Next Project

[hlava]

Well, in-between knackering about with the EGR, I've decided to continue
cleaning and resuscitating other items in the car. Next up is the control
arm bushings(ES) and the ball joints.

>From the archives, I found a lot of information. Removing the ball joint in
various ways(I believe I'll try the nonhammer method or borrow the right
tool from Autozone). I also came across some information on different ball
joints. The one that struck my interest the most was the TRW low friction
rather than the Moog metal on metal. But, I found no other information on
the low friction ball joint. Maybe it's in there, but people started using
the correct name for it. Anybody have any idea/clue what I'm talking about?
Most of the information was at least 2 years old.... anybody have any
comments or experiences to share since then?

Although there was a lot of information on taking them out, there wasn't
much about putting them back in... other than taking the control arms to a
shop to have them pressed. There was a hint about someone using an
appropriate sized socket and a hammer... but just a hint. Again, any new
information or experiences to share? I'm also unsure about all the
information about the boot. If you replace the ball joints, does this
automatically mean the boot gets torn? Since most of the information I found
also centered around the lack of available boots, I hope not.

At the same time, I'll also install the control arm bushings. ES sells a set
and they're supposed to work well. Not interested in doing the back at this
time, so I hope they're available just for the front. Haven't researched
this in awhile, but burning off the old bushing sounds like it's going to be
a mess. I've been changing diapers for a couple of years now... how bad can
it be?

Oh well, time to pull out the FSM and Haynes and refresh my memory on the
what, wheres, hows and whys.

Thanks for your time,
Mark