Howdy fellow 6-ers....
Well, the deed is done, and the car handles like a new one;
tight; bouncy, but sticks to the road, goes straight, with the
only thunk being from a mis-adjusted passenger door. During
the past week I did a little bit of 6 work, between rain showers,
but got it all done. New shocks in the front, new swaybar rods,
lube and check-out. Also did the rear end. tough job, but done.
I replaced the trailing arm bushings - that's a story getting
them in/out. first one took me about 2 hours; last took 15
minutes from soup to nuts. Also did the tube shock replacement,
it's fun getting used to a lively, non-steering rear end. Pulled
the shafts for a check and a grease, good condition, lubed the U
joints on both sides, look good, feel good, and adjusted the hand
brake. Why they call it a brake I'll never know, but it works
better now than before. Took it for a run down highway 1 - the
California coast hiway for about 50 miles, felt good, looked even
better. Glad the job is behind me.
This is probably common knowledge, but I found a pretty easy way
to remove and replace the bushings. I bought a 2ft length of
3/16 threaded rod, the rod that's used to hold up pipe mounting
rails etc for ceiling of basement work. Put an old shock washer
over one end, put the pipe between the bushings, and a couple of
nuts on each end. Then using a ratchet device, just tightened
the bolts, and bingo, out came the old bushings. A similar
process was used to insert the new ones. For a spacer around the
bushing hole, I used a 2 in. diameter piece of PVC coupling pipe,
the white kind, and it held up well. All in all, a satisfying
job. Too bad it's raining today, I'd be out for a spin. I'm
more worried about others unable to drive on a slick pavement and
whacking me than I am in doing something stupid... (I'm at the
age where it's a mid-life toy, and I take my time and pleasure).
Thanks for all the pointers, help, and camaraderie of this group!
Ken
South San Francisco
73 TR6
87 XJ6 SIII
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