Rebuild front end

[Brett_jjj]

I had my balljoint bolts snap on me a while back and it put me into a gutter damaging a few things etc.Ive now got the parts together to rebuild the front end.Ive got all genuine holden parts where I could.Im gonna take heaps of pics and do a bit of a "how-to" as I fit these parts,it might help some others out who cant afford to pay a mechanic to replace these parts ..
Theres the following-
New genuine FE2 struts X2.
New genuine FE2 springs X2.
New genuine strut mounts x2.
New genuine strut bearings x2.
New genuine rack ends x2.
New KYB strut bump stops X2.
New KYB strut boots x2.
Roadsafe tie rod ends x2.
Roadsafe ball joints x2 for front lower control arms.
Ive got second hand front lower control arms X2.
Ive got second hand Z- bars X2.

[50LTRv8]

Looking forward to it, good luck

[Brett_jjj]

Thanks mate,hopefully it will help out someone who is not too sure about renewing these parts.Its probably been done before on here,but Im gonna do it again anyway..I will also be following the gregorys workshop manual,just so I can double check everything and do things in a certain order.

[Jacko84]

sounds good, ur a mechanic eye mate. see you allways offering good advice

[Brett_jjj]

Na,Im not a mechanic,Ive just been fixing my own (and other peoples) cars for around 25 years now,so Ive sorta learnt a thing or two along the way..I tell ya one thing though,I wish I had website like this to turn to when I was first starting out.A crappy old hand drawn workshop manual was about it as far as mechanical info on cars went..

[Cracka]

Eager to see the progress. Makes me happy to see someone willing to do it themselves.

[Brett_jjj]

Well today I removed both the struts and control arms and all the associated parts,I removed the old ball joints from the control arms,and I got the Z bars and control arms all cleaned up and repainted black,so they all look tidy again,so they are now ready to have the bushes and new ball joints refitted..Ive removed and checked/cleaned all the nolothane bushes from the control arms and Z bars.They are all still new and have no damage thank god.I found the left side swaybar link was bent a fair bit.But other than that,theres no other damage as far as the mechanicals go..The left strut had pumped out all of its oil over everything after hitting the gutter,it must have blew its seal,so Ive had a fair bit of cleaning up to do as well..Ive gotta strip down the struts tomorrow and remove the top spring seats,I can then put all the new stuff together,Ive taken plently of pics of everything including a couple showing the removal of the control arm ball joints ,which are removed by splitting the back of the rivets that hold the ball joint to the control arm..The new ball joints come with nuts and bolts so you can bolt them to the control arm..Tomorrow Ive also gotta remove the rack ends and fit the new ones.Im also fitting new auto trans cooler lines as the old rubber lines are leaking at the trans cooler in front of the radiator...I will post up some pics and more tomorrow..

[EDGE3]

Will be following this with great interest mate,by the way how are those bee's correction killerwasps doing?

[Brett_jjj]

Ah, you must mean the 200 killerwasps,the frosts weve had eventually killed them off.I was actually under the front of that car today getting a couple of spares.Ive never seen a wasp nest as big as that before.Ive still got it sitting up in the shed actually,its as big as a dinner plate.Usually their nests only get as round as the base of a drinking glass..I was hoping the clowns who helped themselves to some parts from that car would have come back.I would have loved to have seen them get attacked by around 200 wasps..

[Brett_jjj]

Well today I went to assemble the new struts. The KYB bump stops and strut boots won't fit standard commodore struts. They only fit KYB struts by the looks of things, which wasnt mentioned in the ebay ad, and its mostly my fault anyway, I should have looked at them more carefully before buying them. So now tomorrow I have to go and buy the genuine bump stops and strut boots. This is a good lesson for anyone doing these sort of jobs to these cars. I usually always buy genuine parts for this reason. So today I spent doing a few other little jobs that needed doing. I removed the washer bottle, which got cracked when I hit the gutter. And while its off, I've removed my faulty cruise control module. I've just got to fit the working one i've got, but before I do that. I have to replace all the transmission cooler lines that are in that same area. So i'll replace them first and refit the cruise module and washer bottle.
I also disassembled both struts and got the top spring seats I needed. Both the old strut top mountings and strut bearings are still in good condition, So ill be using them in my parents VR, as it needs the suspension rebuilt badly. Same as the pair of FE2 springs I removed, they still seem ok. Both the springs free lengths are within spec and both seem to have the same amount of tension still, so they are still ok and probably didnt need replacing. But there only cheap so its worth it. I've posted up a few pics, I will write up a "how-to" later and post up all the pics i've taken.
I also want to mention that the strut top nuts both came off heaps easily.I have seen a hell of a lot of people have trouble with this nut,they strip the small 10mm nut that you use to hold the strut from turning.If the spring is not compressed enough,this nut will be heaps tight,so just make sure that the spring is compressed enough to take the load off the nut..It will easily undo then..and only use a quality 10mm ring spanner to hold the strut..

