Fitting the Driftworks Total HICAS Eliminator kit

I already have the HICAS system locked out on my car, so why go to the expense of buying Driftworks new HICAS elimination kit? Well, for me there were 3 reasons. First, Both my rear tie rod ball joints were in poor condition and they're an MOT fail - and the Driftworks HICAS elimination kit gets rid of both of them. Second, My mate has a Skyline and agreed to buy my HICAS lock out bar that was already installed on my car so I could offset some of the cost of the new kit. And thirdly, I like shiny car bits and have an impulse buy problem ;o).

So on to the how to. Here's the current lock out bar and the rear tie rod...

Remove the cable tie from the rubber boot at the end of the lock out bar and pull back. Undo the end of the bar with a spanner...




Take the plastic cap off the other end of the tie rod and remove the nut...




Take the circlip off the back of the ball joint so you can press it from the hub...




Use a ball joint splitter to get the tie rod off the ball joint if it's seized on (which is very likely!)...





I tried using a g-clamp and a socket to remove the ball joint, but couldn't get it to budge. It then got a blast with the oxyacetylene torch but it was still stuck fast...



So the hub has to come off and the ball joint removed with a press. Undo the 2 bolts holding the caliper on to the hub and move out of the way. To get the hub off pull the pin out of the hub nut, remove the hub nut cover and then loosen it with the biggest bar you can find...






Unscrew the hub nut until the nut is level with the end of the driveshaft thread. Give the nut a couple of whacks with a rubber mallet to push the driveshaft back a bit and loosen it from the hub...



Remove the brake disc and take apart the handbrake assembly. To do this start by pulling out the 2 springs at the top of the assembly. Then remove the 2 holding screws (these aren't actually screws - they are sprung and require pushing in and turning a quarter-turn to remove).




Next remove the handbrake cable by pushing the spring back and manoevering the cable from the shoe assembly and the guide on the hub. There is a 12mm nut on the back of the hub holding the handbrake cable in, once this is removed the cable can be pulled out of the hub altogether and tucked away.




Next undo the top anti-roll bar nut on the lower wishbone, the bolt on the bottom of the suspension strut, the 2 bolts at the back of the lower wishbone and the 2 bolts at the top of the hub. It's best to remove the lower wishbone as part of the hub assembly as it's held with a ball joint to the hub and it probably won't come off!






With a bit of wiggling the hub assembly can be removed and you're left with this...




Using a couple of sockets put the ball joint in a press and get the ball joint out (mine needed 11 tons of pressure before it moved!).






Now to fit the polyurethane bush that comes with the kit. The bush comes in 3 parts - 2 halves of polyurethane and a metal sleeve. I gave it all a spray with some WD40 and pressed it all together into the hub using a g-clamp...






Put the hub back on the car but leave the suspension strut undone as you will need to move it out of the way to put the bolt through the HICAS eliminator arm. Bolt the arms to the car and you're done!