Jim:
You will likely get lots of good suggestions how to remove/reinstall the
front suspension. I will throw in my two cents.
I suggest that you make a jig to help you. The jig is designed to attachi
under the X-member to ensure the proper orientation when removing/refitting
the X-member to the body so you can install the 4 bolts that hold the
assembly to the body. I have found that the greatest impediment to refitting
the X-member is achieving proper bolt alignment - especially if you are
attempting to do this with little or no help.
This jig can be stationary and made of wood or you can fabricate one from
angle iron. The idea is to remove the front wheels and lower the car with
the X-member attached so that it fits onto the jig.
Once lowered onto the jig you can remove the 4 bolts and then lift the body
off of the X-member and slide the jig/X-member from beneath the body. As
always be safe; block the rear wheels and use jack stands under the body as
you lift it off of the X-member. (A good idea is to put the front wheels
into the trunk to add a little extra weight back there.)
Clearly, you will need to disconnect the steering coupling and brake lines
before removing the X-member. However, there is no need to disassemble the
front suspension prior to removal IF you are not going to try to work on the
front suspension. {This is the normal procedure I use when removing the
engine/transmission i.e. lifting the body off of the engine/transmission.}
However, if you intend to work on the suspension itself, then you will need
to remove the sway bar while there is weight on the wheels, wheels straight
forward and springs are in normal compression.
It is also much easier to remove the springs from the front suspension while
it is still attached to the body. I recall seeing some discussion how to do
this over the past few weeks. Essentially, the approach is to remove the
shock absorber, jack up the wheel, remove wheel, put a jack stand or solid
support under the lower A-arm of the affected wheel, lower the car onto this
support so that full weight is born by support and spring is in normal
compression. Then one can remove the through-bolt securing lower ball joint
to the lower A-arm. Finally, jack up the car, remove the support, lower the
A-arm and fish out the spring. It cant hurt to mark the spring position
relative to the axel so you can reassemble in the same position.
Hope this helps
Wayne
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