downside to having a larger unit, imho, is having to buy an adapter set like this, which then adds length to the multiplier.

Just my 2p and sorry for hijack

spenny_b

Excellent work Goughary, really loving seeing the progress shots; having never disassembled the chassis components on this car, it really is useful seeing all this stuff and building the mental picture of what I've got coming.

Advice on the tools to get before starting is also invaluable...going off to Google the SIR tools right now

John McM

What are the important bolt sizes (my car is in the body shop and I want to order the right set to have it ready when it comes back to me)

Goughary

I don't understand. Important bolt sizes for what?

John McM

Anything with high torque value e.g. Hubs, Spring plates etc.

YaHoo!

This thread has been great, excellent info and has me wondering about the condition of my wheel bearings.
Thanks Goughary.

Goughary

Well next time you have to do a cv boot, grab your hub and jiggle...wheel won't fall off due to a bad bearing on these cars, so worst case is noise...

Goughary

Five cars from now, you will all be begging me to stop...man this is going to get repetitive...and I'll still be bicthting about the latest finger I lost or my new gash, or that something popped on the shop press and I was impaled in the chest and can no longer breath...

But for now the story goes on. I'll do this in multiple posts because it's so scattered in my head and in the garage...

Goughary

So first up, is the removal of the rear struts. We took out the airbox and the heater blower motor to get access up above in the engine bay. Cracked the bottom loose and put a jack under the trailing arm to support the whole from falling out. Cracking the top nuts was a pita. But they eventually came loose and out came the struts...

And then we found out what we should have known all along. We don't have what we need for the switch to the elephant monoballs. Never having had these out, what would I know...

So in hand we had on one side, a bilstein HD rear strut, with an Eibach spring, perched in the OEM top hat. and on the other, an elephant top hat and a set of 2 1/4 inch needle bearings. But no perch. I called Chuck and explains the inner diameter of the eibachs is three inches, and we need some kind of perch. He agreed and is putting together what we need to use the monoball rear hats with what is effectively a stock size spring.

Now to the front, since we have elephant on the phone...a bit more complicated there. So I'll get to the end result...or I'll write for an hour. We are returning the front monoball camber plate. The plates are made to be used with a true coil over where the seat up top can utilize the needle bearings to allow compensation for spring windup, particularly under cornering load. So we had a choice, spend more to change the springs and make it work, or ask ourselves how much gain John is getting by making the change. In the end, we decided that the stock top hats, since they give enough camber for his needs, are adequate and without changing the springs, we could get the plates to work, but would lose the bearings and would then have spring windup issues, so we are putting them back in w no change.

Which means we can rebuild the front end after we get one more control arm redone...but in the meantime, on to spring plates.

Goughary

Elephant spring plate bushings. I have to say, everything I've seen from them so far, are pretty awesome bits of industrial design. Can't speak to longevity yet, but they seem to be fantastic quality, and the nice thing is there has been a lot of attention paid to weather proofing, which for street application is important.

So first we took off the boot on the "car side" of the spring plate. And then I started to take apart the other side...the side that has the 12mm Allen bolt...which I didn't need to do. I cleaned up the car side, so I wouldn't get all the grease everywhere when we went to the press. And then pressed out the entire bush. Very easy. And even easier to install their bushing. You push in the poly outer, most of the way. Rub the inside of that with dish soap, and then press in the bush till it and the black sleeve pop into place. Install the snap ring so it can't back out and all good.

We have a quick soda blast to the arms to clean them prior. Maybe they could have used to have been replated, but not this time around...maybe we will cost everything with waxoyl or maybe something like a cosmoline to prevent rust. Any thoughts on that would be welcome. The car will be driven in winter.

We bought all new hardware for the spring plates. So when that arrives and the top hats get done, we are ready to reassemble.

On to the front...

Goughary

The left front control arm came today. So we pressed out the bushings and pressed in the elephant sport bushings.

I had gotten the press tools from elephant, and they are great, but these arms are corroded, old, and fused. So I have now destroyed all the tools. It takes so much pressure to break the bond of the steal to the control arm. That the press tools are just buckling. And I have eight more front control arms to do.

Anyway. On we went, pop the discs off the ends, drill out the center, hack saw the tip, start hammering, work out the first half of the split cup set, then press out the other half with a socket. Then press out the front bush. This is the one that bent the tool. Just would not pop. When it did, I thought something was going to break catastrophically and that was going to be dangerous. So we held a piece of wood in front of the press as a precaution. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Eventually it came. And so I then had a bent tool stuck in the arm. And pressed that back out with a socket.

So we re assembled the arm to the sub frame. And waited to torque it till the frame was bolted to the car.

On goes the swaybar. The h and r bars are awesome. Huge thick massive things. Total overkill. But if you like a flat car in corners, these will do the trick. Makes me want to go to a softer spring...

Anyway . There are no insructions. So we dry fit the brackets to the sun frames. I had soaked the brackets in apple cider vinegar to remove the rust, and yesterday we primed and painted those for a bit of rust protection. The brackets over the bars and bushings are a very tight fit. It's a good idea to have a long m8 threaded bolt to bolt down the bracket, and then once it's all been pressed done, pull that out and put back the short m8 oem bolt and nut.

Also, we found the bushings have to go on the outside of the flanges. Oops. Anyway. I took off one side, loosely mounted that to the car. And then we fit the swaybar up through and mounted the other side to the car. Snugged the bolts, and bolted down the swaybar brackets. Then torqued all the bolts. 17ft lbs for the swaybar brackets, 81 ft/lbs for the 19mm front bolts, and 34 ft/lbs for the rear bolts. Then torqued the control arm bushings and done.

Another epic day. I will finish reassembly of the front end tomorrow.