So is this the tool we're talking about?

Yes exactly.  In the Chevy manual there is another illustration of it not in use, where you can see that the top is a big 'U' shaped fork that slides around the ball joint.  Hopefully it should stay in place much better than a universal 2-armed puller.

Damn, must be nice.  The Suzuki one shows nothing about the tool other than this illustration and a similar one where it's being used to take the tie rod off the knuckle.  It doesn't even appear in the tool list at the end of the front suspension chapter.

Beth the Chevy manual has better grammar too.  Sometimes you can tell the Suzuki FSM is a translation of another language.  Them speke good engrish.

Well, I got the tool a few weeks ago.  Won't get into how much it cost...   If anyone ever needs to use it I'll rent it out...   Local Chevy dealer laughed at me when I asked about borrowing one of theirs.

Due to family, school, and holidays I haven't had a chance to touch it until today.  I'm starting again, have the stuff all ready and an alignment scheduled for it on Monday.

Wish me (better) luck.

Thanks to Maroon for his suggestion of kicking the spring in.  It took me probably as long to get the d-side coil spring out and then install the spacer, isolator, and coil spring as it did to do the rest of the work on the d-side.  I managed to do it but oy, I think her next vehicle is going to be a diesel SFA Suburban.  Same gas mileage and leaf springs!  6 bolts and you're done.

I used Sergi's suggestion to get the thing in.  I loosened the lower control arm bolts at the frame and basically squeezed, wiggled, kicked, and swore it in.  Never touched the ball joint.

All I have to do now is reinstall the brake caliper and pads and the driver's side is done.  Then on to the passenger side.

Thanks to Maroon for his suggestion of kicking the spring in.  It took me probably as long to get the d-side coil spring out and then install the spacer, isolator, and coil spring as it did to do the rest of the work on the d-side.  I managed to do it but oy, I think her next vehicle is going to be a diesel SFA Suburban.  Same gas mileage and leaf springs!  6 bolts and you're done.

I used Sergi's suggestion to get the thing in.  I loosened the lower control arm bolts at the frame and basically squeezed, wiggled, kicked, and swore it in.  Never touched the ball joint.

All I have to do now is reinstall the brake caliper and pads and the driver's side is done.  Then on to the passenger side.

no prob on the suggestion


k, on the passenger side you can't just unbolt the CV from the flange so it's a real PIA in my opinion. you need pry bars to get the CV out and you'll want to take the hub off as well and undo the C clip. what will likely help is the ball joint undioing. don't worry about the pullers and pickle forks... they are just a conspiracy to make you spend money. I had to remove my steering knuckle to reinstall my front axle and my friend just hit the knuckle with a short sledge on the part that goes around the ball joint and it came right out... I couldn't believe the simplicity.. do that if you need the ball joint off and get a set of pry bars and some gear oil to top off your diff because you'll likely lose some oil. a new snap ring for the axle side of the CV and new seal may be a good thing to pickup because it is likely you might mess those up as well. if you break the snap ring and lose it in the axle you'll have to take it apart and dig it out like I unfortunately had to do. you might want to borrow some spring compressors from napa as well if you have boondox coil spacers because without them you probably won't be able to line it all up.

i forgot if this was adressed but to get the tie rod end undone you can get a punch and a dead blow and after it's unbolted put the punch in the dimple in the bolt and hammer it right out.. works great. might have to hit it really hard

best of luck to you

I didn't touch the CV other than to move it on the driver's side.  Hoping not to have to do anything with it on the passenger's side.  On the driver's side and the passenger's side I've taken the hubs and snap ring off and just let the arm droop so far that the cv-shaft nearly pulls out of the bearings in the knuckle.  HOPEFULLY I can do this on the passenger's side as well.

Oy, you did the tie rod the hard way.  Stick a bottle jack with a peice of wood on top of it up against the bottom of the tie rod end so it's held in place.  Then take an impact and whiz, off comes the nut.  If the stud starts to spin with the nut simply put another crank or so on the bottle jack.  Remove jack.  Thread the nut onto the stud so it's about half way on the stud and the top threads of the stud are completely inside the nut.  Whack with hammer once or twice...should fall right down.  Remove the nut and the tie rod should pull right out of the knuckle.

I tried a method similar to what you describe for my ball joint last month.  Nada.  Remember I live in the land of road salt.  Two winters seem to have rust cemented that thing in there really good.  I have the proper press for it now but eh, don't feel like using it if I don't have to.  I'm going to see how the lift goes and if it goes like the d-side I shouldn't have to touch it.

I have my own coil compressors.  Putting a lift on my Ranger last year taught me the value of having a set when you're installing a lift at 11:30pm and there's no place open to get coil compressors.

I'm using JDMCRX's high density plastic spacers.  I put some pictures of the rear up on my cardomain site in the GV page.  Note that I painted mine black.  I figured the white would be really obvious to Suzuki warranty people...

Oh yeah, maplebar and quaddawg will probably hate me but the BDS strut extender just screwed on.  I didn't have to clean anything beyond wiping the threads with a rag and blowing into the extender just to make sure there was no crap in it.  I twisted it on with my hands.  Can't see it needing to be tighter than that, it was all the way bottomed out.

Hopefully the other one goes on as easily.

Yeah...it didn't and proceeded to strip out the threads of the strut too.

So now it'll be on jackstands until tomorrow.  Luckily one of the local parts stores can get me a replacement KYB strut tomorrow for a decent price.  However NO ONE up here has any front struts in stock for a Grand Vitara...at all...joy.  Guess I need to go call the boss and ask for the day off tomorrow.
Gotta love living in the wilderness...northern beauty my |removethispart|@ss...

the tie rod was pretty easy the way I did it but your method seems like it would work well in the higher road salt areas. there is allot of salt here too but probably not nearly as bad... I wish that stuff didn't exist.

just thought I'd give you an extra method, sucks it didn't work. the drivers side would have gone much quicker if you'd unbolted the CV flange but I guess since you got it fine like that the other side should go just as well or better

I'll just say it was interesting.  I got it but I hope I didn't screw anything up.

Now I'm just hoping the strut is here at 8am like they said it would be and then all I have to do is install the extender... ...install the whole strut, and then put the brakes back together and we're off for an alignment.

I'll just say it was interesting.  I got it but I hope I didn't screw anything up.

Now I'm just hoping the strut is here at 8am like they said it would be and then all I have to do is install the extender... ...install the whole strut, and then put the brakes back together and we're off for an alignment.

sweet, I need my alignment soooo badly.. doing it asap

Yeah, I get to call them tomorrow at 8am and say..."remember that 8am appointment?  I won't be there, can I bring it in later and still have it done today?"

I hope they don't remember this is the second time it's happened.


I'm running out of excuses for the boss.

that sucks. I am having trouble finding camber bolts in town. don't want to slot my struts cause some slot the top, some slot the bottom and I don't want to ream it out where it shouldn't be reamed. I'd like to let the alighnment shop worry about which hole they use for the bolts too

can't wait for an alighnment and new meats

You'd slot the top.  If your specs were really out you'd slot both.  Same with camber bolts.  They go in the top ones and if you're really FUBAR'd you put a second set in the bottom holes, but you shouldn't need to.  Your CV's would kill you before you needed that much correction.

Try NAPA, my local place has them.  Either that or look for a place that sells Ingalls products.  They're good stuff and made in the USA.  Worse comes to worse you can get them from www.SummitRacing.com and have them before the end of the week.  That's where I got mine.