Well, as I am anxiously and nervously embarking on this adventure, it wasn't very long (which is a good thing I guess) until I encountered my first problem.

The strut mount bolt is not centered in the whole and I can't slide a nut on it to dismount. Even an open box wrench won't fit because the whole is too small to even turn the nut.

Now what??? Take the whole assembly off by freeing the 3 bolts that hold the strut mount plate??? If so, how will I be able to free the top bolt ???

 

Remove the whole assembly and use a spring compressor. You can unto those 3 top nuts.

 

Take out the whole assembly by removing the three bolts. Then you use a hex to hold the the shaft from spinning and use a wrench to loosen the nut (while spring compressor is holding the spring compressed )

 

Ok thanks

 

You read my mind. Now if you had the PASM wire there it would be a whole different story.

 

Alright.... now onto the brake caliper... do I have to take the pads out before removing the caliper??

Reason for asking is that I removed both hex 10 bolts, but the caliper won't even move.

 

There's probably a small lip on the rotor so you'll just have to give it a tug and it'll slide right off. Make sure to also remove the brake line bracket from the hub.

 

Yes thanks for that, the lip was holding on tight. Had to generously give it with a rubber mallet.

Thanks.

 

Alright guys, thanks for everything, but I'm re-assembling everything. At every single step, I have encountered problems.

I realize that my car is 12 years old, but it was never winter driven, and had the struts and shocks replaced in 2017. So no reason for everything to be seized up like they are.

Now the drop in the bucket is that I can't remove the ball joint. I am actually bending the removal tool I just bought and nothing as moved. See pic....

Extremely disapointed.

But thanks anyway.

 

I generally use a large C-clamp to squeeze the pads backwards. Don't go too far or you might risk overflowing your brake fluid reservior.

CAUTION: After reassembly, you'll need to pump the brakes a couple of times to get the pads seated against the rotors. I forgot to do this and nearly plowed into the exit gate of my neighborhood as I was leaving for a test drive. (I created one unsightly skid mark if you know what I mean.)

 

I can almost imagine 😁

Edit.... geez, you had told me, so I was expecting it, but sure enough, the pedal went down darn quick the very first time. So thanks to you I avoided the unsightly skid mark 👍

 

couple ways to remove ball joints.... Use a Pickel Fork, which is a fork with an increasing thickness... and hammer that pickel fork into the ball joint and it spreads the parts a part from eachother... Problem is... it destroys the ball joint boot and lets out the grease. So only use this when replacing ball joint with new part... Same things with some ball joint pullers... they can destroy the rubber boot if not careful..


OR..best and quickest way....make sure the ball joint nut is loose and then use your trusty hammer and smack hard on the outer side of the control arm where the ball joint bolt goes through. The ball joint bolt is a tapered design so imagine the shock and tiny "Squeeze" on impact from a hammer on the control arm can loosen anything that is sticking and cause that tapered part to break loose.

Best of luck and keep us posted!! and have a few beers.. that helps me when I tackle a big job...

 

I rented one from autozone... free!. Screw it down....arg... tight...BANG! It releases. Does not damage the ball.

Tie rod pitman puller...large.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

 

If you're working on the fronts, you can get the strut assembly out without removing the caliper or the ball joints. My last post (#64) in this thread might be helpful to you: https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...997-1-a-5.html

 

Scratch that. If you can't remove the strut to upper strut mount nut (the 21mm) while in the car, the procedure that I used likely won't work for you.