Part 2 is HERE! Oil Soaked Rack and Pinion Bushings! Torn and Mushy! 1998 Ford Mustang Gt 4.6 https://youtu.be/Gq1Hj_GiOrw
This 1998 Mustang needed a suspension check after years of sitting. It has low miles for its age but needs a rebuild in a few ares. We need to check the ball joins, sie rods, rack and pinion, as well as the shocks and struts. The customer states that the steering is binding, a little disassembly will help to diagnose the issue by isolating components.
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Amazon List, must have for any toolbox! Astro 7824 Bearing Race and Seal Driver Master Set https://amzn.to/3qhYxva
1: Astro Tools 52SL 500x2 Lumen Wirelessly Rechargeable Folding Double-Sided LED Slim Light, & 52SLC 500x2 Lumen Folding Double-Sided LED Slim Light W/Wireless Charging Pad https://amzn.to/3Jd2h6t
2: Mountain 5-Piece Metric Double Box Universal Spline Reversible Ratcheting Wrench Set; 8 mm - 18mm, 90 Tooth Design, Long, Flexible, Reversible; MTNRM6 https://amzn.to/3OJTRp2
3: NOCO E404 12.25 Oz Battery Terminal Cleaner Spray and Corrosion Cleaner with Acid Detector https://amzn.to/3ILbdjv
My Camera Gear:
Gopro Hero 10 https://amzn.to/3AaxELe
Hero 9&10 Dual Battery Charger MUST HAVE! https://amzn.to/3g5KdAT
Flexible Camera Mount https://amzn.to/3Jywrk5
#brakecleanmafia #wifeunit #rainman #comnissionearned #mechanic #technician #dealer #independent #autorepair
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”Intro Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio”
Thanks to Jesse for making the intro and graphic for us to enjoy!!!
“All the videos, songs, images, and graphics used in the video belong to their respective owners and I or this channel does not claim any right over them.
Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.”
Customer Customer States Mechanic Fails Engine Transmission Gas Diesel off road race 4x4 street car daily driver scam dealership dealer technician how to
This 1998 Mustang needed a suspension check after years of sitting. It has low miles for its age but needs a rebuild in a few ares. We need to check the ball joins, sie rods, rack and pinion, as well as the shocks and struts. The customer states that the steering is binding, a little disassembly will help to diagnose the issue by isolating components.
Support the Channel with a Like and Subscribe!
Become a Channel Member or Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/RainmanRaysRepairs
Visit our Second Channel on YouTube, RainmanRay Off Duty https://www.youtube.com/c/RainmanRayOutoftheShop
Follow on Twitter: @RainmanRay4Real
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/ @rainman_rays_repairs
More at RainmanRaysRepairs.com
Check out my Merchandise shop for Men's and Women's Apparel, MUGS and Stickers! https://rainmanraysrepairs.myspreadshop.com/
Support the channel on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/RainmanRaysRepairs
Patreon is a "Tip Jar" I don't post much there, daily YT uploads are all that I can manage for now
Amazon List, must have for any toolbox! Astro 7824 Bearing Race and Seal Driver Master Set https://amzn.to/3qhYxva
1: Astro Tools 52SL 500x2 Lumen Wirelessly Rechargeable Folding Double-Sided LED Slim Light, & 52SLC 500x2 Lumen Folding Double-Sided LED Slim Light W/Wireless Charging Pad https://amzn.to/3Jd2h6t
2: Mountain 5-Piece Metric Double Box Universal Spline Reversible Ratcheting Wrench Set; 8 mm - 18mm, 90 Tooth Design, Long, Flexible, Reversible; MTNRM6 https://amzn.to/3OJTRp2
3: NOCO E404 12.25 Oz Battery Terminal Cleaner Spray and Corrosion Cleaner with Acid Detector https://amzn.to/3ILbdjv
My Camera Gear:
Gopro Hero 10 https://amzn.to/3AaxELe
Hero 9&10 Dual Battery Charger MUST HAVE! https://amzn.to/3g5KdAT
Flexible Camera Mount https://amzn.to/3Jywrk5
#brakecleanmafia #wifeunit #rainman #comnissionearned #mechanic #technician #dealer #independent #autorepair
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Also, I personally use or have used the products featured in my links and only recommended them if I feel they are of good quality.
”Intro Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio”
Thanks to Jesse for making the intro and graphic for us to enjoy!!!
“All the videos, songs, images, and graphics used in the video belong to their respective owners and I or this channel does not claim any right over them.
Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.”
Customer Customer States Mechanic Fails Engine Transmission Gas Diesel off road race 4x4 street car daily driver scam dealership dealer technician how to
Happening Z Hood Check that out. Triple digit day. It is stupid hot today. I'm gonna try to uh work on this.
Uh I think it's a 2004 Ford Mustang GT I Don't know the engine size yet I think it's a four sticks? uh customer States Steering is loose. Uh I think maybe it wanders while driving. Uh, let's go ahead and uh, put this up on the rack inside. Take a Look Down Below See what? Uh what ails her deep within? Whoa.
Look at that. This particular Mustang has 47 357 miles on the odometer. How about that? It's a brand new car. Silly me.
