Gene, Thanks for the commentary, MUCH appreciated.
> the bushing (you ARE going to replace BOTH of them, I hope!) and noting Ah, yes. :) Not going to bother to get into it for just one. > how much tighter the steering got. The bushing should have been > replaced long ago, as you realize. Ah, yeah. One of those "probably-should-have-gotten-off-my-ass-for-this-one-a-long-time-ago" sorts of things. > Do yourself and your wife a favor. Don't screw around; replace the > whole half-shaft with a new or remanufactured one. Outside of a > qualified remanufacturer, which I think we can safely assume you are > not, there are NO serviceable parts on the half-shaft other than the > rubber boots; since the outer joint is shot, you need to replace the > half-shaft. Fair enough, that's good to know. I'll look around and see what it costs to do so. I assumed that it was probably a replace-only sort of thing. > Minor cracks in nonconfined rubber are not indications that the bushing > needs replacement. That was my thought as well, but I needed the eye of someone who has seen this a lot to say, "Yeah, that's not a problem yet." There are other bushings with minor cracks like this one, so now I can evaluate their condition as well. > Doesn't matter, as you are going to replace the half-shaft, aren't you? Very true. :) Tough boots I suppose to make it as long as they have. I'll have to mount them on the mantel or something. > It is a bit of effort, but not all that difficult, and you are doing > yourself and your wife no favors by not doing it. That's one of the > four Cradle-to-Body attachment points. The lower control arms, > stabilizer bar and engine/transmission mount on the cradle, and the > stability and integrity of the cradle's mounting to the body is > critical. If the Cradle-to-Body bushings are worn enough to allow > movement, the vehicle will not maintain proper front end alignment, > because the lower control arms, attached to the cradle, will move > relative to the upper strut bearings, which are attached to the body. > In fact the only way on an LH car to adjust side-to-side caster (which > may be required to cure a pull to one side or the other) is to loosen > the four Cradle-to-Body bolts and MOVE the cradle, as per a Chrysler > Corp. TSB from 1999 or so. Incredible, thanks for the info. Would one be able to support and then loosen each point, replacing them one-by-one, or am I looking at loosening the entire cradle at once to replace them? Looks like an alignment would also be in order after doing so. > That's the MacPherson Strut assembly, not just a "shock." Ah, yeah. *sheepish grin* I'm always confused about shocks/struts and the differences, esp. since I think people misuse the terms on regular basis. > There is no > visible leakage of oil from it. Surface rust on the housing means > nothing. Oh, good. I was wondering...it looked...excessive. > most of that was on secondary roads or in typical city driving, it's > probable that the strut is not damping properly and is worn out from > sheer mileage. If that is the case it will be a good idea to replace > both front strut assemblies, since they wear approximately equally, with > a careful inspection and evaluation of the upper strut bearings; while > the struts are out of the vehicle is the time to decide they need > replacment, not a few months afterward, when the whole thing will need > to be taken apart again to replace them. I'm going to place these on my "to-do-soon" list as when bounced, they dampen pretty decently but not like anything new. Good to get to before it gets too much worse. Thanks for the hint on the bearings. > Yes, a further comment is necessary. The truth is that this is a very > high-mileage car and things WILL need fixing and replacing at this > point. NONE of the deteriorated or worn-out items you mention here > would be the least bit surprising to find on a vehicle that has been > driven this far. It sounds like you are reluctant to spend money on it, > but if you intend to continue driving the vehicle, you will HAVE to > spend quite a bit of money and/or effort, based on what you have shown us. No, no, not at all. I'm not opposed to spending money on her, she's been a good car, as long as nothing major happens (tranny rebuild, etc.) She's still worth the money to me. I just posted all of this because I'm smart enough to know when my knowledge is poor and I need the advice of people who know what they're talking about. I can look at a lot of things and say, "That looks worn" but what do I know? I know that many things can look "old" on a car of this age, but it's very handy to be able to say, "Well...is it?" to the list and get a good response such as yours to give me guidance. :) This car is my first foray into self-repair of my own vehicle, so I'm learning a ton. I'm already technically inclined as a computer technician and transferring that knowledge is surprising both similar and not. I'm taking things slowly reading a lot, reading some more, and planning out everything before I do it to the last detail so I don't get halfway and go, "Shit!" :) Much thanks...looks like I have a bit of bolt-turning ahead of me, but that sounds kinda like fun. :) Nathan ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Help save the life of a child. Support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's 'Thanks & Giving.' http://us.click.yahoo.com/6iY7fA/5WnJAA/Y3ZIAA/46t0lB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Web: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dodge_intrepid> Subscribe: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Unsubscribe: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Moderator: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dodge_intrepid/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
