Hoo boy...

There was definitely some red chalky stuff on the right side guide rod mount, but I don't remember seeing any on the left side. And, knowing the previous owners of this car, they're probably original.

Dave, BTW, when I replaced the upper control arm bushings, the old ones were just about completely destroyed (going by your pictures, mine were actually in far worse shape; as soon as I can get a digital camera I'll take some pictures of them; it's pretty impressive). There was almost no rubber left on them How can I tell if the ball joints are okay or not? Last time I had the car in the air, I took the tie rods and tried to move them around; the only way that they would move was by rotating a bit to either side, which is about what I would expect with okay ball joints...but I will admit to not knowing what the ball joints are like on the wheel assembly (can't remember exactly where they attach; upper control arm??). The lower control arm bushings looked okay at a cursory check, but again, I'm not sure if they really are or not.

How were you able to tell that the steering shock was dead? And, at $400 for everything, this job will have to wait a bit; I just spent $400 on the car a few weeks ago and need to save up.

Sixto, yeah yeah I know... Good to hear that pulling the spring won't be necessary for this...although if I'm also going to do the lower control arm bushings, I may as well, eh?