I was way off. Look at that built in zero six of 98. This is a 1998 Ford Mustang GT with a four six and she's super clean too. Oh no oh no.
look at that. The rear view mirror fell off. It's not okay. I should take this off.
I Think hot. Oh Hot Hot Hot Hot hot. The Amulet is hot hot. Yeah everything's hot I bet it's a I bet.
Ambi Air inside of this car is about 140 degrees right now. Good thing we have air conditioning. Let me get this connector disconnected and we'll get on with the program here. I See it.
That was a two-handed operation and then I touched that metal piece and then burnt my hand. Yeah, it's a warm kind of day today. Let's uh, let me change my mind real quick on the Fly Let's go out for a test drive and see what the steering feels like on this. Mustang Plus I Haven't driven a 50 000 mile 1998 Mustang in in a very long time I Kind of want to just drive this car.
Oh bin says me close says me, let's get out of here. Look at here. look the steering. Look at that steering wheel to the left.
It just kind of stays. Yeah, something's going down with this thing. It appears to be binding. Let's head over the bridge, pick up some speed, see how it feels, going a little bit faster, and then we'll uh, we'll get it up on the rack for a visual inspection.
Stays left, stays right, It stays left. Okay. Confirmed. Nope.
Not gonna do it I'm just not gonna do it I Can wait and we're off. And at 60 miles per hour, that sticking steering wheel business is doing the same thing. It does not recover back to straight line driving. kind of unstable.
it feels dangerous I wonder if it cooled down any while we were gone? see thermal meter? Oh look 100.9 I Guess it didn't cool off while we were gone. Okay, it's hotter Anyway, let's nose this thing in. We'll get the rack set up and take a look down below. See what's going on with our steering system right about? Yeah, that's good parking.
Seattle Starting down in the late 90s, Ford Ding still haunts me. All right. Let's see what we got under the hood down here. What's going on? Where's our latch at? There she is.
we yell our board match 4.6 instead of two valve. Yes, that's a two valve four six. Nice. Pretty clean in here too.
She's looking really nice. There we go. Let's see if we have a steering leak or something and now now the fluid's full. Wow, look at that this thing has. Hydro Boost Check this out. Look, it has power steering assisted vacuum boost, no brake booster I Did not know that the Mustangs had a Hydro Boost No way. Wow, this thing's a nice car. It really is okay.
Okie dokes, the rack is set. Let's get this thing up in the air. We go. That's good on the locks for safety.
All right. So down below taking a look at our steering, we've got our outer tie rod inner tie rod steering gear also known as the rack and pinion and again on the other side. I Don't see any leaks so the bushings on the steering here aren't falling out of it. actually.
yeah, they are. Look, look, look that's starting to tear and come out. I mean I Don't think that's their problem. Let's uh, let's pry bar this thing and see if it moves.
Pry bar coming in? Yeah, that movement's minimal. I Think that is a problem, but it's not the problem. I Don't I don't think that's so much. Uh, the issue at hand here.
It's not the greatest. It's gonna be hard to achieve a good wheel alignment, but that's Uh, It's not why the thing's sticking. Okay here. let's come out of here and we'll try to turn these wheels.
Oh, not rotate, but steer left to right. maybe two-handed I mean yeah, they turned it. That's pretty tight. kinda.
yeah, that feels a little tight. Um I Have an idea. Let me pull these wheels off real quick. incoming cry Driver: do we have wheel locks in here? Negative: Awesome incoming loud noises I'm gonna pull uh, the other side off too.
What we're gonna do is we're gonna isolate components in the steering system. lights dying and we're going to isolate components raw. See what's going on with the uh, that binding business? All right, let's cruise on over to the driver's side. We'll pull that wheel and what I'm gonna do is pull tie rods and we're going to rotate these steering.
Knuckles Because I want to see if one of the ball joints binding and sticking and not allowing the wheel to turn freely without excessive friction? No. I Lost the race. Okay, I'm gonna try to turn this knuckle. that brakes are hot as far this way as we can.
Everything's hot so we can, uh, work on our little tie rod right here. Oh He-Man Strength No time for two I'm just kidding I can't pull uh Connor pins out by hand. It's like I just can't do it. It'd be cool if I could, but I can't so I won't if I can try.
All right reverse impacts coming in. that's an 18 millimeter. Let's get that guy off. Come here.
Rustamatic too. All right here. Let me scoot you guys over. We need to get some linear impact action on the steering knuckle right here.
We need to jar this piece here so that the tie rod shaft will come out of the knuckle. I Wanted to get a puller on there, but this. uh, this boot is flared in such a way and staked on where I can't get a puller behind it without damaging the boot. so we're gonna have to do this. Hammer Method: Thank you Seriously I don't want to hit it that hard I'll tear the boot or hit the boot and tear the boot. no way. Escalation Level two coming in. All right, we're gonna have to do this with the pneumatic gun.
It gives me more impacts in a more controlled fashion because I don't want to tear that that boot. just in case. there's nothing wrong with this tie rod. Foreign see that that is requiring much more Force than it should to turn.
That is a sticking ball joint 100. And look at here, the boots torn off of it. You can see yeah that inside of that ball joints all crudded up. that's no good.
Let's see if we can watch it turn here. Yeah, it binds. It's binding right there. Okay, it's gonna be ball joint on this side.
