'93 Cougar or Tbird

Has anyone here replaced the bushings on the strut rods on the front ends of these cars? I think Ford calls it the "torsion strut". The shop I went to for oil change and tire rotation said one was shot and the other was going. I haven't crawled under there yet, it's monsoon season in Ohio today. I'm trying to get a feel for how complicated it is. By the way, I do most of my own repair work, I did new shocks all around and brakes on this Cougar this spring...

Thanks folks!

PoD

Reply to
Paul of Dayton
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Paul of Dayton opined in news:3MvYc.9115$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com:

I did on my first Bird and i need to do it again on my second... it isnt fun, either.

Drop ball joint and shock lower bolt.

Getting that nut off is a pain

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

Thanks Backyard. I was worried that it was a press-in thing. I'll crawl under and examine it tonight, I hope.

PoD

Reply to
Paul of Dayton

Paul of Dayton opined in news:IQDYc.8743$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com:

Listen.. if you can do without the car for a couple days, and your car has more than 120kmiles on it (still young for an MN12), then while you're at it, have new lower ball joints pressed in.

Line up a shop to do the press-out/in first.

Save you having to do it at a more inconvenient time... because once they start creaking, you have less than 10k miles.. who knows how much less.

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

I did mine a couple of years ago. I carefully - don't cut into the threads - cut the nuts off with a Dremel tool and about 10 of their reinforced cut off wheels. It takes a while, but I couldn't budge the nuts with a wrench.

Sadly, the Bird is no more; some nice person plowed into the frone end while it was parked & totalled it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Professional Shop Rat: 14,420 days in a GM plant.

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Reply to
David Starr

Thanks for the heads-up on the ball joints. I have a friend who had one fail as he was turning a corner. Fortunately for him, he was at a parking lot and rolled in without tearing up the fender. He said the wheel stuck straight out...

PoD

Reply to
Paul of Dayton

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