Q: Front-end Rebuild – General
How difficult is it to perform a front-end rebuild by myself? Is there a step-by-step online guide to doing this someplace?
A: Doing it yourself is easy. There are several pain in the arses though. First, removing the rivets holding the ball joints in place on the control arms. You may be able to chisel them off manually but you will probably need an air chisel. Same goes for removing the tapered tie rod shafts– I guess you could probably hammer them out, although this is ugly. You will most likely need a spreader that fits into the air tool. You will obviously need to rent a spring compressor as well.
Once you get it apart you are pretty much there. Make sure you count the number of turns as you remove each tie rod end and screw the new ones in an equal amount. With the proper tools you could do it in a few hours– without them you will struggle for a whole day or more. I’m not sure its worth it to do it yourself unless you are like me and don’t trust ANYONE working on my cars. Then you will punish yourself endlessly. Keep in mind that most tire shop jockeys are butchers.
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Content last modified: January 20, 2014 at 8:36 pm
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