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Mach 1
Mach 1 K-member swap, engine removal, and valve spring replacement ("build" thread)
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<blockquote data-quote="starnsey" data-source="post: 14355621" data-attributes="member: 132253"><p>As a brief side note, I had to remove the insulation around this A/C line to get the valve cover off:</p><p></p><p><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3849/14735410457_50dcce2fa0_b.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><strong>Day 2</strong></p><p></p><p>Alright, so today I drained the coolant from the radiator and removed the front brakes and began on removing the spindles. </p><p></p><p>Question 1: What other location should I drain coolant from? I'm sure there's more in the block. A picture of the location would be nice.</p><p></p><p>Question 2: I need some tips on separating both the ball joint from the spindle and the tie rod from the spindle. Do I just need to loan a tool from AutoZone? The ol' dead blow hammer and WD-40 didn't do a damn thing.</p><p></p><p><strong>Progress</strong></p><p></p><p>I'm going to do as much step by step stuff as possible so you guys in the future can reference this if you need to. Keep in mind, my setup is a little different since I already have a tubular k-member and coil overs. Also keep in mind, beyond brakes and struts, this is all brand new to me, so it should be a good gauge on necessary experience level.</p><p></p><p>So first thing this afternoon is I pulled the plug on the radiator and drained the coolant into a 5 gallon bucket (by the way how do I dispose of this?)</p><p></p><p><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3865/14898995026_12fde43868_b.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><em>Brake Removal</em></p><p></p><p>After removing your wheels, find this e-clip on the stern side of the brake calipers:</p><p><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5592/14898994486_7bb4233544_b.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Pull it out using needle nose pliers and remove the pin. You can remove the pin using pliers as well and sort of wiggling the pin and the caliper until it comes loose. Once you've removed the pin, snap the e-clip back on it and set it in a safe location so you don't lose them</p><p></p><p><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3913/14921636402_9dcb43dbc7_b.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Now, lift the caliper from the rear and rotate it out of the caliper bracket. If you're having trouble, stick a flathead screw driver in the following location and pry up. It shouldn't take much force and any difficulty should be overcome with a little bit of wiggling of the caliper. Feel free to give it a few punches with the palm of your hand to break the pads loose from the rotor.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5554/14921972115_2b6729916c_b.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>I should have said before removing the caliper, get some zip-ties primed up in the wheel well so you can easily zip tie the caliper away from the spindle and out of the way without hurting the brake line. You can get a decent idea of where I tied mine off. Notice I used two zip ties to give myself a little extra length to get it routed up and then tightened it down and away.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3895/14898994026_744282bc3a_b.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p></p><p>You should be left with this:</p><p><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5574/14735407697_d875ca7781_b.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>To remove the bracket, just undo the two 15 mm bolts on the back side of the spindle:</p><p><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5556/14898991556_524a57c6a7_b.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>I threaded the bolts back into the bracket and set the whole assembly aside so I don't lose the bolts.</p><p></p><p>Pull off the rotor and set it aside along with the caliper bracket.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5572/14898990016_48f4359318_b.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>(Now at this point, with stock A-arms, you would want to go through the process of removing the front springs. When I removed the springs on my 99 GT, I followed this same process as below but ensured that a floor jack had consistent pressure on the underside of the a-arm so the spring would slowly be de-compressed. Once the A-arm is lowered fully, you can press down on it a bit further with your foot and with a little muscle, you should be able to yank out the spring. I take no responsibility if this doesn't work for everyone as I'm sure every scenario is different - but it was a hell of a lot better than using a spring compressor)</p><p></p><p><em>Strut Removal</em></p><p></p><p>My plan involves leaving the struts mounted at the shock tower since they should generally be out of the way. So I only removed them from the spindle as seen below.</p><p></p><p>Using a 24 mm socket, remove the nut holding the ABS sensor wire bracket.</p><p><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5595/14898989256_8ab8867049_b.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Also use a 6 mm (or 7 mm - I don't remember) socket to remove the ABS sensor from the hub and set it out of the way so it doesn't get caught on anything.</p><p></p><p>Be sure to keep a few of these nearby to make sure you're properly fueled</p><p><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5569/14921973605_d1dcd61f51_b.