98 K1500 Z71 Font End Rebuild From High To Low

[Caman96]

definitely cleared it up though. I'm unsure if not having the shocks on mine before putting the sway bar in made a difference either way, as I did raise my LCAs to make it actually fit, and that could still be done with or without the shocks there. I did find it more difficult to get the links on than the bushings, bushings took a bit more brute force, but fiddling around in that tiny opening under the LCA while lining everything up was a PITA.

Good, I don’t want to be responsible for your stroke!

 

[LCALDERA98]

okay so I have no tension on the control arms except maybe the shock and the sway bar links I have both torsion bars disconnected
and this is how much space I have to fit that bushing in

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[LCALDERA98]

and this is just jacking up one side keep in mind the sway links are tight on all the way I just have the top nut on screw on a couple threads

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[LCALDERA98]

this is having both sides jacked up

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this is me trying to get my pink through the side

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[LCALDERA98]

me almost getting my pink to go all the way from the back

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not sure how ima get that bushing through

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and this is my stock 89 ford 2.2 turbo probe GT

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[LCALDERA98]

im not sure if im just being a little girl and not trying hard enough to shove that bushing in but I think I should have at least a bit of room

 

[SomeTahoe]

It looks like enough room to me, maybe slightly less than what I had? I would imagine you could shove those bushings on (maybe easier to do that before trying to get the bar into the exact place) then muscle the bar into where it needs to be to get those threads started. Might take some more pushing/tugging/prying on the bar to get everything in, but that looks like things are lining up about the way they should be. Are the bushings able to fit snug around the bar?

 

[LCALDERA98]

yeah they fit sung on the bar but its just so damn tight

 

[SomeTahoe]

Yeah, it wasn't a smooth operation when I did mine, if you have a small pry bar I'm sure that could help. A little forceful persuasion probably wont hurt either, it's been a couple months since I went through this process so I'm a bit hazy, but I believe I was able to slip the bushing onto the bar, then push/pry it into the right position.

Thinking about it with hindsight and those pictures, I would imagine if the bushing was put on the bar with the flat side forward and the split facing down (seeing that the sides are the thinnest part), you could likely get it into place by then rotating the bushing until it the flat side just falls into the mounting surface on the frame that it connects to. Maybe I'm overthinking it, maybe we both are. Like i said, the bushing can take a bit of persuasion and be fine, just not sharp objects and I would probably use a rubber/wooden/rawhide mallet before a metal hammer on it. If you are just using hands for persuasion, definitely no need to worry, you aren't going to ruin that bushing with your bare hands on accident.

 

[454cid]

Put some silicone grease on the bushings so they slide on the bar easier.