I had the car up on jack stands today to swap the springs,a-frames,and strut mounts,and then,for the first time in my life,I couldn't remove the driver side front wheel.Yes,all 4 of the lug nuts were removed.I pulled on it,kicked it....over and over,and over.I hit the tire from behind with a BFH (didn't hit the wheel),sprayed penetrating oil,no dice.I called the two tire places in town,and they both said use the hammer from behind on the tire.No deal as I already stated.So,no work done today.I spent an hour and a half on it.Anyway,I called the tire business that installed mine and I told them I needed my wheels balanced (I have the lifetime deal),so,I'll let them remove the tire for me tomorrow morning,THEN,I can rebuild the suspension.Again,I've never seen that happen before.Glad I'm off til Friday,then off again the weekend.
Just thought I'd share my completely unproductive day with everyone.
ive had that happened a few times, when i worked at Wally Mart doing oil changes and tires.
i swear, one time i had to get a running start, and sidekick a wheel off of a F-250.
I've had to beat wheels off a car with an 8 pound sledgehammer. It's a fairly common problem in salty areas (salt + cast iron hub + aluminum wheel = big time corrosion. It happens with steel wheels too, but aluminum and iron react with each other).
I've often broken the corrosion ring by reinstalling the lug nuts loosely, then driving the car around the parking lot, hitting the brakes hard a few times.
I did loosen the lugs and took the car down the street and made a couple of wicked aggressive turns,no deal.I didn't try the "hitting the brake" idea.
On a side not,I was looking at the front end components,and the actual swapping of the parts looks pretty straight forward.I don't have any rust anywhere.I figured I'd leave the spindles and struts connected together since I'm replacing the mount up top and the a-frames.Nothing going on with the brakes anyway,plus,that's something else I won't have to deal with.I have new tie rods and steering rack,and sway bar end links,so,that should all come apart pretty easy.The ball joint,I'll beat the out of that,it and the whole a-frame on each side is coming off anyway.
Sounds like you had a fun day kicking tires and all.
but.
I'm so jealous of you guys that are able to get out there and work on your rides... its still 30 degrees here!!!
Here's the trick I use (they salt here too ;) ):
Get a big rubber mallet and just pound the hell out of the back of the tire. Always works for me :D
Well,no salt on these roads.....as far as the rubber mallet,I'm now to the point I'm just going to let the tire shop handle it when they balance my wheels.I had a loose weight on that wheel anyway,so it all works out.I'm not angry or cranky today even though I should be.I still have 3 more days off,so,no sweat.Tomorrow,I'll intend to make some progress and see what happens.I may even take a few pointless pictures of the whole ordeal.
They say its supposed to be around 70 degrees tomorrow so I am going to do what I can to get outside.
Vin, don't you love it when your car has other ideas of what it wants to do?
It's supposed to be nearly 80 here.As far as the Sport having different ideas.No way.She was on my side.I could see tears dripping off the bumper when the wheel wouldn't come off.The disappointment in those headlights was almost more than I could handle.Daddy will make it better.LOL.
I had it happen to me last week on my DD. I got the wheel off after a bit. I applied a lil anti sieze so hopefully it won't happen again.
You guys and your 70-80 degree weather suck. You know that, don't you?
Vin: It doesn't even take salt to cause corrosion between two different metals that contact each other, all it takes is a bit of moisture. I believe it's called a "galvanic reaction" or something to that effect. Anyone who has ever broken a water pump or intake manifold bolt has experienced it. To prevent it in future try slobbing some antiseize compound onto the hub before reinstalling the wheel.
Also, don't you have aftermarket wheels on your car? The hub hole might not be machined properly, it might be a thousandth of an inch too small. You should be able to slip the wheel onto the hub so that it sits flat on the , it should not have to be bolted down in order to seat. If yours require force this is likely your problem. The only cure to it is to very carefully grind the hub hole very slightly larger. It's something that will need to be done, because you might not always have the luxury of going to a tire shop - a flat on the side of the road could royally screw you.
