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Subject:RE: Upper Ball Joints
From:William R. Kennedy, NJIT CIAT, 201-596-5648
Date:Wed, 15 Nov 95 17:40:03 EST

I can get you started on the upper ball joint replacement job:
Jack up a front wheel and pull it off.  UBJ is what connects the upper
suspension wishbone to the hub carrier.  You need the allen wrench that
fits the two bolts that mount the UBJ to the wishbone.  You need a box
wrench for the big nut on the bottom of the UBJ.  You tools and willingness
to undo the front brake lines, to get them out of the way of the big nut.
And you need a little luck, so that the second or third time you whack the
boto
tom of the UBJ (after the big nut is off) it will pop out.  The time
for cold feet, if ever, is before you start.  You don't want (for instance)
to get the brake line open and THEN find that you can't turn one of the
allen head bolts.

Not a big job, but it's got a couple of the spots that can turn a half-hour
project into a daylong nightmare.  Good time to replace front brake lines
While You're In There.  Also upper suspension bushings, maybe brake pads,
better realign when you're done.  While You're In There.

Parts explosion in Bentley would be just what you need if you were going to
use explosives instead of tools.

Good luck
B.
Wm Kennedy
kennedy@admin.njit.edu