Recent content by oldscutlasswagon

My penetrating oil was new, and with safety goggles on i got under the car and squirted everywhere associated with the bushing. Cardboard was laid down everywhere and cloth rags galore. I used nearly the whole can before touching the bolts. I used a long 4x4 with a 2x4 on top on the pinch...

I replaced all the body bushings with the red poly Energy kit today. I was really surprised to see that my wagon had the factory #5 bolt-less bushings. I guess they weren't only for the handling package cars? Anyways, the kit seems great with one exception. I had to run to the hardware store for...

As long as the surfaces are clean, some rtv and a good gasket will either fix it or expose a non-sealing issue.

Thanks for everyone's help. The more I thought about it, all signs point to a worn out part. Since everything else in the front end is going to be fresh I went ahead and ordered a new one from moog. If pressure couldn't get the taper to seat correctly it's obviously worn. The idler being...

Replacing the idler is what I'm trying to do here. The stud from the CL goes through the idler and attaches with a nut, which won't come off because the stud is spinning. Centerlinks aren't too expensive but if I can avoid replacing it that would be nice.

Yes the stud is part of the centerlink. The nut is holding the idler onto the CL. Are these studs supposed to rotate when steering is happening? Since it has a zerk on the centerlink that's what I thought. I'm not sure there's enough space for me to get a pickle fork in there, but I might just...

I cannot remove the nut that fastens the idler to the center link, the stud started spinning with the nut after a turn or two. I tried vice grips, tried c-clamping the connection point to pressure the stud. No luck. I tried side loading the stud by grabbing the idler and pressing up/down hoping...

I already had them in before that post was written, I was just voicing my dislike for spring removal and installation essentially because of the inherent danger. Good tip for the future though.

So I had the local machinist press in the LOWER BJ's and his pressure sensor built into the press measured 10 tons! No, not 1,000lbs of force but 20000lbs of force! For those that use the 6145T's in the future (which I would since they are beefier) I would recommend either taking the splines...

It actually says upper control arm in the original 1982 Oldsmobile manual! I looked at all the pictures I could find and parts online and they all looked symmetrical so I figured it was a misprint. Rebuilding everything went smoothly once I figured out the best way to disassemble the arms. That...

So regarding my comment above with the Q about the upper arm bushings, I didn't measure any difference in any of them (also moog parts), did moog do them a little differently than the factor? I am looking at the factory manual right now and it says one should be bigger??

I measured them both right before the lip that tells you they're fully seated. I bet the splines themselves account for the .020" discrepancy I measure. Quick unrelated question to everyone, for the UPPER arms are the bushings the same front to rear? I have a factory manual saying the front ones...

When looking online at parts I came across people saying the t's had some improvement made to them in terms of strength. Plus with the arms gouged by the splines I'm afraid the other ones wouldn't fit tightly. I am going to see what my local machinist thinks.

I am thinking I am going to touch up the high points of the arms and then press them and weld them for added security. I don't want to have to buy new stuff again.

Here is some information I wish I had known a couple weeks ago when ordering parts. I've been rebuilding my front suspension, and everything went well. That is until I saved the lower BJ's for last. Moog balljoints come in 6145 and 6145t with t being a slightly oversized body and supposedly a...