When I get the Sport home,I'll do a little grinding.....after the suspension stuff is done.Oh wait,I may have to wait.I just sent my digital dremmel in for warranty replacement. !!!Oh well,maybe I have a die grinder in my new air tool box of goodies.I haven't really looked yet.
Loosen the lugs and go do some lawn jobs and a few donuts in a Wally-world parking lot. The wheel will just fall off :hick:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv4m41viy4I
Had that problem with my original TRX rims. Not being removed for god knows how long, plus salted winters, and leaking cylinders.
8lb, 10lb whatever hammer you have doesnt weight what your tire and rim weight. If it does I doubt your going to swing it at your car.
With that said I used just that. Grab a rim and tire (with air) with both hands (one around back and one around front) and use your whole body to swing it. Larger contact area, more weight, more force, and there falls the rim.
LOL I saw that before. Then he looks at it like, WTF how did that happen?
That video is funny - haven't seen it for a while. No more aluminum lug nuts for him :rollin:
:rollin: :rollin: :rollin: I had a similar problem a few weeks ago, Some reject took the locking lugs of the turbines and replaced them with the wrong size - and they got stuck inside the hole. I feel your pain vin, well, sorta.
hell everytime i see that video i wonder how it happend. you know, i bet he bought some china steel lug nuts that broke. i mean what else would cause that other than some evil little devil grimlin running around your car removing lug nuts?!?! poor mazda.. :mad:
vinnie, when you get the car back, see what the tire tech says about the wheel not coming off. also inspect the rim for damage.. there are smart ways of getting the wheel off, and then there are the stupid easy dont need training way of getting it off. :mullet:
I'll post the results when I get home.Oh well,I'm glad that's the biggest thing I have to deal with right now.At least all 4 of my wheels didn't fly off.LOL.
Vinnie, I haven't had a tire yet that I didn't have to whack with a sledge hammer. Did it to all 4 of mine as i was working on it.. ;)
hey vinnie a little trick my dad taught me was put grease on all rim/hub,or metal/metal and lugnuts. Dads never had a wheel get stuck neither have i.
I've NEVER had that happen to my cars EVER.Always a first time I suppose.LOL.
That will be happening tomorrow.This problem will NOT happen again.
dont blame you for that. hey works on farm tractors too.
I've just stuck the pry bar, or lug wrench inside a hole in the rim and pryed twoards the car. Course all of my cars have been less then 20 footers, and stock rimmed.
Yep, aluminum and steel don't mix if they've been on for awhile. But better than my day:
I have zero damage on my chrome 17x9 Cobra R's,and intend on keeping it that way....otherwise,I'd have pryed the out of those things.
We use a 4-foot chunk of 6x6 at work. Swing underneath like a baseball bat if the car's on jacks, pile-driver style if it's on the hoist. Even then, I sometimes have to hit the wheel in several spots to work it off. Sandpaper, wire brush and anti-seize afterwards.
Cool idea.The 6x6 is something I never thought of.Maybe IF it ever happens again.For now,it's the tire shop's problem.LOL.
now by god ,, thats the tip for the day !!!!!!!!
I would have never thought of that.:bowdown:
That is a good idea.
I've also used a 4x4 from the inside of the rim
Sorry,no pics.My wife took the camera to a work luncheon.Anyway,I FINALLY swapped the a-frames,ball joints,strut mounts,and SN-95 springs.I can't tell at the moment if the car is lower or not.Kingcars did that spring swap and his came down.I would assume it should be lower.The springs are shorter to begin with.Anyway,it's all done,and tomorrow morning,I'll tighten the nuts on top of the struts.After that,I'll go for a test drive and see how it feels.With the old strut mounts,there was a lot of shaking in the front end due to the totally worn out strut mounts.By looking at the bare metal on the top of the strut mounts (especially the driver side),there was about an inch of play in any direction.Wow.There was also a lot of shake when I hit the brakes.I have a feeling that this work will help a lot.
