Scorpion8
Hard-core CEG'er
Finally had some decent weather up here in the Great Land and got my front struts replaced. In fact, I got new struts (Monroe SensaTrack since this is a simple DD), new coil springs (one was broken and resting on the brake line, hence the need for this project), new front sway bar links, new tie rod ends. New ball joints and lower control arms would have made it a complete project but those seemed to be in decent shape. Odd that the Haynes book and Ford CD both don't mention removing the front knuckle to install the new struts.... there's just a quick "slip it into the knuckle and then position the top in the strut tower".... Uh uh.....can't be done that way. The first one was a biyatch and had me vexed until I did some searching and found the correct procedure. The second one went in like a charm. Tie rod end jam nuts were rusted solid to the tie rod ends so a sawzall took care of them and then the tie rod ends spun off like day 1.
So I need a front end alignment, as the steering wheel is off "flat" from all this work, but I'll wait until I replace the rear struts and coil springs (another thread here).
What did I learn from all this?
So I need a front end alignment, as the steering wheel is off "flat" from all this work, but I'll wait until I replace the rear struts and coil springs (another thread here).
What did I learn from all this?
- Do my searching first, and be absolutley sure of the procedure.
- Don't ever tell the wife that she's plenty heavy enough to push down on the lower control arm so I can swing the strut/knuckle into position (even if she IS!). Bad karma points there folks ....