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>To prevent the A-arm from just crashing down after removing the strut, I usually place a jack stand underneath it somewhere, in this case, the studs (probably not the best location but whatever). Also, you can see the floor jack underneath the a-arm to let it down slowly when the time comes.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5586/14918899001_c729a6724e_b.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Using a 24mm deep socket on the nut side and a 21mm socket on the bolt side, undo the two strut mount bolts. I usually do the bottom one first, remove the nut and the bolt, then just remove the top nut and leave the bolt in to make any last minute adjustments to make sure the a-arm doesn't try to fall down with the spindle.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3904/14735400737_9d1053da9f_b.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5554/14921978695_597f7c1afc_b.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>And with the a-arm and spindle supported, voila!</p><p><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5583/14921975735_e9d24a9c29_b.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Now, depending on what sort of (if any) caster/camber plates you have, you should be able to move the strut out of the way in most directions. My Maximum Motorsports caster/camber plates allow me to move the strut all over the place.</p><p></p><p>Next up is these rat bastards:</p><p></p><p><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5572/14921974265_daa3e1866f_b.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5571/14735306510_36ea134004_b.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Using needle nose pliers, I bent the retainer pins and removed them. I doused the two castle nuts with WD-40 and went to work on the driver's side while they soaked. Came back and undid the castle nuts with an electric impact wrench. By the way, that ball joint castle nut was <em>kind-of</em> a 26 mm. I don't know if it's aftermarket from the QA1 setup or what, but it was not an exact fit and 26mm was the biggest socket I bought to try to remove the stupid thing.</p><p></p><p>The nuts came off with ease, but after multiple blows with a heavy hammer, those things did not move in the slightest. So I gave up until tomorrow when hopefully some of you guys give me some good ideas on how to get them loose.</p><p></p><p>Another thing, I'll be using blue locktite when I put these strut bolts/nuts back together because the ones holding the ABS bracket on were backing out...no bueno.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Also, as another side note, I've never bought a pair of these before, but these $5 mechanics gloves from Harbor Freight are freakin' sweet! You don't get much dexterity but for big nuts/bolts like these, they're great. You don't have to worry about them tearing like vinyl/latex gloves and you have a much smaller chance of busting your knuckles open when you finally get one of those rusty nuts/bolts loose. Also, working in Houston humidity requires a headband.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3902/14735351878_5fa10006cb_b.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="starnsey, post: 14355621, member: 132253"] As a brief side note, I had to remove the insulation around this A/C line to get the valve cover off: [IMG]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3849/14735410457_50dcce2fa0_b.jpg[/IMG] [B]Day 2[/B] Alright, so today I drained the coolant from the radiator and removed the front brakes and began on removing the spindles. Question 1: What other location should I drain coolant from? I'm sure there's more in the block. A picture of the location would be nice. Question 2: I need some tips on separating both the ball joint from the spindle and the tie rod from the spindle. Do I just need to loan a tool from AutoZone? The ol' dead blow hammer and WD-40 didn't do a damn thing. [B]Progress[/B] I'm going to do as much step by step stuff as possible so you guys in the future can reference this if you need to. Keep in mind, my setup is a little different since I already have a tubular k-member and coil overs. Also keep in mind, beyond brakes and struts, this is all brand new to me, so it should be a good gauge on necessary experience level. So first thing this afternoon is I pulled the plug on the radiator and drained the coolant into a 5 gallon bucket (by the way how do I dispose of this?) [IMG]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3865/14898995026_12fde43868_b.jpg[/IMG] [I]Brake Removal[/I] After removing your wheels, find this e-clip on the stern side of the brake calipers: [IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5592/14898994486_7bb4233544_b.jpg[/IMG] Pull it out using needle nose pliers and remove the pin. You can remove the pin using pliers as well and sort of wiggling the pin and the caliper until it comes loose. Once you've removed the pin, snap the e-clip back on it and set it in a safe location so you don't lose them [IMG]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3913/14921636402_9dcb43dbc7_b.jpg[/IMG] Now, lift the caliper from the rear and rotate it out of the caliper bracket. If you're having trouble, stick a flathead screw driver in the following location and pry up. It shouldn't take much force and any difficulty should be overcome with a little bit of wiggling of the caliper. Feel free to give it a few punches with the palm of