Dug into my front suspension today. Now I have a steering knuckle question.

[termite]

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So, here's the best video I could find with minimal searching, on how to reinstall those damned torsion keys. It's for an 01 to 10, but the concept is the exact same. I've noticed that BOTH ends of the Tbar are free before trying to line the key up.

I don't see how installation is going to be possible WITHOUT taking the Tbar out of the LCA. I have the suggested tool now. If I have to, I'll use that and the torch to remove the Tbar from the LCA.

Suggestions?

You've got the tbar crossmember free too right? If so, you've essentially got both ends of the bars free. Being able to slide the bars deeper into the LCA would certainly make installing the keys easier by doing them independent of one another.

I was able to knock the one seized bar out with a second set of hands, brass bar, a true maul, and some persistence. If you can get it to move one way or the other the slightest bit, work it back-n-forth till it frees up with some penetrant in the pocket.

 

[DeCaff2007]

You've got the tbar crossmember free too right?

Yeah I do. Could you be more specific about this?

 

[termite]

Yeah I do. Could you be more specific about this?

Spitballing ideas here that may be more hassle than knocking the bars out of the LCAs.

With the crossmember free, you may have enough wiggle room in the key pockets to get the keys on the bars without knocking the bars from the LCAs.

Hang the LCAs with torsion bars attached, attempt to slide the crossmember and keys onto the bars one at a time. Major downside would be if the key gets clocked wrong and has to come back off after getting them fully seated.

 

[DeCaff2007]

Spitballing ideas here that may be more hassle than knocking the bars out of the LCAs.

With the crossmember free, you may have enough wiggle room in the key pockets to get the keys on the bars without knocking the bars from the LCAs.

Hang the LCAs with torsion bars attached, attempt to slide the crossmember and keys onto the bars one at a time. Major downside would be if the key gets clocked wrong and has to come back off after getting them fully seated.

Ok gotcha.

Now, about the keys possibly being clocked wrong, yeah I was wondering where I should set them. I made a mental note of where they were before removal. I should have written it down.

On another note, I went to the yard today in the FREEZING cold, and managed to pull a steering knuckle from a 1990 GMC Sierra. It was a regular cab, 5 speed, 5.7L. There was also BAD body rot. When the body gets that bad, the frame is usually worse, and not saveable. Ironically, the steering knuckle I needed was still salvageable.

Even though I brought lots of tools with me, what a chore that was to get off in 25° weather. I was most worried about getting the ball joint castle nuts off. Those are usually rusted to death with no chance of non-destructive removal. In this case, I pre-soaked everything in PB blaster, worked the cotter pins out with linesman pliers, and both of the nuts came off surprisingly easy after that.

The actual hardest part about the whole thing was getting the sway bar link out. They are ALWAYS rusted solid. I brought a sawzall blade and a good set of vice grips with me. Had to cut through the link in two places for enough clearance to remove the CV axle, but I got it out and the rest was actually not that difficult - teeth chattering and toes tingling not withstanding.

Now for the tedious part. It is entirely TOO COLD to sandblast. I do have an indoor cabinet but it's junk. Wire wheels may be the way to go in this case. I have a new set on order and they should be here before the weekend.

With that, I should now have all of the parts I need to put this heap back on 4 wheels.

Stay Tuned!

 

[DeCaff2007]

Uhm, well, I made some progress today. The rubber cross member mounts came in so those got installed - as well as the cross member.

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I also cleaned up the junkyard steering knuckle.

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Painted them both.

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[DeCaff2007]

Also, I'm sorry, but this tool is effing junk!

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I was going to press the Tbars out of the LCA's. Thought it would be a little easier with this repurposed harmonic balancer puller that everyone said was all the rage. It's chinesium junk. I had it all set up nice and straight, then the second I cranked down on it, it twisted like a pretzel.

I guess the Tbars won't be coming out of the LCA's, after all. That's ok. I test fitted the keys to the other end of the Tbars and WOW they slip on nice and easy! This means I'll be using @termite suggestion about sliding the cross member to mount the Tbars/keys, instead. There's a good amount of room down there, and with how easily the keys just slip on, it may be feasible to do it that way.

In the meantime, I have the LCA's installed. Just waiting on paint to dry.....

EDIT: I'm still not sure what to look for when installing the Tbar keys. I guess we'll know when I fail miserably, get yelled at by a few forum members for not doing it right the first time, then tear it all back apart and learn the hard way, LOL!

 

[DeCaff2007]

Tbars are done!

I had to use the ball joint screw press I bought earlier to load the keys, but everything went pretty well.

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Won't know if everything is aligned and level until I actually put all 4 tires back on the ground. My garage floor is not even close to level, but it's a start.

Also, the front suspension is COMPLETELY back together. Just need to wait until I put the front back on the ground to torque everything down.

Well then guess what: It's time for a test drive! I already know I'll need an alignment and I'm pretty sure I still see a pretty noticeable oil leak - specifically around the clutch master cylinder. I hope it's just leaking down from those fancy schmancy valve covers.

Lastly, I'm SURE I tore off every last vent behind the dash and cleaned everything with bleach. However, it still smells like piss/dead animal when the heat is on.

 

[Schurkey]

I had to use the ball joint screw press I bought earlier to load the keys, but everything went pretty well.

O'Reillys has the special tool for doing that as part of their loaner-tool program.
www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/evertough/tools---equipment/rental-tools/ball-joint-rental-tools/d54493ee5b68/rental-tools-evertough-torsion-bar-tool/ren1/67012

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/evertough/tools---equipment/rental-tools/ball-joint-rental-tools/d54493ee5b68/rental-tools-evertough-torsion-bar-tool/ren1/67012

Lastly, I'm SURE I tore off every last vent behind the dash and cleaned everything with bleach. However, it still smells like piss/dead animal when the heat is on.

Ewwww. I don't remember hearing about that before.

Consider turning the heat on, fan on high speed, and use a spray bottle to squirt Lysol into the plenum by the windshield wipers so it goes through the blower motor and heater core.

 

[DeCaff2007]

Don't have an O'Reilly's around here. Auto Zone and Advance Auto are all we have, and they are sub-standard, at that.

On a side note, my Dad went to get his battery tested in his 07 HHR because it had a no-start condition the other day. I jumped the battery with my DD, and when he got to Advance Auto, they told him they can't/won't touch the battery "Because it's not under the hood". His battery is in the trunk.

That is TOTAL BS!!

 

[termite]

Don't have an O'Reilly's around here. Auto Zone and Advance Auto are all we have, and they are sub-standard, at that.

On a side note, my Dad went to get his battery tested in his 07 HHR because it had a no-start condition the other day. I jumped the battery with my DD, and when he got to Advance Auto, they told him they can't/won't touch the battery "Because it's not under the hood". His battery is in the trunk.

That is TOTAL BS!!

Did they have one of their folks get shoved in a trunk and hauled off so they're scared of losing help?