Today I finished taking apart and inspecting the front suspension pieces. This is necessary to see what parts need to be replaced before I clean-up and paint the remaining parts.
Yesterday I stripped down the front of the frame. Here are a couple of pictures of it totally bare.
I used a pulley puller to remove the left steering rod from the idler box yoke. Tapping with the mallet wasn't getting it done, but this did the trick.
First I pulled the rubber bumpstops off the metal brackets they were mounted on. I used a 1/2" socket on the mounting nut located inside the bracket.
Then I took the lower A-arms apart. I began by removing the plate that the springs rest on. I used a 9/16" socket and wrench to remove the bolts and nuts mounted to the inside of the bottom of the plates.
I didn't have a socket the correct size to remove the lower spindles, so I left them attached to the arms. I next disassembled the spring plates, which have a central disk bolted onto them. I used a 7/16" box-end wrench to loosen the bolts.
Then there was enough clearance to use a 7/16" socket to remove the bolts entirely. The disks came off the plates with no problem.
Then I went to work on the upper A-arms. The upper spindles have a metal tab that helps prevent them from loosening. I bent this tab free using a screwdriver.
Then I removed the bolts that hold the spindles to the arms. I used a 1 1/8" socket, first on a breaker bar and then on a socket wrench.
The spindle mounting bolts had grease zirks which allow for lubrication of the spindles.
The upper A-arms also have small rubber bumpstops that I removed by pushing them back through the mounting holes with a screwdriver.
