Dave WM

both are out, 1st on came right out with a drift, second one was more of a challenge, had to use washers for an impromptu puller, worked. 1st side is done as far as the strut, dumped what was left of the oil, cleaned, refilled, bled air out, reinstall spring. while I had it out I pulled the e brake auto adj mech out, it was a bit gummy so I put some antiseize on it and reassembled. Now I get dumb, I ordered the wrong inner bush, I did not realize they were diff size so all I had was the short ones. Order the replacements but with the holiday and weekend, prob will not get back to it until next weekend. Still have to do the other strut but all the hard part is done. Used the BFAW to get the glan nut off, had to temp reinstall the control arm just to be able to stand on that while turning the nut off. Hope the second strut is not as hard. I decided to pass on replacing the front diff mount, the one in there looks perfect and is a SOB to get out, looks like you would need to pull the entire diff to get at the top nuts holding it on. The way its installed I cant get a socket for an impact driver either from the bottom. I did replace the lower mustache bar insulators, they look pretty beat up. Did not notice the inner bush looking bad on those so that will be another day (I have the OE rubber bushes for that as well). Will take the time to clean up and paint the control arms since I have to wait anyway for the inner bushes now. Just going to knock off the surface rust and put some POR on them. will see if I can find a puller for the outer control arm bushes. I have those as well and would like to replace them. they don't really need it but heck the car is 43 yrs old so I figure it deserves it.

So far so good, I started by removing the center pin that keeps the spindle from spinning. then removed the rear nut, the front one would spin the pin, so clearly it was not frozen. I put the center pin back in just enough to hold it still while I removed the second nut. I wanted to see if it was going to be a problem, I put a nut back on and tapped it with a BFH and it started right out. Before I went any further I disconnected the brake cable/hose loosed the inner mount clamps, disconnected the sway bar from the control arm. I figure wanted all the stress off the pin, so don't want to fight any loading. Next up will be the half shafts, letting the PB blaster soak on them. Also while waiting I shot some in the pin hole (plugged the bottom) and the openings to the spindle pin. Have a jack under the assy to take the weight off the mount insulator, beside holding it when I remove the 3 top nuts, I just don't like the suspension hanging on that rubber mount. Have not started the other side, but its supported as well for the same reason.

pop those plastic covers off the fuse links and make sure all is nice and tidy there as well.

was looking at the 20t

just fixing the front strut made a huge improvement. I did NOT replace the front control arm bushings, they seemed fine, but when I get the press I will do those as well, I have OE rubber on hand for them.

prob will do that CO. I just popped for the diff insulator too, I hate getting started on a project and not having the part to finish, can't hurt to put a new one in anyway. I remember way back when I was a poor college student working on a motorcycle I would freeze bearings and put cases out in the car under the rear window in the middle of summer to use temp related expansion and contraction to aid in otherwise press fit parts.

I would not over tighten the belt, check the FSM for correct tension. A slipping belt may be due to a worn belt, or maybe contamination (oil) on it or the pulley. If you make it too tight you maybe stressing the water pump bearing. You don't want to do that.

I would spin that batt connection (A) around 180degrees, it looks dangerously close to grounding out to the center of the alt.

I plan to refresh the rubber on the rear suspension soon. Got OE inner bushing, new spindle links, did NOT get new outer bushing (thought I had them already). Thinking I should get a new OE diff mount but was waiting to see how mine looks when I get under there. The hope is the spindle links will come out using washers as spacers (draw them out with the nut and washers). Will post up some video when I get into it. Any hints?

I recently opened up my OE Ign module. there were several electrolytic caps in there. In vintage electronics these are often a problem. I have a spare that works well, I may end up replacing the caps in my OE just to add another 40yrs to its expected life. I will use good quality (Nichicon) hi-temp low ESR stuff. These caps use a chemical base to form a very thin insulator IIRC, giving very high capacity in a small package. The problem is the paste can dry out or fail in some other way. My guess is the caps used back in the day were of excellent quality (70's Japan) but still I am sure no one thought they would still be used 40+ years later.

video of check for spark of course this only goes as far as the lead from the coil, does not check the function of the distributer to the plugs. I have confirmed good battery voltage while under load of cranking (over 11v) and have gone thru all the normal stuff like cleaning all the connectors and grounds. Some times it just takes a little longer to start. This is NOT the hot restart issue. I am hoping this video helps you think thru the diagnosis of your issue.

could be no fuel as well. Carry a spare plug with you, next time this happens disconnect the center wire from the distributer and attach to the spare plug, lay it on the strut tower screws and see if there is a spark while trying to start. You need to eliminate the variables when dealing with intermittent issues.

Nope but they cancelled much faster, then I ordered from amazon.

amazon sent email canceling order. guess it was too good to be true.

I don't know if its just my imagination or not but it sure seems like the road noise has gone down with the new insulators, or maybe I just think so since they cost 120$, whatever it sure seems better. I can tell now the rear struts have to be done as they def has more bounce than the front have now that I have put in fresh oil and new o rings. On the rear can't buy new insulators though (tall ones) so will have to re use them or some other used ones I bought if the orig are in sad shape. I recall seeing a spacer that is being sold though that would allow the short ones to be used. Anyone have any feed back on that?

passenger side I replaced the torn boot, added some more oil (340ml not 310ml), installed new insulator. driver side, turns out the damping was pretty shot on that one too, not as bad as the passenger was but still not very good. new O ring, new oil (340ml 15wt fork oil belray), new insulator, boot was ok. This time I did not remove the brake caliper, just unhooked the hard line from the strut and disconnected at the brake caliper, capped it to prevent fluid loss. 2 17mm nuts on the steering knuckle, loosen the control are at the frame mount, take off the top nut on the sway bar and it ready to come out. Leaving the brake parts on make the strut heavy but not impossible. the BFAW handled the gland nut no problem. put it all back on, set car down and tighten up the control rod bushings under load. Got to clean up the garage to night then take it out for a test ride. The front has no bounce at all a hard push down it just sinks and then comes up with out a hint of bounce after the rebound.

new strut insulators came in, do not have the same wobble so looks like the old ones do take a "set" with age. New ones will go in later this week.

finally had a chance to try out the strut repair (new o ring and replaced the lost oil) wow what a diff 90mph with none of that floating feel like a disconnect from the steering. Very happy. will have to pull the strut again t replace the torn boot, and add another 30ml of oil (shb 340 I did 310). After that will do the other side just so I know they are matched. will get to the rears soon as well.

Sometimes I just read a part of the problem and get lost in the details, default mode to what I had problems with when exp the same symptoms, my bad. Agree with above analysis of a bad booster setup.

are you getting the specified free play on the brake pedal? I had a loose bolt that sets the stop point on the brake pedal. It would unscrew every time I applied the brakes, eventually limiting the return of the pedal to the point where the actually started to lock up.

well if the work the same as the stock calipers, then I would suspect the o ring that seals the piston.

going to meet up and look over mine, will point out areas to watch out for.

wonder how they determined the VR was bad? The OE VR is a pretty simple devise, just a couple relays and points. If the alt is ok maybe a fuse link. An easy test for the alt detailed in the FSM consisting of supplying voltage to on of the term on the T connector on the alt.