Let's go check the other side over here. This one should be able to turn much more freely. Let's go ahead and pull this one part two just to make sure I mean it looks okay. the boot's not torn but never know.
All right, we'll go through this one kind of quick. One more time cotter pin and we'll pull this tie rod out. Check this other side. Like I said I don't I Didn't feel this one binding, but it has lived a similar life as the other side, so we don't know.
We're gonna find out right now. All right. Reverse torque on our nut. here.
are you goodbye nut? Dramatic impacts coming in loud, right on there. please. all the way. All right.
I'll do it. I meant to do that. Oh, this thing's that's bound up pretty good too. Yeah, that one's not the greatest.
Okay yeah. I think uh I think we're gonna do a front end rebuild on this a little bit. Let's Lose the ball joints I'd like to put tie rods on it. that's that's pretty stiff.
and if they don't want to rotate. oh yeah, if these don't want to rotate or these and these are combining up, it's going to prevent this thing from swinging back to its neutral position. So we're gonna have to put in some front end parts on this and uh, go from there. We're going to go ahead and execute the full monty on these repairs.
It's going to end up being the, uh, the lower ball joints, the outer tie rods. We're gonna put some shocks and struts in it too because this stuff's pretty worn out. So let's get it apart. I'm gonna start with the caliper here.
We're pulling two pallets with bolts out, hang the caliper over there on the frame somewhere, and then we'll get after the ball joint. see how this is going to work out for us. Here There we go. We need some lubricants in there, that's uh, it's not gonna work out.
Brake pads are good. Okay, let's figure out how to safely hang up this caliper so it doesn't fall down and damage the hose. see here. thinking through there and then up on that bolt.
Maybe I don't like that here. We'll hang it off of, uh, the fender liner. There we go. Perfect. All right. So because this ball joint bolt is kind of captured by these, uh, strut bolts, let's just go ahead and pull these guys out right now. Loud noises, wrong socket too. What is this? Let's try the 24 because it's not the 22.
there we go. Wrench on the other side to hold the bolts. Beautiful. Looks good.
Number two: Foreign. It's going to be annoying. Okay, we need to get this bolt out of the way. It's loose, but it's still got a little bit of pressure on it so I'm just gonna kind of tap that thing through.
Turn there. Now it's out of the way. Yeah, like I said, it's got some pressure on it. Not a boat load, just enough to be annoying.
Manual reverse clicks since the impact's not going to do it. huh? There we go. That one. bottom one.
Oh, come on. now you know. Oh, don't do that. The spindle's trying to turn.
There we go. Woohoo! Violence there. Okay, brackets off, rotors off. things are out of the way.
so we're gonna put some spring pressure up on the coil spring. See that? All right Cotter Pin: Dig this thing out of here that's made out of rust. It almost broke in half just now. It's nasty.
Nasty Pin: Come on out. Oh good. It's mood leverage increasing. Leverage Okay 24 coming in.
That's for our ball joint bolts. too tight. squeeze I can't I can't fit in there well. my wobbly bits can.
There we go. So much for that idea. Let's put this back. Stay up there.
there. We are all right. Let's free up the top of the spindle and knock that upper bolt out. It's got some pressure on that more than I had anticipated.
It's taking pressure off of our punch now. Knuckles Free. Here we go now. I Can let this down a little bit.
A good view of that nasty ball joint ruined. Alrighty, So next up, we need to free this ball joint stud from that steering knuckle pneumatic impacts and we're gonna try to jar this loose. If it doesn't work, we'll uh, we'll escalate from there. This might work foreign Fork on this.
I might not, but it's worth a shot that way the arm chairs don't have to go. Did you ever hear of a pickle for it? So we're gonna try to get one of those in there and see if we can't drive this thing in to separate? Maybe we'll uh, we'll get some pressure on it. uh and we'll run the impact. Whatever we got to do.
Okay, it's going in, we're getting some upward pressure. Back it up some get some bigger impacts here with the uh, the larger Hammer See what happens? Don't slip and hit, your hands. will hurt. Ask me how I know.
Oh, all right, did it work? Nope. All right everybody. This is absolutely horrible and my heart sank when I realized the shocking truth that the audio has become corrupted from the GoPro I Had no idea what was going on. So uh, my choices are either to abandon this entire video and then not post it at all and not have anything to do for tomorrow, or I would attempt to recover it uh, simply by use of a voiceover. So that's what we're going to try to do now as we just saw the pickle fork didn't work, hidden thing with the air hammer didn't work, hitting it with a regular Hammer didn't work. So I'm gonna try various ball joint pullers to attempt to remove this one. This right here is not actually a ball joint boiler I believe it's a Pitman arm puller. Either way, it will work just the same.
However, slight issue is that I think it's a little too wide and it appears that as I'm tightening tightening the thing down it, it is starting to slip out from the uh, the steering knuckle so that one's out. I'm gonna try a smaller one I didn't really want to use this one because I'm afraid of breaking it. Plus the threaded Rod actually has a pointed end and this ball joint stud is flat and I was afraid it was going to dull the pointy end on the threaded rod, but it's the only tool that I had that was going to fit. so send it and it's also slipping.
