I have replaced dozens of those. You almost have to leave the arm on the car, and fully installed.
-You will need the special socket, a huge Johnson bar, or at least the biggest you can find, and an appropriately sized thickwall pipe of about 3 to 4 ft long.
-If youre working on the floor, jack the front up and put it on safety stands. Secure the car from any fore/aft movement.This means Park,Parking brake, wheels blocked, the whole nine yards.Its imperative that the car not be able to move.If it falls off the stand, its taking your legs with it. If you can find something to slide under the K-frame, so much the better.Make sure its strong enough to support the weight of the car.
-The very First thing to do is to back off the T-bar adjusters some.I count the turns and write it down.Then,I loosen the castle nut on the upper bj a few turns, and separate the tapered pin from its socket.If you leave a bit of tension on the T-bar it will help to pull that joint apart.Then back off the adjuster all the way, and run the nut back up, finger-tight.
-Start on the drivers side. Sit down, get comfortable. Assemble your equipment, install it on the joint with the pipe at a right angle to the centerline of the car, or slightly forward of. Slide your body forward and plant your feet somewhere on the frame or some sturdy structure. Make sure theres something soft behind you. NOT the bare concrete floor. Now get ready to pull. Dont let the socket slip. If your bar slips you might get it in the teeth, so be careful.Get set. If the socket slips you are going to flip over backwards, so the pillows are there,right? Ok, pull.No really pull. no, REALLY pull.Really, really pull. You did soak it in penetrant for a day or two,right? You didnt? Oh well, you better do that then. See you in a couple of days.
-All righty then, lets try it again.
If you try to take it apart dry, you will very likely seize up the works.So make sure its had plenty of soak-time, and that the penetrant has actually gone into the threads and not into the accumulated gunk that may be up there. If/when the bj breaks loose, immediately hit it with more penetrant.And continue that after every small movement.The penetrant is going to act as a coolant as well as a lubricant. If it breaks free, dont be in a hurry to get it out.After every 1/4 turn spray it down, reposition the tool, and pull. If it gets hard again at any time it may be galling, so stop! Dont power through it, you will turn the arm into scrapmetal.Spray it and walk away.Take five. Ok. Spray it again.Get set up. this time tighten it just a bit. maybe 1/8 turn.If it moves ok, then lets go loose again. If it passes through the formerly tight area you can continue. And so on until either A)it becomes easy to turn, or B)IT jams up solid again. Do not turn it more than a couple of turns with it fully assembled.If you go too far the weight of all the assembled components will want to twist the bj in its threads, also jamming it up.So if you think its coming apart ok, then just stop.Go to the other side, and work on it.If the other side also comes out a couple of turns, then you can take every thing apart, both sides. There is a reason I recommend you to do it this way.
-But now, suppose one of those bjs jams up solid.You have two choices. The first is to break out the torch. If you or a friend,are/is skilled at the use of this tool,you can use it to expand the arm away from the bj, and in this way loosen it. The second is to reassemble every thing and take it to your favorite shop and have someone else do it.Now you see why nothing is really apart yet. Just secure those castle nuts,crank up the T-bars, install the wheels and go.
-If you are doing just the upper bjs, you dont actually have to disassemble anything else.If you are doing the lowers as well, then remove the calipers and securely hang them up in such a way as not to stress the hoses.Then separate the tierod and strip the rest off.
-And there hangs the lower bj. this one is pie.Spin the nut off.Support the arm from below, on like another stand or something substantial that will not move or bounce.Grab your bfh and line er up. Kabam. One good shot with a 2.5pounder and its laying on the floor.Try not to smash the fender on the backstroke.A pickle-fork works too.Or an air-hammer.If it doesnt pop with a couple of hammer strokes, you better have a look at the stud.If you dont hit it square its possible to bend the pin, making removal all the more difficult.So reassess you technique, and wail on it.
Tadaa! Now can begin the reassy.Unless you want to replace the bushings too. Another post?
