This is what I meant:
As you can see, this crack runs about 180* around the rubber, and if you look at it from a different angle, you can see the reinforcing fabric in the rubber.
The rubber parts on the sway bar end links were worse than this. The rubber parts fell apart as I was taking them out, and the cushions that mount the bar to the chassis were equally bad.
These were the original parts the car was "born" with, and I think it's a testament to the design and manufacturing quality that the Toyota Engineers put into them that they lasted 30+ years, and 167,000 miles.
The last time I did a complete front end rebuild like this was in about 1979 or so, when I did it to my 1975 Volkswagen Scirocco.
That car was only 4 years old, and the parts looked this bad.
Almost everything on the driver's side of the front suspension has now been rebuilt or replaced. The last thing I have to do is to replace the lower control arm bushing and the ball joint, and then start putting it all back together.
The nice thing about putting it back together is that everything is CLEAN!
Which reminds me.....I really NEED to buy a Parts Washer!
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It will be a sweet Supra.
ReplyDeleteThe suspension, at least, should be as good as, or slightly better than, "new" when I'm finished.
DeleteAnd with the new rims (1" wider than stock) and the new tires (20mm wider and better technology), it should handle far better than new.
Or at least that's what the guys that have done these exact same modifications tell me.....
Working on a project is interesting. Working on your daily driver, not so much.
ReplyDeleteOh, YEAH!
DeleteBTDT....
Working on your DD is always fraught with risk, while working on a Project Car never has the crush to "Get It Done By Sunday Night" hanging over your head.
Sounds like it IS coming together slowly, but surely. And agree with WSF!!!
ReplyDelete"Slow But Steady Wins The Race"....or something like that....
ReplyDeleteSpent yesterday scrubbing parts in a pan with a brush and several cans of Gunk.
Gonna try and get the control arm bushing and ball joint replaced today.
Wouldn't be surprised if I have to make another "Tool Run"....