Yep, try again. that one's not going to work out. negatory. What am I doing So it slipped off.
but I'm gonna try it again I knew better I knew better but I wanted to I just had to try again. It's in my nature. Oh a third time. yeah, it's just I'll hold it by hand I wonder why I have trolls? Seriously I can make whole videos on me just trolling myself.
This is ridiculous. First time didn't work. Yeah, there you go. Give up.
Ray Good Okay, we're gonna put the nut back on. Ah, that puller. This is my favorite puller but I lost the little flat bearing in that goes in the end of the threaded shaft and this one's my favorite because it, uh, it's adjustable and it fits like everything. Question is: is this one gonna work I Think it's gonna work.
we've already Jarred the knuckle plenty. by hitting it with hammers. this totally should work. So I've tightened the thing down by hand and a bunch of sweat just squirted out of my glove.
You see that? That was kind of gross. Anyway, we're gonna I'm gonna tighten this thing down. This thing is actually taking a lot of torque and it's flexing my snap. Whoa Whoa.
There it goes. Okay, it's off or something broke. After a quick examination of my ratchet, I Realize it is not broken and looks like the ball joint has come free. Good.
Now it is time to get out the ball joint, press and get ready to push this thing out of the control arm. I Think I tore this nasty boot off. Oh yeah, some lube. Yep, this is a press in press out type of ball joint.
Put some spray on it. Yeah, there we go. Let's tear off this uh, it's torn Boot and see the Carnage Inside it's pretty crowded up. it's been exposed to atmosphere and Road Grime and dirt for a while so that stuff just ground away at the ball and socket joint.
All right, we're coming in with the ball joint pressed since I tore away the boot. I could just put the Press directly on the face of the ball joint. This part is a hard metal and it should push the socket section of the joint out with relative ease. Over here. On the bottom side, we're going to go ahead and put in the adapter that's going to allow the bottom of this ball joint to slip through the control arm. As we begin the Press with a couple quick hits from the impact, it's pressed right out, got it and all over the floor. We'll give this surface a quick wipe down. It's covered in lube and there's some dirt so I'll wipe that stuff off.
The inside looks good and it is prepared to press in the new ball joint. Nothing special. run-of-the-mill aftermarket ball joints they're built to last. So anyway, to press this ball joint in, we simply flip over the adapters, leaving room for the stud of the ball joint to pass through the center hole on the upper adapter and through the hole on the C-clamp looking portion the green section of the of the ball joint.
press. Now that I've got the bottom adapter over the metal part of the ball joint socket joint, we'll get this screw in and tight and prepare to put some torque on the screwing section of the tool. and then we'll press this joint up and into the control arm. All right.
This side is done. We're going to go ahead and move around to the passenger side again. I Will pull off this crusty pinned brake caliper. Get this thing removed.
Yeah, that's nasty. There's just one pin. so we rock the caliper out and then it slides off of the second pin which is just screwed into the caliper bracket. And I learned my lesson.
The thing kept falling down. so I'm zip tying these up now. The little hooks kept giving way when I was hitting this thing with the air hammer. There's a lot of torque on these.
uh, caliper bracket bolts. Again, it was flexing the ratchet. There it goes. You see the dust smoke coming off of the bolts when it breaks loose.
All right. So I learned from the other side that this 24 millimeter bolt right here in the top the strut is in the way of me reaching that 15 millimeter bolt for the top of the brake caliper bracket, which was quite annoying. Probably could have got it with a wrench, but I have power tools all right. The Cotter Keys coming out this one just broke apart and in pieces is actually pretty crusty.
Let's get our bottom bolt. I'm flirting with fire here. I Didn't bring the jack stand over and we'll just pull the bolts out with spring pressure. It's fine.
there's two bolts in there. see the second one. I'm just getting it. Loose Yeah, that's what we're doing.
We're preparing to relieve the spring pressure, right? No, let's just Hammer him out. Why not? Living on the edge? trolls entering chat. Let's take the ball joint nut loose next. Ah, no, not all the way.
See, we're still safe. Look if I'm lucky, the spring pressure will just break the ball joint loose, but it's probably not going to happen. Those things were stuck in there. pretty good. I don't think they've ever been removed. Yep, Jack's coming up. There goes some spring pressure. Tap the upper bolts out for the steering knuckle.
There is still some pressure there, but it's not like it would be if the spring had its way with those bolts. Oh I Didn't get a chance to explain the claw hammer. see I Uh, my medium Hammer is at my house and not here and I didn't want to use the big giant hammer. So the only intermediate Hammer that I had between my large hammer and my small Hammer is this particular claw hammer.
You see, it could be argued by some that a claw hammer actually has no business being in an automotive shop because that tool is for pulling Nails out and prying up pieces of wood. And we're not doing any of those things in the shop. So technically that tool should not be there. Hey look, wife unit is here.
She wants something I wonder what it is I think she was getting ready to go home. actually. Anyway, we're getting this uh, polar set back up. You'll notice that I put that nut over the ball joint stud and again, that's there to keep the end of that puller from sliding off the top of the stud.
