| PHIL |
| (Mitsubishi Section Editor and Moderator) |
| 07/13/11 11:11 PM |
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Another front end rebuild... on the cheap!!
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Replaced an upper bj last year, and the hole in the control arm was not quite big enough to allow the grease gun to fit onto the zerk once installed. "I'll get to it eventually" was the thought, knowing there was grease in there at the start. Then the truck sat most of the winter, with the occasional camping trip, as I used my little AWD Galant/Beater, to save fuel/wear and tear on the truck.
Well, eventually has come and gone. Took the truck/trailer to a park a few weeks ago, and had a horrible creaking noise. BJ was beyond grease now. Idler was also sloppy, so I went to the parts store when we got back, to order up some parts, and happened to google the parts, while sitting in the parking lot. Came upon a really cheap fleabay store, and went back home to run down some parts.
SO...I currently have coming, for $145 with shipping, upper and lower balljoints, L&R, inner and outer tierods L&R, and an idler and pitman arm. Not sure what quality, but I did see some Moog part numbers on the packaging in the pics, and some will be spares anyways, but I couldn't say no!
Also have to do an inner cv boot while I'm in there. Olbetsy is finally gonna get some much needed love. I'll take pics and update as I go. Nice to be back in the game though.
I've missed working on her.
| fasteddy |
| (Web Wheeler) |
| 07/13/11 11:56 PM |
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Re: Another front end rebuild... on the cheap!!
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Phil? Who's Phil?
| PHIL |
| (Mitsubishi Section Editor and Moderator) |
| 07/19/11 12:30 PM |
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Re: Another front end rebuild... on the cheap!!
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See, I'm still here!
Started taking apart the front end yesterday, in anticipation of getting my parts today...
Separated the upper bj okay, had a bugger of a time with the lower one, and then separated the tierod, and pitman arm from the center link. But do you think I could get that @#$%^ pitman arm off the steering box? Argh. Put my puller on it, and whacked it quite a few times. Didn't budge...
I sprayed it with PB blaster, and walked away for a bit, had supper, came back - TWO SMACKS and off it came.
Forgot how much I loved doing front suspension work. 
Also have to replace the rh inner cv boot too. May as well do it all at once, eh? Sure hope those parts arrive today!!
| Grasscat |
| (Roll Me Over) |
| 07/19/11 06:55 PM |
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Re: Another front end rebuild... on the cheap!!
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Wow Phil what's all the brown stuff under your Monty?
| PHIL |
| (Mitsubishi Section Editor and Moderator) |
| 07/20/11 11:35 AM |
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Re: Another front end rebuild... on the cheap!!
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I know... Gonna do some rust painting while I'm in there.
Made some more progress yesterday. Rebooted/regreased the rhs cv axle (one was torn but I did both cause I don't wanna go back in there), and installed the new upper and lower balljoints. Today I have to reindex the new pitman arm (using a lhd pitman on a rhd has it's negatives), and replace the tierods, do some rust painting, and then on to the left side...
| off-roader |
| (Mitsubishi Forum Moderator) |
| 07/20/11 05:00 PM |
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Re: Another front end rebuild... on the cheap!!
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Quote:
...rust...
What's that?
| PHIL |
| (Mitsubishi Section Editor and Moderator) |
| 07/20/11 09:07 PM |
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Re: Another front end rebuild... on the cheap!!
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Hahah... even this far away from Don, we still get some salt on the roads. Its not as bad as it looks though - flash on the camera, and some red Moab dust/dirt still clings to the undercarriage... and the vents, and the door seals, and the ...
Ran into some snags today. My indexing of the pitman arm doesn't look quite right on the truck. The steering wheel is off a bit, according to the eye anyway, with the wheels straight forward. May be because I'm using a LHD pitman? I'll let the alignment shop get it right. Finished putting the front wheel bearings back together only to discover I had no silicone left to seal the locking hubs... all right, well onto the tierods. Couldn't finish them altogether since my fleabay supplier omitted the inners (they're on the way now) so I decided to have a go at separating the nuts/adjusting sleeves from the tierods. Argghhhh. Got the outer nut off after a lot of banging in the vise, but the inner refuses to budge! I put it in the vise overnight with PB Blaster on the threads, but I'm not confident that it's going to move tomorrow. May need to order new sleeves...
Glad I only do the entire front end once every five years or so, but every time, I forget how much I don't enjoy doing it...
Back to it again tomorrow I suppose? Maybe I'll get the rhs buttoned up enough (while I wait for inner tierods) that I'll start taking the left side apart? Joy...
| JohnnyBfromPeoria |
| (Trail Leader) |
| 07/20/11 09:42 PM |
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Re: Another front end rebuild... on the cheap!!
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Adjusting sleeves are my nightmare as well. Last year when I re-did my '95's front end, I actually managed to break an open end wrench standing on two at a time trying to get the nuts loose. I still have a scar on my leg and I had to throw that pair of socks away from the blood.
I'm not really happy with my flea bay tie rods. The taper on them doesn't fit into the center link as well as stock and they need to be retightened periodically, as they get loose after a while. As a matter of fact, I just remembered I already did replace them with lifetime warranty units from AutoZone because of that. The guys that run the alignment shop I use know me by name and by the sound of my voice on the phone these days, too.
John B.
| PHIL |
| (Mitsubishi Section Editor and Moderator) |
| 07/21/11 07:46 PM |
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Re: Another front end rebuild... on the cheap!!