[EDGE3]

What price are we looking at for all those parts in your first post thanks Brett

[Brett_jjj]

Genuine FE2 struts = $100 each.
Genuine FE2 springs = $ 50 each.
Genuine strut mounts and genuine strut bearings = $90.( from ebay),its usually $200 for these bearings and mounts at a holden dealers.
Genuine bump stops = $40 each.
Roadsafe ball joints = $30 each.
Roadsafe tie rod ends =$25 each.
Genuine rack ends = $40 each.
The KYB bump stops and strut boots cost me $50.
I did price the genuine bump stops before buying the KYB ones online.I havent priced the genuine strut boots,but I will find out tomorrow,they shouldnt be to expensive though....

Ive also noticed that theres a ring of foam filter type material inside each strut boot that sits over the boot breather holes,and this filter is buggered so it also needs replacing.These filters are not mentioned or shown in the VR/VS gregorys manuals.Probably because they sit down inside a slot in the strut boot and are hard to notice.I only noticed it because one fell to pieces and fell out of the boot.

[Brett_jjj]

Jeez,I just got off the phone from holden here in Tamworth ,and the prices are as follows.
The strut boots are $33 each.
The bumps stops are $31 each not $40 each..
The guy also said that the strut mounts and bearings now come as a set,and are $50 each.So I dont know where the guy that served me the other week got his prices from,and he didnt say that they come as a set,he gave me seperate prices for the mounts and the bearings,and the price was nearly $200 for both sides,a bloody big difference from the $100 for both sides that I was told today.Luckily I got my genuine mounts and bearings "as a set" online and not through that guy the other week.The ones I got online were $90 for both sides,so that seems about right with what old mate told me this morning..Also the front spring prices are different.The front standard (STD) springs are $68 each,whereas the sports type (FE2 option) front springs are only $50 each.You would think it would be the other way around, with the sports type ones being more expensive than the standard ones,but no,the standards are dearer.
I gotta pick up the bump stops and strut boots on wednesday,so I will be posting up some more pics of the strut assembly and what not then..Cheers.

[tezza]

I was also surprised when I priced genuine struts and springs.

[Brett_jjj]

Id be interested to hear how much other people have paid for genuine suspension/strut parts from their local holden dealer.Im in the middle of the bush here in tamworth,so I expect to pay a bit extra for parts compared to the city folk..

[Brett_jjj]

Heres a pic of the new genuine bump stops next to the old worn ones.I mentioned in one of the above posts about also needing new strut boot foam filter rings that sit in the bottom of the boot over the boot breather holes, new genuine strut boots come with these filters already fitted..Im heading out later to start the re assembly of the struts, I will get plenty of pics of the re assembly..

[tezza]

I only priced the struts and springs and the prices were very similar to what you paid (from a Sydney Holden dealer).

[Brett_jjj]

I see your in sydney.Id try phoning around a few different holden dealers for prices before ordering in or buying any parts.If I was in a city area,thats what Id be doing.Sometimes you can save a fair bit on spares,just by making a few calls to diffrent dealers.Ive found that some dealers can be cheaper than others with their spares...

[Brett_jjj]

I finally got around to assembling the new struts today..Heres a few more pics.

[EDGE3]

Its all coming together nicely then

[Brett_jjj]

Yeah mate,Im slowly getting there.She should hopefully be finished on sunday arvo,just gotta go get a wheel alignment done on monday then,and she should be back to driving like new again.

[ephect]

good work so far on pics and progress

dont forget to mark the thread when you replace the rack ends or ball joints, that way you wont be too far out of alignment (thats if its still ok from the accident) even thou ur getting an alignment monday

[Cracka]

Looking good so far, Cant wait to see more.

[Brett_jjj]

Thanks fellas,and thanks for the tips.Today I got the lower control arm ball joints and bushes assembled onto the control arms,so they are now also right to refit.These bloody roadsafe brand ball joints.Now this new lot that I just bought have different size bolts and nuts.Ones got 12 mm bolts and the other side has 13mm bolts,so they still cant get it right.And both boxes were still sealed shut,and the bolts and nuts were in their own sealed bags in the boxes,so I know they havent been tampered with.But at least they are both nylock type nuts and at least both lots are high tensile bolts this time.I tensioned them both up to 28 Nm,just under half way between the recommended 25 -35 Nm.
I also got my cruise control module replaced and all hooked up again,so that should now work.Ive also fitted the new washer bottle.I removed all the old split trans cooler lines and replaced them all with new hose and clamps.Tomorrow I just have to fit the new rack ends and new tie rods and, put it all back together.
Heres some more pics..

[EDGE3]

Some how I dont think you need any tips mate I know that you know axactely what your doing which is a great job