So we're turning this knuckle and getting out of the way. We've got to put this in a position where we can get good leverage and a good pull on the assembly. Torx Coming up: this is the moment where tools break. It's always cringy.
two hands on it. the second hand is so it doesn't uh, put aside whoa. It's so you can hold everything straight and not put a side load on the tool on the puller and that can help with preventing the puller from sliding off of the work. Well, it probably wouldn't slide, but it could twist or end up turning at an angle and that could make it slip off.
but then if it slips off, then it technically is sliding. Okay, we're going to do this differently: I Think it'll work I'm just gonna go full Savage on this with the big hammer and I'm just gonna beat this ball joint out of the control arm. I've still got the jack stand under it so the control arm can't Flex when I hit it with a hammer and I don't really care about those threads. Yeah, look at that with the pointy end too.
I'm just like going at it. It's totally gonna work. Watch: This is great just annihilating this thing. Look there we go.
It came right out. super easy. That was kind of fun. So anyway, uh no.
I'm not gonna smash the new in with a hammer too much. I'm gonna get it started a little bit, you know. just get it secure and then, uh, we'll finish it off with the actual ball joint press. Yeah, there we go.
See got the see-through press cone. It's actually not see-through so we can record it. I Think there's a particular ball joint that that specific adapter was made for where the steering knuckle was in the way. or something like that. Or you had to press it off the knuckle. You could remove the knuckle from the ball joint. It's there for a reason. Anyway, this tool is all set up.
just. uh. press this thing in now. All right looking good.
It's in its home. Good to go, but we're not done yet because these front struts are coming out and the rear shock absorbers are coming out. Fortunately, we've already done most of the work to get the struts out. so let's lower this thing down and we should have just one more bolt or nut.
rather up at the top and again, that's a little rusty. I'll spray some lube on it. Hit with an impact. This one's not coming out, it's actually turning This shaft.
so I have to reach around and kind of put a side load on the strut and it puts extra friction in the shaft and that allowed the bolt to come off and then the rubber. Mount that just pops right out of that little uh little bracket. there same thing on the driver's side. I Had to put a side load on the straw in order to, uh, generate friction.
So we're gonna go back up and moving around to the rear shock absorber. It's got one bolt on either side of the axle and then one nut and one stud inside of the trunk. So we're pulling the wheels off and again, we'll we'll uh, we'll fetch the jack stand and pull both of these lower bolts out. The bolt head is a 15 millimeter and the Uh the nut is an 18 millimeter and I'll just go in with a wobble drive and an 18.
pull that guy right off. So what's happening here is that the axle is trying to fall down farther than its current position and the only thing stopping it is actually the shock absorbers. So technically, the axle is just hanging off of these shocks. Therefore, the axle is also hanging off of these bolts.
using the jack stand. We took some of that pressure off and I'm just gonna slightly tap this bolt out. Hey look I have found a use for a claw hammer or I tried to. nah, what am I doing claw hammering a shock absorber bolt out? Seriously, it's awesome.
It worked even the wrong Hammer is still a hammer anyway. I'm letting this thing down I need to scooch the jack stand over to the other side and we'll just repeat the same procedure. I'm giving that shock a quick test. it compressed very easily I'm not thrilled with it.
By the way. I am so frustrated with the audio situation in this video that if you guys are still here, uh, just thank you for that. I imagine a lot of people would have clicked Away by now it's it's I'm still upset about it as we go on. I'm just trying to sort of get through this and hope it never happens again.
I I probably need to get a better microphone I think I'll get one of those Bluetooth microphones Power Stroke Tech talk from A-Rod Sent me a link to a pretty good one. He says he switched to a uh one of those wireless mics a few months ago and it works much better than the GoPro mics as I ramble on while I take this Rusty bolt out and again. thank you guys because you're just sitting here listening to me Ram a lot about nonsense and YouTube truck channels while we take apart this crusty Bolt Oh by the way, I'm not going to edit any of this audio I'm just going to get through this and kind of observe and narrate as best I can. and if if something happens here, it happens here. I'm just I'm not going to go back and and go through and try to reshoot audio because I don't like to do voice overs like I said. I'm still really bothered that my camera's broken. but I suppose this is the lesser of two evils. It's like uh, it's like story time story time with Ray There we go.
What somebody somebody called me like in the comments once like the Bob Ross of auto mechanics and I mean I saw Bob Ross video the other day and I I mean I I Kind of get it. but I don't know if I'm a Bob Ross I mean Bob Ross is legendary I'm just some guy Okie dokes I've had some parts delivery action I've got a new shock absorber on the right and the old one on the left. Do a quick side by side comparison of these two units and we'll just see how worn out the old ones really were versus uh, so the way I'm gonna do this is we're just going to compress and observe. So observed: Push that one down real easy.
Yeah, that's pretty easy to move I could do it one-handed this one. I gotta kind of put some weight on it. Okay, and you see the rebounds a little bit slower. Let's do a race.
Let me get this first one compressed. Okay, definite. Improvement here. Let us go ahead and get our Hardware set up on this new shop.
Oh There She Goes Run away. let's get the hardware set up and then, uh, we'll get this new unit installed and that's going to slip on on the interior underneath of that washer. so we're ready to roll. Take this guy right here and what we're gonna do is set it in position there and we're gonna run it up through the hole and then down below.
I'm just gonna put it right on top of that bracket. for now, see that bracket. We'll just slide it right up there so it's in position. We can go inside now and uh, bolts installed.