There's the update.Pics of the car tomorrow so we can judge if it's lower or if Kingcars is a dirty,stinking,low down yellow bellied,sap sucking,liar.......Just kidding buddy.LOL.Thanks for the spring info.
Vinnie, are those the same springs I have?
May need to wait a little bit for the springs to settle down. What exact springs are these? The V6 ones you mentioned a while back? I know mine came from a V8 car.
Kingcars,I believe the V-6 and V-8 springs are the same from what I've read.I THINK they were from a V-8 car though.
Jerry,they are exactly the same.I didn't even need a spring compressor.I just wedged the spring into the top perch,then into the groove of the replacement a-frames,and held pressure on the a-frames with the two ton floor jack while I sat the spindle/strut assembly onto the ball joint,and slowly raised the jack until the top of the strut went through the strut mount,then,I raised it on up and everything went right in place.The driver side spring popped as it seated in the a-frame,no big deal.Now,in the morning,I'll have the two lock nuts for the top of the struts tightened up and come back here for another update.
As the car sits right now,I THINK it looks lower,but I was so glad to have done the work in 3 hours,and so dirty from the 22 year old "going into the trash" parts,that I wanted a shower.I didn't really get a good look yet.It got dark by the time I was out of the shower.Pics tomorrow.Then we can compare them to a pre-suspension work pic....or two.
you'll need to drive around on some bumpy roads, so they can settle a bit. take pics after the drive.
Pics SHOULD be posted sometime in the morning.
Pretty cool. Sounds like you got alot done.
I did.I told my wife last night that my hands hurt.......in a good way.LOL.It's been a while since I actually got to do some REAL labor on the car,not just little screwdriver stuff.I had to use some big sockets.Nice !!!
how about those pics :beatyoass:
Coming up pretty soon.I had to run down town and my wife is getting ready to go to a funeral.I'll have them asap.
You're slackin on us!
Sorry,it's raining.Pics in the morning.
I SAID I WAS SORRY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I didn't want to take the digi outside in the rain,and I'm really not one to own an umbrella.LOL.After looking at the Sport,I do believe it sits lower,but not too low at all.I'd bet an inch and a hlaf,maybe two at the most.The ride feels fine.I'm glad I did the swap.I'm also glad I did it yesterday instead of today due to the rain and overcast skies.I love my Sport.
Hey, Vinnie. Glad you got that taken care of. I look forward to seeing your car on Friday.
Um no,on Monday.I'm taking tomorrow off.I'll be back to work Monday morning,bright and early.I plan on a whole bunch of cleaning this weekend,weather permitting,and swap the trunk carpet and install the trunk panels.Also interior cleaning,and eventually,I have to get the engine bay detailed.Too cool of an engine to let it stay dirty much longer.LOL.
I think vinnie needs to work on his pic posting promptness. It's severely lacking.
This failitude in this thread is rising exponentially with every pic-less post :hick:
I'm going out within the hour to snap them !!! Hang on just a little longer..........................
I CANNTNTTHEUAUHCHAAAAGGAGGGGEUEAIUCHKUARE94r845yu9ru
Aaaaaaaaand here we gooooooooooo
Before......
(http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/Vinnietbird/DSCF0377.jpg)
After.....
(http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/Vinnietbird/DSCF0001-1.jpg)
I can't tell a lot of difference,although the Stang springs were an inch or shorter to begin with.Can you guys tell a difference?I haven't done anything to the rear of the car yet.Upon further study of the pics,I can tell a difference.
I see a little less black in the front wheel well. Maybe an inch? What all did you put on it? I'm too lazy to go back and read through everything.
I installed replacement a-frames with new ball joints,new strut mounts,SN-95 Mustang front springs,and had a good time doing it.LOL.
Does that really do a whole lot for handling? I have wanted to set my car up for more than a straight line for a long time but wasn't sure what would work on our cars since they are a bit different from Mustangs.