your hand to break the pads loose from the rotor. [IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5554/14921972115_2b6729916c_b.jpg[/IMG] I should have said before removing the caliper, get some zip-ties primed up in the wheel well so you can easily zip tie the caliper away from the spindle and out of the way without hurting the brake line. You can get a decent idea of where I tied mine off. Notice I used two zip ties to give myself a little extra length to get it routed up and then tightened it down and away. [IMG]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3895/14898994026_744282bc3a_b.jpg[/IMG] You should be left with this: [IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5574/14735407697_d875ca7781_b.jpg[/IMG] To remove the bracket, just undo the two 15 mm bolts on the back side of the spindle: [IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5556/14898991556_524a57c6a7_b.jpg[/IMG] I threaded the bolts back into the bracket and set the whole assembly aside so I don't lose the bolts. Pull off the rotor and set it aside along with the caliper bracket. [IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5572/14898990016_48f4359318_b.jpg[/IMG] (Now at this point, with stock A-arms, you would want to go through the process of removing the front springs. When I removed the springs on my 99 GT, I followed this same process as below but ensured that a floor jack had consistent pressure on the underside of the a-arm so the spring would slowly be de-compressed. Once the A-arm is lowered fully, you can press down on it a bit further with your foot and with a little muscle, you should be able to yank out the spring. I take no responsibility if this doesn't work for everyone as I'm sure every scenario is different - but it was a hell of a lot better than using a spring compressor) [I]Strut Removal[/I] My plan involves leaving the struts mounted at the shock tower since they should generally be out of the way. So I only removed them from the spindle as seen below. Using a 24 mm socket, remove the nut holding the ABS sensor wire bracket. [IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5595/14898989256_8ab8867049_b.jpg[/IMG] Also use a 6 mm (or 7 mm - I don't remember) socket to remove the ABS sensor from the hub and set it out of the way so it doesn't get caught on anything. Be sure to keep a few of these nearby to make sure you're properly fueled [IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5569/14921973605_d1dcd61f51_b.jpg[/IMG] To prevent the A-arm from just crashing down after removing the strut, I usually place a jack stand underneath it somewhere, in this case, the studs (probably not the best location but whatever). Also, you can see the floor jack underneath the a-arm to let it down slowly when the time comes. [IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5586/14918899001_c729a6724e_b.jpg[/IMG] Using a 24mm deep socket on the nut side and a 21mm socket on the bolt side, undo the two strut mount bolts. I usually do the bottom one first, remove the nut and the bolt, then just remove the top nut and leave the bolt in to make any last minute adjustments to make sure the a-arm doesn't try to fall down with the spindle. [IMG]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3904/14735400737_9d1053da9f_b.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5554/14921978695_597f7c1afc_b.jpg[/IMG] And with the a-arm and spindle supported, voila! [IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5583/14921975735_e9d24a9c29_b.jpg[/IMG] Now, depending on what sort of (if any) caster/camber plates you have, you should be able to move the strut out of the way in most directions. My Maximum Motorsports caster/camber plates allow me to move the strut all over the place. Next up is these rat bastards: [IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5572/14921974265_daa3e1866f_b.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5571/14735306510_36ea134004_b.jpg[/IMG] Using needle nose pliers, I bent the retainer pins and removed them. I doused the two castle nuts with WD-40 and went to work on the driver's side while they soaked. Came back and undid the castle nuts with an electric impact wrench. By the way, that ball joint castle nut was [I]kind-of[/I] a 26 mm. I don't know if it's aftermarket from the QA1 setup or what, but it was not an exact fit and 26mm was the biggest socket I bought to try to remove the stupid thing. The nuts came off with ease, but after multiple blows with a heavy hammer, those things did not move in the slightest. So I gave up until tomorrow when hopefully some of you guys give me some good ideas on how to get them loose. Another thing, I'll be using blue locktite when I put these strut bolts/nuts back together because the ones holding the ABS bracket on were backing out...no bueno. Also, as another side note, I've never bought a pair of these before, but these $5 mechanics gloves from Harbor Freight are freakin' sweet! You don't get much dexterity but for big nuts/bolts like these, they're great. You don't have to worry about them tearing like vinyl/latex gloves and you have a much smaller chance of busting your knuckles open when you finally get one of those rusty nuts/bolts loose. Also, working in Houston humidity requires a headband. [IMG]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3902/14735351878_5fa10006cb_b.jpg[/IMG] [/QUOTE]
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Mach 1 K-member swap, engine removal, and valve spring replacement ("build" thread)
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