Ok, just spent most of last night putting the front suspension in place. After I was done, I was tired, frustrated and the only real work completed was one t-bar halfway in and the upper control arms attached. Not much accomplished for a whole evening.
Unlike was the service manual says, the bar did not slide into place. I was able to align the lower control arm with the hex on the bar but it took some significant persuasion to get it moving as did getting the end through the frame-rail-hex. Now the suspension is back off the car and the bar is just setting in the frame mount. Also, with the persuasion, I now have the hex in the lower control arm slightly marred much like if a socket slipped on the head of a bolt and rounded the corners a bit.
Originally, I had all the suspension powder coated black and it looks real good, but I think part of my problem is that the powder coating is also inside the hex on the lower control arm thus not allowing the bar to slide in easily.
This is my plan for this afternoon/evening. I'm going to get a wire wheel (for a drill), some brake cleaner, chisel, and a small drill mounted grinder. With this, I'll use a combination of the wire wheel and cleaner to really clean out the frame rail hex (what is this called?). I probably should have done this in the first place. I'll then grind off the little bit of marred lower control arm hex to make it smooth again. I'll use the chisel and the rest to remove the powder coating from the inside of the hex on the lower control arm to add a bit more space.
Also, the bar seals are REALLY hard to get on/stretched over the hex end of the bar. I can do it when the bar is out of the car but have had significant issues installing it after the bar is partially in place. I don't have enough leverage on my back.
GRRRRRRR..
Any thoughts on this? Is my plan sound? Help!
Oh yeah, normally this would only be an annoyance as I would just go inside and forget about it for a while but I need to have it out of the shop tomorrow so I need it rolling tonight so my current stress level is high.
Thanks again for all the great help here.