crazydubman
New member
Next up was the front end has needed a service for a while. During the last Death Valley trip I noticed the passenger side wheel bearing starting to whine a little. I knew with the previous wheel and tire setup that the bearing were going to see some significant stress (very heavy double beadlocks and 1 3/8" adapters). While I was in there and while the hubs were apart I wanted to replace all the wheel studs as they had been cut down slightly when I had the adapters and one of them had snapped at some point. Dropped the spindles off at a local machine shop to have the work done. I don't have room for a press at this point so doing it at home was a no go. Went with all new OEM parts and all went together smooth.
I decided while the spindles were off to take advantage of the "While your in there mentality" and do the following reinforcement since the front end would not be torn down this far again for some time.
Total Chaos spindle gussets - Part# 59697
Total Chaos upper control arm/shock tower gussets - Part# 59650
Total Chaos cam tab reinforcements. - Part# 59960
Whiteline lower control arm bushings. - Part# W53377A
Whiteline bushings went fairly smooth except for the known headache with the steering rack and the rear alignment bolts. Thankfully there was no rust and the alignment bolts just slid right out without fuss. One of the bushings was completely separated and you could spin it free in the outer sleeve and rock it around. All the others were partially torn or cracked. No pictures of new bushings in place with the arms off but you can see them in the final assembly picture at the bottom.
The upper control arm gussets I will say were a lot of work. Had to trip out some of the inner fender for clearance and need to modify the rubber covers now for fitment. word of advise would be to add a shim where the bushings sit while prepping for welding. Reassembly was a challenge with the new space for the bushing being fine prior to welding and just a hair tight on reassembly. had to use some ratchet straps to put tension on the new gussets in order to get the upper control arms back in..... Oh and made sure you don't forget to get the brake line through the bracket BEFORE you weld them in. Missed that step on one side and had to bleed the system because of that.
Spindle gussets went in well. Just a little grinding for fitment and made sure the top had needed clearance around the upper uniball mount to keep clear of the coilovers. (Some have said the ran into spring clearance on that upper section at full lock droop) Here is a shot with the new wheel bearings and studs installed as well.
Next up was the alignment cam tabs. This took a bit of work due to the access around the CV joint and steering rack. I ended up buying an air reciprocating saw and air chisel to help and they were worth their weight in gold. Could not have gotten a grinder in where I needed to.
Once all of that was done, I was able to get it all reassembled and back together.
Initial test drive was as expected. Much more solid front end and quiet. This took quite a while with having limited time to work on it. Would not want to do it again, but it was definitely worth taking care of it all at once.
I decided while the spindles were off to take advantage of the "While your in there mentality" and do the following reinforcement since the front end would not be torn down this far again for some time.
Total Chaos spindle gussets - Part# 59697
Total Chaos upper control arm/shock tower gussets - Part# 59650
Total Chaos cam tab reinforcements. - Part# 59960
Whiteline lower control arm bushings. - Part# W53377A
Whiteline bushings went fairly smooth except for the known headache with the steering rack and the rear alignment bolts. Thankfully there was no rust and the alignment bolts just slid right out without fuss. One of the bushings was completely separated and you could spin it free in the outer sleeve and rock it around. All the others were partially torn or cracked. No pictures of new bushings in place with the arms off but you can see them in the final assembly picture at the bottom.
The upper control arm gussets I will say were a lot of work. Had to trip out some of the inner fender for clearance and need to modify the rubber covers now for fitment. word of advise would be to add a shim where the bushings sit while prepping for welding. Reassembly was a challenge with the new space for the bushing being fine prior to welding and just a hair tight on reassembly. had to use some ratchet straps to put tension on the new gussets in order to get the upper control arms back in..... Oh and made sure you don't forget to get the brake line through the bracket BEFORE you weld them in. Missed that step on one side and had to bleed the system because of that.
Spindle gussets went in well. Just a little grinding for fitment and made sure the top had needed clearance around the upper uniball mount to keep clear of the coilovers. (Some have said the ran into spring clearance on that upper section at full lock droop) Here is a shot with the new wheel bearings and studs installed as well.
Next up was the alignment cam tabs. This took a bit of work due to the access around the CV joint and steering rack. I ended up buying an air reciprocating saw and air chisel to help and they were worth their weight in gold. Could not have gotten a grinder in where I needed to.
Once all of that was done, I was able to get it all reassembled and back together.
Initial test drive was as expected. Much more solid front end and quiet. This took quite a while with having limited time to work on it. Would not want to do it again, but it was definitely worth taking care of it all at once.
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