Front
REMOVAL1. Raise vehicle on a hoist, allowing the front suspension lower arms to hang free.
2. Remove the wheel and tire assembly.
3. If necessary, remove the disc brake caliper, then wire it out of the way to obtain working room. Remove the front disc brake rotor and front disc brake rotor shield.
4. Disconnect the tie rod end assembly from the front wheel spindle using Tie Rod End Remover 211-001 or equivalent.
5. Remove the steering gear bolts if necessary, and position the power rack and pinion steering gear so the front suspension lower arm bolt may be removed.
6. Disconnect front stabilizer bar link from front suspension lower arm.
7. Loosen the ball joint nut one or two turns. Do not remove the nut at this time. Tap the spindle boss sharply to relieve the stud pressure.
8. Use Coil Spring Compressor 204-071 to place the upper plate in position into the spring pocket cavity on the crossmember. The hooks on the plate should be facing toward the center of the vehicle.
9. Install compression rod into front suspension lower arm spring pocket hole, through front coil spring, into upper plate.
10. Install the lower plate, lower ball nut, thrust washer and bearing, and forcing nut onto the compression rod.
11. Tighten the forcing nut on the compressor tool until a drag on the nut is felt.
12. Remove and discard ball joint stud nut, and raise entire front shock absorber and front wheel spindle assembly wire out of the way to obtain working room.
13. Remove and discard front suspension lower arm-to-crossmember nuts and bolts. The compressor tool forcing nut may have to be tightened or loosened for easy bolt removal.
14. Loosen the compression rod forcing nut until spring tension is relieved, then remove the forcing nut, front suspension lower arm and front coil spring.
INSTALLATION
1. Place the front spring insulator on the top of the front coil spring. Position the front coil spring into the front suspension lower arm spring pocket.
2. Position the front coil spring and front suspension lower arm onto the compression rod. Install the lower plate, lower ball nut, thrust washer and bearing, and forcing nut onto the compression rod.
NOTE: Make sure the spring pigtail is positioned between the two holes in the front suspension lower arm pocket.
3. Tighten the forcing nut and position the front suspension lower arm into the crossmember. Install new lower arm-to-crossmember bolts and nuts. Do not tighten at this time.
4. Remove the wire from the front shock absorber and front wheel spindle assembly, pull the assembly down, and attach to the ball joint stud. Install a new ball joint stud nut. Do not tighten at this time.
5. With a suitable jack, raise the front suspension lower arm to a normal attitude position. Remove the compressor tool.
6. With the jack still in place, tighten the front suspension lower arm-to-crossmember retaining nuts to 191-259 Nm (141-191 ft. lbs.).
7. Tighten ball joint stud nut to 148-202 Nm (109-149 ft. lbs.). Remove jack.
8. Install the front disc brake rotor shield, front disc brake rotor, and disc brake caliper, if removed.
9. Install the steering gear-to-crossmember bolts and nuts, if removed. Hold bolts and tighten to 122-135 Nm (90-99 ft. lbs.).
10. Position the tie rod end assembly into the front wheel spindle, and install the retaining nut. Tighten the nut to 47-64 Nm (35-47 ft. lbs.), and continue tightening the nut to align the next castellation with cotter pin hole in the stud. Install a new cotter pin.
11. Connect the front stabilizer bar link to the front suspension lower arm. Tighten the retaining nut to 16-22 Nm (11-16 ft. lbs.).
12. Install wheel and tire assembly. Tighten lug nuts to 115-142 Nm (85-104 ft. lbs.). Lower vehicle.
13. Check front wheel alignment and adjust if out of specification.