kmember and front suspension question

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Mine was a mix of body color and that ford undercoat grey. The body color paint came off the k-member very easily with some degreaser, so I wouldnty be surprised if a lot of members are gray.
 
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Mine was a mix of body color and that ford undercoat grey. The body color paint came off the k-member very easily with some degreaser, so I wouldnty be surprised if a lot of members are gray.
You might be right, especially on 87 up.
My 79 and 87 Cougar had factory black crossmembers, but on my 91, I cannot verify if it is original black paint or not by now. The rest of the car is not a factory color either. And the 79 could have been body color and still have been black. :shrug:
But if Limp is detailing it off the car, he’s going to have chassis black or POR 15 out for the A arms and spindles, (I figure the rear end is already painted), and it’s good to not show any grease/oil on a driven car.
 
(I figure the rear end is already painted), and it’s good to not show any grease/oil on a driven car.
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I was able to do mine with a breaker bar.

Heat plus penetrating fluid will help too. Don’t use heat if you are intending on reusing the arms with the bushings as-is. If they are getting replaced, heat the nuts up and breaker bar those suckers off
The heat surely helped but they were really on there.... There is some sort of blue colored thread locker on the bolts... Probably the same stuff on the driveline bolts....
Thanks for the heat tip,,, For some reason I never remember to do that.....
 
Anyone use any threadlocker when installing these?


Yup. Blue. It's really more as a backup as the torque should do the trick.

Ford pre-applies a threadlocker paste to it's new hardware. When you tighten the bolt down, the heat activates the threadlocker. When you remove it, you'll see the remnants. In ford's own service manual, they recommend replacing the hardware but that's due to needing fresh threadlocker. I just apply blue, and that's only to critical bolts.

To be honest, i usually forget to do it to a lot of bolts. My strut bolts for example, but once torqued properly, they really don't go anywhere.
 
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My understanding when you tighten up these suspension pieces is you need to have them setting on the ground, with full weight and what will be the normal driving position.. How would that be done with Threadlocker?
 
My understanding when you tighten up these suspension pieces is you need to have them setting on the ground, with full weight and what will be the normal driving position.. How would that be done with Threadlocker?
OEM rubber bushings, you want the weight on the suspension. Poly bushings can be tightened in the air.
Like 5L5 said, the torque is the important thing!
 
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Was not happy with poly bushings on my dodge....I am going to use stock rubber ( on the A Arms anyway) I will use poly on the sway bar bushings, strut bushings..
Lets see if this " new " tool I purchased when it was on sale a few months ago does the job... My understanding is it can be used for the A arm bushings too.....
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Here is a shot of the k member after a couple of pressure washer going overs... HOpefully you can see the paint color... I kinda like the gray.. Will paint the A arms black... You can see one of the spots of superficial rust which was the main reason to remove the K member, making the job much easier..
There are some surface rust areas in the engine compartment that I want to wire wheel and paint, mainly around the radiator area that I can now stand in the engine compartment and address easier too.....
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The A arms have always been on the list to wire wheel and paint... They must come bare metal from the factory.. Look how the grease stopped any rust buildup.. Before and after pressure wash.... Have I said how much I like my pressure washer ( old thread)....
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I want to do all I can to the car where having the engine Kmember out makes it easier... Such as the brake booster upgrade...
I am going to disassemble my dash for multiple reasons, check for rodents, AC and heater cores check or replace, install a new dash top being some of them.. Good time to work on the booster, and some steering column checks also While the engine is out
When the K member goes back in I want to install the hybrid steering shaft to my 03 , turn one rebuilt, rack before the engine goes back in too...... Yes, those are new stainless lines on the rack. Good thing my son is out of college....... LOL
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If that tool doesn’t work for the A arm bushings, I was able to get mine out by using heat (propane torch) on the outside of the cylinder until they were able to push out.
A lot of people try to burn them out from the inside, but the way I did it was much cleaner and easier, IMO.
Then a wire wheel on a drill to clean up the bushing sleeve!
 
If it works as well on the bushings, as it did on the ball joints I might have a shot of Gentleman Jack tonite to celebrate....
Lost my shade and it got hot ( florida) so the attempt on the bushings will be later this afternoon/early evening....
Stay tuned......
MIght just put in Yellowstone season 1 in the DVD.... Just finished up with season 4 ( Go Jimmy) and I can't wait for season 5........
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Here is a shot of the k member after a couple of pressure washer going overs... HOpefully you can see the paint color... I kinda like the gray.. Will paint the A arms black... You can see one of the spots of superficial rust which was the main reason to remove the K member, making the job much easier..
There are some surface rust areas in the engine compartment that I want to wire wheel and paint, mainly around the radiator area that I can now stand in the engine compartment and address easier too.....
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That's exactly how my K-member looked when it came out. That's the Ford E-coat that the entire chassis is dipped in before paint. There was body color on it, but not much.

Not that it matters but usually there is a date stamped on the K-member on the bottom. Mine was dead center where those 5 holes are, but some have seen them out near the A-arm mounts.
 
That's exactly how my K-member looked when it came out. That's the Ford E-coat that the entire chassis is dipped in before paint. There was body color on it, but not much.

Not that it matters but usually there is a date stamped on the K-member on the bottom. Mine was dead center where those 5 holes are, but some have seen them out near the A-arm mounts.
I will check on the date code... I know my sister ( original owner) was hit a couple of times by DWO's in San Fran with it... Lets see if its original.....
In the center area where the 5 holes are it is stamped 38 21 3
If you go down to the left about 7 to 8 oclock from there, almost to the outside lip, it is stamped..... 4 11 83 .......
Sticker on the door build date is May 84.....
 
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