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Well-Known Member
Hey folks,
I'm afraid I may be doing my balljoints and tie-rod ends sooner than I had thought, as my steering issues refuse to go away. I was hoping to hold off until this spring when it gets warm again and more comfortable to do such things up here in NY. More importantly, my '94 4x4 supercab has 170k on it, and I think it's time I also did front springs, shocks all around, new bushings for the radius arms and axle housings, and possibly new cab mount bushings and radiator core support bushings. Maybe new wheel bearings while it's all apart... Brakes are less than a year old but should probably get the rotors turned while they're off.......
Obviously this is all starting to add up, which is the other reason I was holding off - to save up for it all. But if I have to do the ball joints and/or tie-rod ends earlier, then I'd like to split this up into two logical projects with an alignment being the divider between the two projects.
So after that elaborate setup, here's my question: What off of that list could possibly affect the alignment, and should therefore be done in "stage 1" followed by an alignment, and what can I do later that will not affect the alignment at all? The goal would be to minimize "stage 1" to keep the cost down, but still avoid the need for a second alignment. Then i can take my time on the "nice-to-have" "stage 2" stuff once I can save up for it, and know my alignment is still good.
Obviously balljoints and tie-rod ends will need to be before alignment, and all the body mounts, core supports, and the shocks can go after. Really I'm wondering about the front springs and the radius arm and axle housing bushings - do I need to do them before the alignment, or would they not really affect it that much and could safely be done after?
Also - am I right in assuming the front (coil) springs and various suspension bushings can be replaced without disassembling the knuckle again? (remove brake caliper, shock, and sway-bar link and everything should drop down for replacement with entire knuckle-to-hub assembly intact, right)? Meaning it wouldn't be such a big deal to do the other stuff later? How big a struggle am I in for on those 4 bushings? Do those radius-arm and axle-housing nuts/bolts come out OK, or are they as big a PITA as I'm afraid they will be...? Any opinions on re-using the bolts/nuts vs. buying new ones?
Thanks again guys!
-Bill
I'm afraid I may be doing my balljoints and tie-rod ends sooner than I had thought, as my steering issues refuse to go away. I was hoping to hold off until this spring when it gets warm again and more comfortable to do such things up here in NY. More importantly, my '94 4x4 supercab has 170k on it, and I think it's time I also did front springs, shocks all around, new bushings for the radius arms and axle housings, and possibly new cab mount bushings and radiator core support bushings. Maybe new wheel bearings while it's all apart... Brakes are less than a year old but should probably get the rotors turned while they're off.......
Obviously this is all starting to add up, which is the other reason I was holding off - to save up for it all. But if I have to do the ball joints and/or tie-rod ends earlier, then I'd like to split this up into two logical projects with an alignment being the divider between the two projects.
So after that elaborate setup, here's my question: What off of that list could possibly affect the alignment, and should therefore be done in "stage 1" followed by an alignment, and what can I do later that will not affect the alignment at all? The goal would be to minimize "stage 1" to keep the cost down, but still avoid the need for a second alignment. Then i can take my time on the "nice-to-have" "stage 2" stuff once I can save up for it, and know my alignment is still good.
Obviously balljoints and tie-rod ends will need to be before alignment, and all the body mounts, core supports, and the shocks can go after. Really I'm wondering about the front springs and the radius arm and axle housing bushings - do I need to do them before the alignment, or would they not really affect it that much and could safely be done after?
Also - am I right in assuming the front (coil) springs and various suspension bushings can be replaced without disassembling the knuckle again? (remove brake caliper, shock, and sway-bar link and everything should drop down for replacement with entire knuckle-to-hub assembly intact, right)? Meaning it wouldn't be such a big deal to do the other stuff later? How big a struggle am I in for on those 4 bushings? Do those radius-arm and axle-housing nuts/bolts come out OK, or are they as big a PITA as I'm afraid they will be...? Any opinions on re-using the bolts/nuts vs. buying new ones?
Thanks again guys!
-Bill
