I'm a bit disappointed that my front end (of my car!) is so worn. This is evidence of lack of care, and I just hope the engine was treated better.
There was about 1 inch of slop in the front tires due to worn tie rod ends. So I decided to just do it all.
After spraying two cans of gunk onto the crusted up parts, I drove to the car wash. There I jacked up the front and removed the front wheels. Then I spent ten minutes with the washing wand. The crud was so tough, I couldn't touch it.
At home, I started dismantling things. If you like hitting things with hammers and testing your arm strength to its limits, this is the right work.
I found the best way to clean the parts was to soak them in a bucket of water and Plumbers Friend. This is the product that is basic rather than acidic, and it will disolve the crud but leave the paint.
I'm putting in new control arm bushings, tie rods, drag link, idler arms, steering shock and king pins. One side is now almost assembled, but I find there is a lot of slop in the joint that contains the cammed bolt at the top of the king pin. I can move the bottom of the king pin a distance of about 1/4 inch from front to rear, with the lower control arm off. Is this normal, or should I put in an additional washer against the threaded tube in which sits the cammed bolt? I know the nut on the cammed bolt is as tight as possible, without stripping it. The slop just will not go away.
Any help is appreciated.
Joe
