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Old 07-02-2007, 11:00 PM
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KAdams4458 KAdams4458 is offline
Mmm! Diesel!
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Snohomish, WA
Posts: 1,420
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Wickham View Post
Lookin much better. Have you done all of the front end work yourself? Any special tools needed in that?
Generally, no special tools were required. A five pound hammer has almost always work for me to pop apart joints. On this car, the drag link joint on the driver's side absolutely refused to release its grip on the car. I ended up using a pickle fork on it, and even that took twenty minutes of pounding. In the end, the cheap Harbor Freight pickle fork was destroyed, but I did managed to get the sucker apart.

Now, when I say everything in the steering system was bent, I mean really bent. The drag links and steering shocks in the photo should give you an idea of what I mean. Both tire rod assemblies were bent three times worse. One side was practically a U-shape.

I drove this car 30 miles with these parts installed!



That steering shock was long gone, by the way. It fell in and out with no resistance, just a loud clunk as it reached the end of travel while I shook it straight up and down. It was quite amusing.
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- K.C.Adams

'77 300D Euro Delivery
OM617 turbo / 4-speed swap
404 Milanbraun Metallic / 134 Dattel MB-Tex

Current status:
* Undergoing body work


My '77 300D progress thread


Last edited by KAdams4458; 07-02-2007 at 11:10 PM.
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