The car handles great.Once I get the rear control arms,it should really hold.I want the Sport to be a good all around car.I don't do that much straight line stuff,and I'd rather it be more street worthy.I can go in a straight line no matter what.LOL.The SN-95 springs did lower it a little,and as I said,it still rides great,not rough at all.about the same as before,just not as tall.Eventually,I'll grab a pair of better struts,but I'm waiting to install my bigger front brakes,then the ChuckW rear shock mounts and better rear shocks.
I can't wait to really start tearing into mine. Hopefully I can get my car as nice as yours a few others cars have become. I really love these cars and I think this is the one car I have NEVER wanted to sell. I like to go back and look through some of you guy's buildup thread to get ideas and help. Once we get my wife a new camera i think I am going to start my build up page.
Great.We all love pictures,updates,and seeing people personalize their cars.
i'd agree that the front has dropped around an inch. the rear, like you said with nothing done to it yet is the same. but yeh a little less a little more than an inch or so. definatly looks a bit like its got a rake to it too.
its gotta be said again. GOOD LOOKING CAR. :bowdown:
Thanks a lot.After lunch,I'm going to start getting the trunk back into "new" condition.I have a VERY nice factory rubber trunk floor mat,nice panels,and a chrome 17x9 rim for a spare (needs a tire).I also have to figure out how I'm going to mount a small tool box with the basic tools needed and a few other small things (jack,tire iron,etc) without them looking bulky and in the way.Everything has to have a place and look like it belongs there.I have replacement carpet as well.I also will check to see if I have shock extensions on the car.If so,I'll remove them as well.I want the car level.
I was looking in my trunk the other day and noticed a little cubbyhole on the drivers side in the fender area. I was like "Drug smuggling spot?"
It does look like the front lowered about an inch. Doesn't seem to be as drastic as my drop, but it does seem like your car generally sits higher than mine...maybe the new parts have something to do with it. I haven't touched the rear suspension yet, but you can see that it sits a good bit lower than yours:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/kingcars/calendar%20pics/springs022.jpg)
It's lookin good, though, vinnie! The trunk idea sounds good...can't wait to see how it pans out.
Take a measurement from the ground to the fender lip, I thought it would lower more, but looks good. take some air out of the back. I will guess about 27". only because were running the same tire size.
Kitz,you're insane.I just measured and it' is exactly 27 inches from the fender lip to the ground.Good call.I don't have extensions on the rear shocks,but that's O.K.,I plan on new shocks and struts eventually.
King cars,I have 245 40 17's up front,what are your tires.Your tires look a little taller than mine.Ask Kitz,he apparently has some crazy 6th sense about measurements from states away.LOL.
Mine are 245/45/17...but I was sayin that even the rear of my car seems to sit lower...not sure why.
EDIT: You're right, it could be tire size. Yours look tiny.
I have air shocks on the back of mine for grocery hauling days.I may be able to drop the rear a little more.I try to keep it all level.After I clean on the engine a little,I'll check that out.
I have 45's on the front to. that could make it look smaller on yours.
And Vinnie Ive been watching this spring change for a while, including others.
You still have an awesome sense of measurement.Dead on....27 inches.
Good height for you,and DR D, Like i said I was watching.
I let all the air out of the rear shocks,it stayed the same.The rear of the Sport is where it is.Once I install performance shocks later on,it'll drop a little.
Tomorrow I hope to get my Steeda pedal covers on.All 4 pedals will be "covered".I'll probably add about a half inch spacer between them all. I also got out all of the trunk panels and carpet for the trunk,floor mat,and that panel that goes under the rear deck and behind the rear seat.I think I'll cover that with some trunk type carpet stuff.We'll see.One step at a time.I probably won't have time to do everything,but anything done is still closer to having everything marked off of my list.
My '85 had that... In the 87, that's where my spare tire and jack are stored.
Out in the garage I have a plastic insert that fits down in the rear fender are as a "cubby".It's been out there for years.