Man, I think I'd rather change a head on a Neon than change out the
pitman arm/idler arm/4 tierods and adjuster sleeves on a Dakota. It's
the first time I've ever actually used my friend's 20 ton press. I've
never seen parts so resistant to being separated before, even with the
liberal use of PB Blaster.
Who decided it would be a good idea to bolt part of the steering
together with tapered splines, to the point that even with the "special
tool" I had to put a cheater bar on the end of a breaker bar before the
thing exploded off the truck? It makes the press-on crank pulley on a
Neon look like a piece of cake! And man does Amsoil synthetic grease
SUCK to get out of your hair. I used a third of a bottle of shampoo to
get it and all the dirt out.
The steering wheel is of course crooked and the tires get so hot from
incorrect toe settings that I smelled hot rubber when I got home... but
it's nice at least not to have to move the wheel 1/3rd of a turn in
either direction to get steering response. Now to find someone to align
it before I go back to work Wednesday.
MattB
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