So what they gave us with the new shock is the new washer, a new bolt, and a new rubber grommet. So what we're gonna do is I'm going to take this old piece of rubber off. Come here. We're going to lose that one because I wish to use this one I Like these pieces of Hardware better than the ones that came with it I Think they look nicer and that's what we're going to use.
If I can there we go. Get that guy started All right. Here's my input. No, never mind that one's not gonna work.
The threads don't uh, they don't engage. That shaft is larger so it looks like I'm stuck with using the other. Hardware I Got to use The stuff that came with it. That's fine. I wonder if that goes like that to match the taper? Yeah, that's gonna go that way. Yeah. I've got to use this one. No getting around it all right.
I Had to switch my socket out to the 18 because that thing's larger. Send it, see what happens. Okay, all right, that's looking pretty good. We've got some thread exposed I can feel that the uh, the washer I'm sorry the The Grommet has been compressed.
Let's take a look down here that looks pretty good. Can't really see much, but from what I can see, it looks fine to me. So that one's in position, let's grab the driver's side next. Oh, compressing there we go.
Sendo Absorber I Need you? You and you? Where's my nut? Hey, Miss simular protocol on this other side. Take this guy. maneuver it on up into that hole right there making sure that the cone part of that grommet goes into the into the hole. That will give it a nice good chug.
There we go. Cool, that's in position. Let's get it bolted out of here we can see. The Grommet Came through, let's set the new one up and that was taking a there we go.
Where's my gun there? we go. All right that one's in. Let's check down below looking good. We're dangling.
Very nice. Okay I need now to put my premium. Nice super clean interior back together. All right interior panels going back in I Think this one slips behind this one up here in the front.
Just sneak that guy back around where it goes. Get in there. ow short. it hurt my hand.
That's awesome. Carpet back in, it goes right there. and then our back panel will. uh, we'll seal the deal here.
All right. Back panel coming in right here I Just kind of sits back. there's a knot. Okay, well, it's not really a notch, but it's molded in the back to fit this just like so and we'll put our pins back in.
Little push Clips there's three of them. push them in, we're good. two Number three over here and this section of the rear shock absorbers is complete. Back up.
All right. we're back up in the air. Let's get our pole Jack under the axle. We'll pick the axle up and then get uh, his bolts aligned and then we can bolt these bottom bolts in and this operation will be good.
Come on up. Keeping an eye on the lift arm because when picking things up like this, sometimes you can lift it up and it'll actually pick the vehicle up off of the lift arm on that corner and that's a very unstable way of doing things. If the leverage isn't right, it's very possible. So far, so good.
Got about another half inch to go and keep going. Keep going almost there and we're aligned. Beautimous. All right.
Bolt coming in. well now we were aligned. It's at a bit of an angle, not what I wanted I wanted it to go in perfectly, but you can't always get or what you want I've seen that to my kid. he gets so mad because it's funny. Oh, it's funny to me. Anyway, it's not really funny to her that one's in. Let's move over. Grab the driver's side next.
Coming down here, you guys come on over too. bumpy. ride. Wow.
Got a couple inches to go on this one. more one more inches to go. Still watching that lift arm on this side. half an inch.
Oh, we're starting to pick the car up I saw it move. Okay, well. we're gonna have to redo this one somehow. Some way.
Oh man. my look, my whole jacket's stuck. it didn't release. it's at a at an angle.
What is this? I'll kick it there. stupid thing. physics. So I need to move I'm going to move this over.
so I'm just to kind of get better leverage on the situation here. It's all about leather I notice it seem like much, but that little like half an inch or whatever for one inch might make a difference here. And I'm actually going to lower the vehicle down because I also think I was running out of threads on the pole Jack sketchy. how's that? I didn't do anything more.
Thank you there. how's that? Oh, that worked? I win and we're still picking the vehicle up off the ground a little bit. We're off the lift, so that's why we have the three legged pole Jack that's less dangerous or so basically I Got this thing racked up with three lift arms holding the weight and then the rest reported with this: Jack right here. no matter impact's coming in, begin tightening There we go.
All right, let's raise it back up and we are good that is that rear shocks are in. Put this stuff aside. so at this point I'm still in a parts hold so I'm gonna go ahead and I'm gonna pause on this mustang and I'm gonna go ahead and move on and move on to some other things. I have a we're doing some cleaning and detail work so I'd like to get some of that done before the end of the day.
So that being said, I think I'm going to go ahead right now and close this video out and I will do that as always by thanking all of you guys for watching this video. Hope you enjoyed this video. If you did enjoy this ball joint slash shock absorber video, please feel free to let me know about that in the comment section down below. Don't forget to tap that like button while you're down there and most importantly, have yourselves a fantastic day! See you guys later in the video in a Mustang and a day in transmission.
Definitely a pain to have to go back and voice over. Just do it, don't whine. Voiceover really isn't that annoying. Just try to keep it succinct, short and to the point. The info on the wireless mic was great. Thanks for all the tips. Interesting to see 50K miles and years of weathering/ oxidation.
Dude, ya gotta do the pickle fork / air hammer combo. Wedge it, then hammer, c’mon. Add a torch in the toughest cases.
