remove brakes, remove bottom strut bolts, remove ball joint nut, and remove spindle...

then support motor and loosen eight k member bolts...2 at the back on each side. and 2 in the middle on each side...so total of eight

 

leave the spindle on the strut, and just undo the ball joint. Support the engine. 6 bolts hold the k member to the car, undo the rack and pinion from the front and remove the tie rods out of the spindle.

 

Eight bolts on the K 86er. Just had to point that out lol. Your motors pretty fresh if I recall Baker, it's not the best idea but it'll work. You know there's trash in there...... but it is pretty fresh so I feel your pain. Takes me twenty minutes to drop a K. It's worth two hours to spend that twenty minutes. Do it.

 

good point ^^

but it is eight bolts

EDIT-now i remember why we unbolted the strut....not enough room to get a socket on top of the ball joint nut with the strut still bolted in place

 

Thats right two in the shock tower and two at the rear, been a minute since Ive been under one. Dropped mre 197s lately

 

aight cool deal... Ill get after it in the next couple days. 20 minutes? really? damn! that beats the **** out of all that pulling the motor out BS!

 

call me clueless but what happened baker?

 

Motor is knocking.

 

if you havent done one before youll be cautious and take a little longer, but it really is super easy

 

Twenty minutes dude, twenty minutes. By the way, all of my time are air tool times. If you're twistin a wrench it's gonna take a while longer obviously.

 

If you're even thinking about taking longtubes off you might as well just take the k member off

 

Jesus daddy

 

I know your intentions are good, but it would be a very, very bad idea to try & short cut your way around what may well be a severe problem on a 600 hp motor.

just take it out & go back thru everything.

 

^^^^ This would be the smart thing to do. Not the most fun though. Baker why don't you just drop the motor, trans and K as a unit? much easier to separate the trans and re join it sitting on the ground. Just my $.02

 

Shoulda got that MMR shortblock

 

I just dropped mine a few months back to get a header off for a clutch swap and to fix an oil pan leak. I think this is the easiest way...

Remove and support caliper, remove caliper bracket, remove rotor, remove sway bar end links, remove abs sensor and place to side, remove steering shaft bolt to rack, remove steering and tie wrap to the sway bar, disconnect tie rod from spindle. remove the two lower strut bolts to spindle while support a-arm with jack, let jack down, remove springs, mark k-member bolts and holes for proper realignment, remove 4 bolts on each side, drop it with a jack, done.

 

just a question but why take the caliper off the bracket? why not just take the whole bracket off with the caliper still attached...

 

Well, I have front cobra brakes, but I don't know if that makes a difference. But getting the caliper back on the rotor with the whole assembly is tougher. Pulling the caliper is so easy though.

 

Just pull it. even if it was a spun bearing the crank will need turned, broken skirt you have to pull head and hone. the list goes on and on. sorry to hear to this

 

this may help ya

http://www.moddedmustangs.com/forums/99-04/215589-zincs-k-member-install-tons-pics.html