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I hope my tierods stay tight... We' ll see? What was the brand of yours, JB?
Another frustrating day of pounding the joints. Broke my big bench vise trying to separate the sleeve from the tierod... Finally gave up and ordered two new Moog units locally. $96 ouch, but they'll be here on Monday... In the meantime, I got the left side all apart, and put in the new upper and lower balljoints, and the new idler arm. I had to pound my lower balljoint with a pickle fork and sledge hammer. No fun. Can't wait to get this put back together....
| JohnnyBfromPeoria |
| (Trail Leader) |
| 07/21/11 10:46 PM |
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Re: Another front end rebuild... on the cheap!!
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Can't remember thhe brand, but they were from World Suspension in Florida.
John B.
| Canyonero |
| (Mudrunner) |
| 07/21/11 11:03 PM |
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Re: Another front end rebuild... on the cheap!!
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Can't go wrong with MOOG. My experience with my old chebys is standard aftermarket parts wouldn't last very long. The MOOGs were a much heavier part and would tighten up the front end a lot. Worth the money in my opinion.
| PHIL |
| (Mitsubishi Section Editor and Moderator) |
| 07/22/11 12:49 AM |
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Re: Another front end rebuild... on the cheap!!
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Yep. That's the place.
Oh well, anything will be better than the worn out, 18 year old parts that were in there. I started this marathon because of a sloppy idler and a squeaky balljoint, but there was a lot more play than I realized! Tierods were shot, upper bj's were bad - I'm really looking forward to putting her back on the road after the alignment.
| PHIL |
| (Mitsubishi Section Editor and Moderator) |
| 07/22/11 12:52 AM |
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Re: Another front end rebuild... on the cheap!!
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I did start my frame painting tonight. Looking better already! The poor old Galant got punted to the curb, and may not get anymore attention all summer...
If I can get this frontend maintenance done, I might be able to get back to fun stuff: rear LOCKER!
| JohnnyBfromPeoria |
| (Trail Leader) |
| 07/22/11 01:06 AM |
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Re: Another front end rebuild... on the cheap!!
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Moog did my '72 Impala good, too. Stock stuff didn't make it to 70K miles!
I'm all about lifetime warranty parts, now. By the time I've replaced things twice, it's easy. Plus, I don't have to worry about rust here in AZ. Even exhaust parts come apart after 15 years no problem.
Heh heh...
John B.
| PHIL |
| (Mitsubishi Section Editor and Moderator) |
| 07/25/11 11:46 PM |
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Re: Another front end rebuild... on the cheap!!
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Well, my adjuster sleeves didn't make the delivery truck apparently, so they weren't in today. Won't be in till tomorrow now, but I leave in the morning for 10 days on the opposite end of the country (most easterly point in North America as a matter of fact), so I won't be able to finish the frontend till I get back.
I did repack the wheel bearings, regrease the manual hubs, and paint the calipers (fancy blue paint too - ooooh. Maybe I'm trying to recapture my teens?). I even painted the grille with Krylon Fusion plastic etching paint. It was silver (body color) when I got the truck, but after putting a black bumper and black rock skids on, I've been thinking black would be better. Now it is.
Guess I won't have an update on this one till I get back from my trip. Then it'll be on with the tierods, and over to the alignment shop to see how bad I put it out!
| PHIL |
| (Mitsubishi Section Editor and Moderator) |
| 08/09/11 12:31 AM |
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Re: Another front end rebuild... on the cheap!!
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As I said in another thread, the morons at the parts store (which I shall not be using anymore) "sent the parts back" and now can't find em, so I reordered from a more competent chain, and got a call late this afternoon that they were in. Unfortunately one of the nuts was missing from the sleeve adjuster kit. Thankfully it did have the LH threaded nut, and I was able to separate the RH threaded nut from one of the tierod assemblies, so I'm back in business! (got a small discount too). Tomorrow, if all goes well, I'll have the truck back together, and ready to go to the alignment shop.
| PHIL |
| (Mitsubishi Section Editor and Moderator) |
| 08/09/11 10:40 PM |
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Re: Another front end rebuild... on the cheap!!
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The tierods are in, and the truck is back together! FINALLY! It ended up being down for most of a month, since I had a trip scheduled right in the middle...
Took it for a drive around the neighbourhood, and it feels much tighter. Wheel is not on center, so alignment shop will have to play with it, but it didn't pull, so I must've gotten the toe close. or maybe it was just snowplowing those BFGs around the neighbourhood!
Booked in for an alignment in the morn.The parts were decent quality I guess, except the metal where the zerk screws in on some pieces was kind of light, and so the zerk doesn't stay in super tight. Definitely better than worn out bits, but I'm not sure I'd use em again. They were cheap though.
| PHIL |
| (Mitsubishi Section Editor and Moderator) |
| 08/15/11 07:47 PM |
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Re: Another front end rebuild... on the cheap!!
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Back from the alignment shop - the guy said I had the toe almost perfect (I used the spec for from the FSM to set the length of the tierods), but he had to adjust the pitman on its splines a little. Driving it home though, I noticed that the wheel was still slightly off center. I could've went back, but figured I'd index the steering wheel myself. Now its perfect! Noise/wobble free over bumps, nice and shiny parts on the front, and handles like new again. Gotta love it!!