I thought the voice over was great.
my neighbor saved my ass when i did LCA's on my wife's Nissan Rogue. We live in PA where rust is co owner of your vehicle and he has a picklefork attachment for his air hammer. they all came out in seconds. i thought it was witchcraft,
A builder will only use a claw hammer for its designed use, an engineer ( including automotive) will look at "any" tool and think "what else can I use this for" just like you use different pullers, having been I mechanic for 54 years I can tell you that 99% of "real" mechanics/ technicians have a claw hammer in their tool kit.
1996-2004 ford mustang GT 4.6 1994-1995 Ford Mustang GT 5.0
NICE!
I wonder when driving too!
Wd-40
I actually like the voice over instead of live action.
Sharp factory edges, pretty common. Was replacing widshield wiper bushings, reaching through cowl openings, wondering where blood coming from. Edges like razors.
Lube the nurs, reach around the strut shaft… so much for family channel.
This is the first video I've seen of you. I enjoyed the video and look forward to seeing more
I have a Ram 1500 bighorn that i put a lot of street miles on 15 to 20k a year. DOES ANYONE. have any recommendations for the brand of balljoints and tie rods. Many top brands like Moog are such gargbage compared to what they were. Im lucky i have 110k on the truck, and their still good, but i like having the parts on hand and doing them all when one goes. I was looking at the icon lift kit with their control arm assembly, but that still leaves me without tie rods. Many of the brand names i bought in the last few years for friends and coworkers' cars seem to be low quality
Rain man, Rainman nobody can ? Only You Can😊👍
Rain Man, you should check underneath each boot for grease from the manufacturer which probably wasn’t there because it was missed🧐🧐
Using the wrong hammer for the job lmao
I have a 2001 / 18K miles
fun visit
Just to let you know, Bob Ross had a quiet confidence, no pride at all. That's what made him awesome, and I feel you have the same qualities. It's the main reason I watch your content as you break down the process of troubleshooting and overall approach for those of us that are Not professional mechanics (which struggle to do more than fluid exchanges). Keep up the great work bud!
One remark, only fully tighten the rear shock bolts when the vehicle is standing on it's wheels on the ground (or the suspension is fully carying the weight), this reduces load/tension in the bushings. Otherwise they wear faster and gives more harshness into the vehicle.
I have watched a few of your videos & I have to say that " I would not let you work on any of my Vehicles !"
I thought the car fell off the lift when I first read the title.
HEAT!!!
How about a little HEAT ?
Put a Clamp on that pusher .
Always back the joint with an anvil , ( someone holding a big hammer )
Man oh man, the rims look like someone likes to hug curbs. They're all scratched and gouged heavily. Nice mechanic work 👍💪
Lmao this voice-over is awesome. You should do this more.
Rusted parts , heat is a friend
It can't be stuck if it's liquid😅
A little rust inhibitor/prevention fluid wouldn't have hurt.
Im out here watching and yelling get the torch, get the torch.
Ray love your videos
you need two hammers to remove tie rods and ball joints! hold one hammer on one side of the steel and then hit the other side with the second hammer. Ball joints and tie rods will fall out like magic!
Trucks looking good
That thing is quite rusty for a Florida vehicle.
First time in all my decades of wrenching I've seen much less ever thought of using a claw hammer as a nut wrench! 😀
Raay why don't you soak with PB Blaster?
My best friend had a 98 mustang SVT 4.6 32V 5spd was a fast car! 60k mail he let me borrow it all the time I have good friends I’ve replaced a lot of rack and pinion on mustangs and Thunderbirds and a million ball joints! Had the otc special cup for them
Narrating the parts where the audio was lost was a good idea. Narration is actually better in some ways. It's easier to hear, easier to follow.
Great job. I had a ball, your pretty 😁
It compressed very easily I'm not thrilled with it???
Jounce resistance is supposed to be very low…damping happens primarily on rebound.
Why?…so spring can compress on bump so chassis isnt forced up. If shocks have resistance on jounce…thats directly pushing chassis = bumpy ride.
Gas filled shocks?…
Slight resistance to compress gass on jounce….more resistance…slightly
I have so much luck with PB BLASTER when it comes to balljoints and tierods and rusty bolts cause that stuff is like a miracle solution to me and I'm pretty sure that I'll run across something that it probably won't work for but so far so good. It's like the parts just flop off after it soaks in for a minute or two..I use it on everything including radiator hoses and it just makes everything go together and come apart easier..
I actually liked the voice over better. (More explanations of procedures, less background noise, and more relaxing and Bob Ross-like)
Voiceovers are common on some channels!
As a former mechanic I think people should take there vehicles to ray. I have watched his videos for a long time and he is a caring and he is very intelligent when it comes to working on cars. he knows what he is doing and cares about his work and stands behind it. I would like to think him for all his videos he let's us see and caring about people's vehicles .
Do you ever torque anything to spec?
Try loosening the ball joint bolt two turns and hitting with the air hammer before taking the pressure off with the jack stand. I've heard that works sometimes.
I love watching your videos. You and AdeptApe are my favorites. Currently doing an inframe mini rebuild of a Cummins 8.3 diesel on a rear engine skoolie(school bus converted to an RV). I know what you're doing is completely different than my project, but I learn problem solving and to keep a positive attitude by watching your videos. 💙
The bob ross of automech!!!! XD
I agree.
