So I get home from working in Maine, and the new poly bushings are sitting in my bedroom. I get up today and head out to the truck and get started.
First bottom bolt snaps right off, how nice well I'll just go get another one and a new clip nut for the back side. Wait a minute, that nut is welded to the LCA. Ok I'll pull the boot up so I don't cook it and apply some heat to the offending bolt remnant. Now how do I get a grip on this thing nope that didn't work, nope cant get at it this way....screw it where's my air chisel??????? Following removal of the offending bolt/nut couple and purchase of new parts I discover the new bushings really don't want to go into the eye.
OK grab my harbor freight and slop ratchet clamp,...pump, pump,SNAP!! Hmnn maybe that one was just defective, nope the other 2 did the same thing. Call Edelbroke, again near endless wait on hold, again finally get a human, he wasn't as helpful as the last one. Assured me that it was completely impossible that they made a mistake and sent the wrong parts, and suggested I use a vise or arbor press to install them. I held my tongue, and hung up, I have never been able to unbolt the top of a shock and I have done quite a few. The usual removal procedure involves bending the stud back and forth until it separates from the body of the shock, this severely reduces the future usefulness of that shock.
So call mom and send her to get me some dry ice. Then I grab the trusty Dremel and sand down one side of the OD of the bushings. I let the stuff freeze for a while, using another HF&S beam clamp manage with much cussing to get the bushings to enter the eye of the shock. Now for the dogbone, the little hunk of metal that the 2 bolts go through. Now I recall that it didn't want to go in when the bushing wasn't installed, so I'm off to the bench grinder to make 1 end a little bit smaller.
OK nice dry ice quench....ok bar clamp until it's flush with 1 end of the bushing. Hmmnn....now what...it won't push through that end of the clamp...........
Ah, an idea, not a Eureaka moment but an idea none the less. Let's grab the big BIG C-clamp from my TH-400 rebuild, some sockets and damnit sockets are too long....ok let's grab that big offset 7/8" box wrench........now if I can just grow another arm.......wait the forhead seems to be working....OW....yes....just a little more.....
Finally, only about 6 hours to fix a pair of shocks.
photos of the get the dogbone back in rig at http://s85.photobucket.com/albums/k67/MrWhipple1
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Nov 01 2007 - 00:07:06 EDT