Replaced compression bushings

[robinasu]

Last weekend I ripped the front end of my 88 pathy apart.. why not I said.

 

Anyway.. I had planned to swap out all the bushings with new poly units, replace all the ball joints, idler arm, clean the injectors, and give it a tune-up.

 

I was able to get the bottom ball joints off without taking the front half-shafts out. You do have to remove the snap ring from inside the locking hubs so the shaft can slide out quite a bit. With some creative jack and stand work, it can be done.

 

I had to tighten my wheel bearings because the jackass that put on my new rotors a while back didn't follow the correct procedure. He most likely didn't have a correct socket to tighten the hell out of the hub to take out any play from disassembly. After you tighten the hell out of it you release and tighten to like 2 foot-pounds.. then rotate forward just enough to fasten the lock ring. I just rotated the nut to the next lock ring position on both sides and there was no play from the hubs or suspension. I was nice.

 

The bottom ball joints were the original units (280100k on them) and they were pretty loose. The bottom balls have all the weight on them, so it makes sense that they would be shot. The top ball joints were fine, so I returned the parts I bought to save some cash. The top balls only keep the wheels verticle, so not too much force there.

 

I didn't replace the upper A-arm bushings because there were still solid and I was getting tired. The lower A-arm bushings were good, too.

 

Although, I was pissed that the energy poly kit I bought didn't include the shells for the lower A-arm bushings... it said to re-use the stock shells. Well, that would be cool IF the stock shells COULD be re-used! The stock lower A-arm bushings are MOLDED to the shell, so it is impossible to use them. Talk about slackers. Just a heads up to anyone thinking about do a similar job.

 

My compression bushings were SHOT. The thing is they didn't look too bad. The only thing that hinted to their condition was that the vehicle could not be aligned properly.

 

I also adjusted the vehicle posture by tightening the bars up. I set it at 12 inches to the front of the lower A-arm bolt. Maybe a bit high, but everything looks even.

 

I expected to swap the idler arm out because it was loose and the shop I asked to replace the idler arm bushings said they couldn't find where to put them. I swear repair shops are a JOKE these days. I figured out how to do it in 3 minutes. I greased it all up and it is nice and smooth now! I retured the idler arm for more cash savings.

 

I didn't get to the injectors because I didn't want to drain the coolant. I tried to remove the injectors without removing the throttle body, but it is not possible. Anybody know any tricks?

 

I changed the spark plugs and cap/rotor.. He runs great now. One of my injectors is spraying drops, so I will clean them up when I swap out the water pump, cylinder head sensor, and timing belt. No more pinging. I think the NGK v-power plugs I bought are colder than the bosch units I had before.

 

I would have checked compression but I was darn tired. Besides, it's not like I am going to do anything about that. Maybe I will when I replace the water pump.

 

I greased the brake caliper slides, as well.

 

All in all, it was worth the major pain in the hiney that is was.

[88pathoffroad]

Fun fun. You have to take the TBI off to get the injectors out. Takes a few taps with a precision dealie to remove them.

 

Were those strut rod bushings as big of a PITA for you as they were for me?

[robinasu]

The first side was a pain because the lower arm shifted and the bolts wouldn't line up till I figured out to use a jack to force the arm into correct position.

 

The other side I used the jack to keep the lower arm in place; then it was super easy.

 

The lower ball joints sucked because I was determined not to take off the CV axals.

 

I want to clean my dirty injector bad.

 

Any idea on what kind of difference I will notice, if any? It must not be too bad of a deal because I was able to pass smog.