Click bait junk video tobad your that boring
Rainman you are such a good, honest person. I wish I could have sent my '70 Montego 351 "C" up to you to get the fuel system and new gas tank done, also the electrical short. I'm so glad you and your Family are doin well. Been a follower(subscriber) for 2 1/2 years. Great informative videos. "Love your humor" Be Blessed.
The voiceover worked very well.👍
You know, instead of jacking up the rear axle to align the shock holes, you could have just pulled the shock down
Ray, your mic may have temporarily quit working but your video feed didn't. I think we, your viewers, can temporarily figure out the steps your trying to accomplish and how your going about doing it because your videos are that good.
I love your videos, attitude and sense of humor and skill level.
I have one nagging question though. I've watched MANY of your videos and you rarely,if ever use Anti-Sieze and thread lock. Why is that?
As in Industrial Mechanic we use the hell out if it as we frequently have to deal with steam fittings, vibrating equipment, rusty junk fasteners and junk fasteners that are subjected to high heat and extreme cold. But we also use an extensive amout of Stainless Steel fasteners and Nylocks in our vegetable processing plant also. Which, if your smart, you'll apply Anti-Sieze first due to galling that Stainless is known for.
Thanks for your educating, and often times, funny videos.
While using pullers, i often use a " C "- Clamp across the arms to help keep them in place so the puller arms don't slip off and cause you to cuss like hell but you have to grind a SMALL flat spot on the arms to keep the clamp in place.
Don't worry, I'm not the trolling type. Theres enough of those assholes out there as it is.
But you a rookie mechanic
BP blaster will help if you sprayed it first
You are doing a great job, keep it up.
Really Ray do not care a voice over a different spice of what you are cooking all delicious
I know you know how to use a bigger hammer!
RAY mechanics use ball pien hammers
im liking the voiceover!
I like to use a little bit of grease or anti-seize any time I have a bolt going through a shock or leaf spring bushing
Missing your "doodle, loodle" response to the phone in the old shop… Nothing to sing along with now
It would take more than a little loss of audio and voice overs for me not to watch
This is a good video. I've never worked on this type of front suspension. Sometimes I have found it easier to cut the round end of a split pin instead of trying to pull bent and mangald end. It looked like it had toe links on the rear end
Yep apways helps to put lubri cunt onit
I guess in turn anything is a wrench even a hammer?
Absolutely enjoy these videos. Keep up the great content! 🤘
Still here
Voice over is fine . Enjoy your videos
Your Commentary to you watching your own work is Hilarous I Love It
LMFAO – Smashed the dust shield on the rotor with a hammer, dropped the caliper hanging/shocking the hose multiple times, used the pickle fork upside down (flat side always goes to spindle casting), doesn't know ho to separate a ball joint??? In 43 years I have NEVER had to use anything but a hammer to separate a ball joint/tierod. A SMART/GOOD mechanic will use spring pressure to separate a ball joint! Bob Ross – more like Three Stooges – lol. So you saw that you didn't re-install the trunk liner properly – YET left it that way. Sorry but i wouldn't let you work on my grandkids mattel battery cars!
You were testing your rear shocks upside down. not a valid test…
Why not spray some WD 40 or something on it let set a few minutes..Sometimes that helps tremendously..
Whats the model number of that puller? Plenty of replacements available from Stanley/Proto ref Part No 4012T or Model: 297061
I like the voice over👍
That is not a 2004 Mustang GT that is either a 94-98 model year, but if a 4.6 it is a 96-98 that is gen 1 SN95
The pickle fork thing was funny 😂😂😂
I watch for the methods and enjoy the videos whether the original sound or the voice over makes no difference. The work still has to happen in some manner and it still looks the same.
ray you did it backwards. you shouldve kept the knuckle on the strut then whacked the balljoint with the nut loose on the joint. by doin that you dont need all those pullers. yer just usin the hammer n the spring presser combined to break the joint seal.
Get a bigger Hammer to remove that ball joint
NEXT TIME YOU GOTS A STICKY BALL JOINT: Try putting pressure on the joint with a puller and take an air hammer to the knuckle while the puller is on. Its not the safest, due to the different pressures on different parts but it should help make it a little easier.
I think the humidity part of your temp usage is broken. I’m from Florida…I’m not sure it gets to 49% indoors with the AC running
the phrase ''relative ease'' when working on cars…..not when i'm working on them…..
Take old auto trans fluid, add 1/8 acetone, and spray underside rust with it. It will stop it as well protect the steel.
We understand technically difficulties.
Yeah you're a little bit trigger happy there sir😮
Never saw rust like that when I worked on cars here in socal.
You get the job done, so who am I to judge your methods… well done!
Use lube. Like u use brake cleaner..
Still here
I was taught that if you hit it on the "sweet spot" it pops out much easier
Ford did the hydroboost on the brakes for the Mustangs because they knew that people wanted to forced air into those things and if you increase the air pressure in the intake manifold, you reduce breaking assistance.
Spin jack would have worked better under the shock mount itself
I am not a mechanic, but lov r your videos. Very educational. 😂
I watched someone yesterday use a tourch to just cu the ball joint stem off. then they installed a ball joint eliminator
Us some heat. To swell it up.