Odds and Ends
This page is devoted to odd little things that I have tried or found out the hard way that worked for me. I will add on to this page as time goes on.
The fasteners that hold the door panel to the door will eat the oblong hole out of the pressboard if not removed correctly. Or the metal retainer on the upper part of the door panel has pulled loose. A quick fix for this is a hot glue gun. The glue sets up quickly to make for speedy repairs.
After doing repair work on your door, most of the time the water shield is beyond repair. I do not know why someone does not reproduce this item. Go to the hardware store and buy a piece of thick plastic(4 mil). Use the old water shield as a pattern. I used GE's Silicone II, called household glue to attach the plastic to the door (a little tape also helps until the glue can setup). Now install your door panel.
The oil pressure sensor does two jobs. It acts as a switch for the fuel pump and provides a resistance as the oil pressure increases or deceases. If you turn your key on and your oil pressure reading is above zero make this check. Don't let the large hex shape on the outer cover fool you, it's not designed to be used for loosening or tightening the sender, there's a smaller metal one on the bottom. Use that. To get the connector off the top you have to squeeze the ring enough to get the teeth to clear the raised edge around the top of the sender. Remove the plug on the oil pressure sensor, use an ohms meter (use the 0 to 2K setting) and measure from the oil pressure tab on the sensor to ground. This should read 0; any reading above 0 will give you an indication on the gauge. If it reads open it is bad and will peg the needle when you turn the key to the on position. There have been reports of reading zero but once pressure is applied the gauge will peg out. The only fix is to replace the sensor.
DEW WIPES
The inside wipes are the easy ones to change out, but those are not the ones that ever go bad. The outside wipes are the ones that crack and dry out. To replace the outside wipes be prepared for a few days of hard work. Start by removing the inside door panel and the rubber seal at the front and rear of the window. Remove the water shield. Move the window into a position so you can drill out the four (4) rivets that hold the window in place. These rivets are hard to drill out if the center steel pin is still in place. Use a small drift punch and tap lightly until the pin releases. This gives you a pilot hole for a 1/4" drill to follow. Remove the nylon stops and lift the window out carefully, it can be scratched. Now you have access to the screws that hold the dew wipe in place. When you put the window back together use 1/4" nuts and bolts, then use a self locking nut or Locktight to keep the nut from comming off in 10,000 miles. Another way to help this project is to remove the door skin, but that would be another two day project.
88 FRONT SPRING INSTALLATION
First things first, SAFETY is important. Work slowly and carefully, if something does not look right, stop and see what is wrong. I also recommend putting a cable or rope down through the shock tower, spring, lower control arm and securing it. Watch were you put your hands, I know you have two of them and I want you the keep both of them.I took the lower control arm (LCA) off and put the spring in the LCA. Make sure you have the spring seated correctly in the bottom of the LCA. Then held the top in place with a little pressure from the hydraulic jack. Then I used 2 tie down straps from the LCA to the other side of the car to keep it from pulling away (the angle of the spring wants to push the LCA away from the car).
I compressed the spring about half way. Then I attach the spindle. Keep adjusting the straps so the bushings are going to line up with area they must slide into. Make sure your hydraulic jack moves with the LCA. As you raise the hydraulic jack, about half way up the upper control arm will start to raise. I also saw that the back part of the LCA stops moving in the upward direction. I then used a scissor jack to push the back of the LCA up so I could align the holes for the 2 LCA bolts. A big screw driver helps to align the bushing hole to the ears on the frame. Once again, work SAFE.
