little help, with subframe drop.

[SASHO91]

Well last night i started ripping in to her. everything is going smoothly. today i got little farther, y-pipe is out, starter, brakes, and the small stuff. now i need some help on the others, tie rod ends, and such. i think i can have the subframe out by tonight. that is if i can figure some of this stuff out.
a list of what i need to do next, would be terrific! or other things i have to do.
thanks guys.

 

[Slo-Sho]

Pop the tie rods, sway bar endlinks, ball joints and you are pretty much golden. Are you leaving the strut/knuckle in the car?

 

[SASHO91]

i guess so. that would be easier.
but popin out the tie rods, and ball joints, isnt there a tool to do that with?
i was going to start on the sway bar end links, but then i felt i need to post first.

with the rod that comes from the subframe from the front, do i have to hold the rod with pliers or something? i tried to take them off, but they turned on me.
thats for the advice.

you know looking at the car, you would think its alot of work, but when you get down to it, its really not that bad. i mean, when knowing what is to come next.

EDIT: what about the axles? do i just pull them out?
oh and the rod shifter, do i just remove the little bolt on the bottom rod, by the tranny, and the the top one as well?

 

[revhardSHO]

This has all been covered and a simple search will get you all the information you need, but okay.

A torch is handy if the car hasnt been touched in a while. 18mm castle nut on the tie rod end. Remove the cotter pin and nut. Place something over the bottom of the tie rod end stud and give it a few good wacks with a hammer. If it doesnt come, dont **** it. Use a torch and heat the stud ONLY. It should come easily.

The ball joint is held into the knuckle in a pinch joint, and even once you get the nut and bolt out it will stick in the knuckle. Use a long breaker bar under the subframe and above the lower control arm to lever the ball joint out from the knuckle.

 

[SASHO91]

ok, i got the lower control arms off. but im having problems with the tie rods.
i think i killed the bolt. i tried to put the nut back on, and it kinda didnt want t start threading.... can i just take my tap-n-dye set to it to start the tread again?

also, how do i get the axles out? do i have to remove the nut on the hub?
after this i think i can start to lower the sub frame.
another thing, the trans weighs around..... ??? 200lbs???? should i suport the engine from the bottom as well? i have an engine brace setup, but should i have a jackstand, witha piece of wood or something.??? thanks guys!!

 

[silversho89]

I dont think you can use a tap and dye because the bolt is tapered. And dont try to beat it out bc of that too.

 

[SASHO91]

oops..... well, looks like i have to go find another one..... oh well.....
should i just heat it up like smitsil said? cause i cant get it out....

anything about the axles, guys???
another thing, what about motor mounts, when do they come out?

 

[Bizzy]

If you're doing something like a clutch job you can just take a crow bar and pry the axle shaft out of the transmission housing on the driver's side. It's fairly straight-forward and simple thing to do. The passenger side you'll need to loosen the intermediate shaft first and then the axle should just slide out of the end of it. The driver's side requires the crow bar or even a heavy duty screwdriver will do the trick.

Make sure you tie the half shafts up and out of the way, do not let them hang down to the ground because you'll damage the CV joints as they are not meant to bend at such extreme angles.

You can remove the nuts from the front and rear motor mounts at any time. Same thing with the tranny mount nuts.

 

[SASHO91]

allright!! thanks beth. Im not doing a clutch job, wish i was though. i think my diff pin went south. maybe you could give me some extra tips? if you not busy that is.

 

[Bizzy]

Tell me what happened. You have my attention.

 

[SASHO91]

well, when i got to school the other day, i noticed a unusaul sound coming from the trans. I thought it was the TOB, because i had heard the sound before, well some what of that sound..
anyways, i go to leave school, start her up, and take off. I try to shift to second at like 10mph, with no luck, so i try 1st again, no luck. so i pull off the road. get it back in to first and take off. this time she was hesitante (sp?). then she kinda bucks, so i take her out of first, and realease the clutch. she dies.... ok i start her back up, release the clutch, she dies... ok. start her back up, put her into gear, and start realeasing clutch. nothing happening.... so i try reverse, same thing. ok she moves alittle, but then stops....
so i push it back into the shop at school. by that time i had called my dad,he said it might be stuck between 2 gears, but then it wouldnt roll.
so anyways, i get it in there, and my teacher drives it, when he takes off the drivers whell is hoping... im like WTH?? so i get it up on jackstands, start looking around, and it seems that the pass. axle was poped out alitlle... so im sitting there turning the hub, when i get under the car to look at it, the pass. side axle isnt turning..... im like ahh crap!!! i blew th diff pin....


there are some other things that i had wrong to. i had a bad axle seal that was leaking, and i think my TOB was about to go anyways....
any questions about this sequence of events just let me know! thanks beth.

 

[revhardSHO]

Make sure you tie the half shafts up and out of the way, do not let them hang down to the ground because you'll damage the CV joints as they are not meant to bend at such extreme angles.

While this sounds logical (and I follow this practice) I just cant see how its going to damage a CV joint. For one thing, these joints handle hundreds of pounds of torque when rotating, and in this situation they are stationary, just hanging. Im just curious as to what the **** goes wrong.

oops..... well, looks like i have to go find another one..... oh well.....
should i just heat it up like smitsil said? cause i cant get it out....

Yes heat the damn thing up like I said. Works every time. Use MAPP gas, you'd be there all night with just a propane torch.

You need to do some searching, again.

The front and rear motor mounts have 19mm nuts that will have to be removed to drop the subframe. Have you supported the engine? Only reason I say this is because subframe holds the engine in place. So, if you drop the subframe without supporting the engine, its going to come down with it.

 

[SASHO91]

yes i have the engine supported. today i plan on taking off the motor mounts, and the axles, oh and the tie rod ends. Arent the 19 mm bolts deep socket? i tried to take them off yesterday, but they were on there really really good. Can i take an impact to it? or will that mess anything in the motor mount? thanks smitsil, i have searched, but i cant find specific things, maybe its the search terms im using.....
just need to find someone to help me drop it, and im out!

 

[Bizzy]

Like beth says "Make sure you tie the half shafts up and out of the way, do not let them hang down to the ground because you'll damage the CV joints as they are not meant to bend at such extreme angles." I personally would recomend taking the extra 5 min to pop the whole axel out of the knuckle. at little more work, but it makes alot of space and saves headaches of holding the axel up. Plus it gives you a good chance to really inspect your cv boots carefully for any rips or beginnings of rips. Best to head those off at the pass per say.

You don't need to remove the motor mounts to get the SF out, just remove the bottom nuts attaching them to the SF. Also make sure you don't forget to WIRE UP THE RACK so that it is not hanging when you remove its bolts and drop the SF.