toe in

[327,JET]

I realize that a car should have a slight bit of toe in but my Nova has a full inch of toe in. What should the correct toe in be ? Also does a ball joint separator ruin the grease cups . I am thinking of getting a press type separator, do these work better than the pickle fork style ? thanks for any help

[Dave Severson]

Check a Chilton's manual for the correct spec, but it is usually around 1/16" toe in. A pickle fork will usually toast the dust seals, but they do work better.

[techinspector1]

Here's an answer I gave recently about changing springs. It has worked for me every time and saves the grease cups....

Remove the tire, wheel and brakes until you have just the spindle staring at you. Remove the cotter pin from the lower ball joint and unscrew the nut until the top of the nut is even with the top of the ballstud that it threads onto. This will leave a space of maybe a 1/4' to 3/8" between the bottom of the nut and the spindle boss. Now, rap the spindle boss on the side with a nice, big hammer. It may take several raps for the ballstud to free itself from the spindle boss, but it will come free eventually with a pretty loud bang. Don't worry, the nut will catch it. Now that the ballstud is free, install your spring compressor and tighten it down until all tension is off the spring and you can rattle the spring around in its mounting. Now, you can finish taking the nut off the ballstud, drop the lower control arm and remove the spring with the spindle still fastened to the upper control arm.

[timothale]

i usuyally use two hammers use a 2 or 3 pound short handled sledge on one side and hit the other side with a big ballpeen hammer that usually will break them free with out using a pickel; fork

[327,JET]

Thanks for all the advice , you guys always know ways to save me work. I greatly appreciate it. I always learn something from the old hot rodders. Did I just call you guys old ,oops !