78 malibu front end work
- Thread starter steeltree
- Start date
- Status
it is not going to be fun that is for sure. as far as step by step goes. i would start out and degrees everything and take a pressure washer and try to get most of the greed around everything gone. then basically start to disassemble everything. make sure you know what your upper a arms are shimmed at, be care full because there is think and skinny shims. drill out all the rubber in the bushings with a crappy bit( most likely you will snap 2 or 3) if you are lucky and have some skill you can get the bit to catch around the rubber and back it out complete. then you should just have the metal casing left. an air hammer works the best to pop them out. then go to advanced auto parts or auto zone and rent a ball joint install tool. i should be a big C clamp that you can hook an impact wrench up to and drive the new bushings in. make sure you put something between the lower a arms to they do not collapse one you.
as far as ball joints, get a pickle fork and get the lowers out, and use the air hammer to get to top rivets out. putting the top ones is easy, just bolt the new ones in. the bottoms are a bit more difficult. what i would do is dremmel the hole out so you can get the ball joint in there about 3/4 of the way, then press it in the rest of the way with that too. then put about 3 or 4 tach welds around it. This may sound dumb but it really is much easier and stronger. and when you want to get the ball joint out, just grind the welds off and hammer it out.
if you do not want to mess around with the top a arms i would get the tubular ones. go get 2 left control arms from a stock car shop. 50$ each. they are identical to the hotchkins a arms, i do not care what anyone else says, they are the same, and just as strong, just do not get the ones with the aluminum ends, them are junk. hope this helps you out. take you time and clean and paint everything rite away, when you are done it will all be worth it.
as far as ball joints, get a pickle fork and get the lowers out, and use the air hammer to get to top rivets out. putting the top ones is easy, just bolt the new ones in. the bottoms are a bit more difficult. what i would do is dremmel the hole out so you can get the ball joint in there about 3/4 of the way, then press it in the rest of the way with that too. then put about 3 or 4 tach welds around it. This may sound dumb but it really is much easier and stronger. and when you want to get the ball joint out, just grind the welds off and hammer it out.
if you do not want to mess around with the top a arms i would get the tubular ones. go get 2 left control arms from a stock car shop. 50$ each. they are identical to the hotchkins a arms, i do not care what anyone else says, they are the same, and just as strong, just do not get the ones with the aluminum ends, them are junk. hope this helps you out. take you time and clean and paint everything rite away, when you are done it will all be worth it.
- Status
