Control arms broken

[ghettozn]

Control arms broken along with Spring struts. And pinnion is leaking some oil. I went to mechanic and she said he do the control arms for 400$ total. Also being a cheap ass thats the only part i'm doing. Would be 1000+ if i did all that. So tell me is this the right choice and if so does 400 dollars seem like a good deal for control arms?

[Speedy-325is]

if the arms r new, with bushings in them, they normally run @$160-180. if he can do the install and still keep it at the $400 price, then u got a good deal..

have u thought about doing it yourself?

the struts: do it yourself. its not that hard. autozone/pep boys rent out spring compressors if u dont want to buy them (for only a $40 deposit) and u feel good after u r done cuz u did it ur self.

plus chicks dig guys that work on cars. . .

the rack is leaking? how bad? a few drops a day, of a puddle every night? my 91' rack leaked a few drops every time it sat for a bit, and it gave me no problems, just keep the fluid topped off.

[ghettozn]

not much of a leak for the rack. And any guide on how to do the struts? And how much does it cost. And what tools you need besides spring compressors?

Thanks

[Speedy-325is]

wrenches/sockets, some common sense and maybe a breaker bar.

unhook the brakeline from back of strut.

support the hub (rotor) w/something. (u dont want 2 stretch u brake line, it breaks)

take the struts off car (USE JACKSTANDS WHEN U LIFT THE CAR!)

compress the spring, one compressor on each side. that means 2 per spring on oppisit sides, to release the tension off the mount.
be sure the spring is compresses enough!! i try to compress 3-4 of the coils at a time. the spring should wiggle loosely in its place if done properly.

IF U DO THIS WRONG, THE SPRING WILL SHOOT OUT WHEN U UNSKREW THE NUT ON TOP, AND U CAN GET HURT BADLY!!!!!!!
keep the mounting parts in order, switch out the fastener nuts w/ the new ones.

put springs on new struts. put mounting plates, nuts, stuff on in correct order

make sure everything is tight. (i dont have the torque specs w/me right now, but u can probably look them up unless someone here has them)

carefully release the compressors(make sure the springd are seated in the cup properly)

install them back on the car & insert brake line into holder.

repeat on other side.

the first one will take u a while till u get the hang of it, but i can do them both in about 45 minutes now.

good luck! let me know how it goes. im going to put my g/f's struts on her car now.

Mark

[ghettozn]

cool, i might be able to do this. Thanks

[Speedy-325is]

R U DONE YET????