Looking to replace entire front/rear suspension- Need Advice

[818GN]

I took my 87 GN to Pep Boys yesterday for an alignment, since the car is pulling to the left. Left it for an hour, went back and was told that my bushings are shot and there is a bit of rust underneath. They left the car as-is, instead of trying to tweak anything.

My goal is to replace the front suspension, as I am quite sure that all the parts are still factory original. This car is 90% street and 10% track. It is my weekend car, but the goal is to be in the 10's, eventually. No point in gobs of power if you can't get it to the ground or worse yet, can go straight.

What is the general consensus on a front end suspension rebuild/upgrade.

1. Shocks- Currently looking at Bilstein and KYB. QA1's are a bit expensive and I am not sure I need coil overs at this point.

2- Bushings- OEM vs. Energy/Moog/etc. What is the best all around bushing preferred for these vehicles?

Should I replace all bushings or just front? Is their a kit available for all in one shot?

3- Front/Rear springs- Leaning towards Moog based on other posts I have read. However different part #'s are listed and I am not sure which is best for a street car. What part# is best?

4. Rear bar-Going to go w/ an HR bar. Are airbags needed/recommended w/ this bar or no?

5. Rear control arms- Looking at UMI boxed upper/lower combo. Should I get the adjustable or non-adjustable kind? Does it affect performance?

Look forward to any and all advice.

Thanks.

 

[turbopete]

My choice

Bilsteins for shocks. I have swapped shocks too many times and came back to them.

Springs. I didn't lower mine, nor is my GN a track car. Kirban for replacement springs. If you try to look up the springs for the car, the listings are very long, and difficult to get the correct height and spring rate.

Bushings. I replaced the bushings on my old T with the graphite impregnated ones from PST (I think). They squeaked horribly and replaced them with stock. Much better.

Good luck.

 

[818GN]

Ok, looks like I will go with Bilsteins for the shocks

TTT

 

[wile87]

summit racing has thier own drag shocks that are adjustable for the rear. while your doing all that make sure to check your u-joints also

 

[ryan319]

if they couldn't or wouldn't line your car up then you should address the steering components as well as the suspension. i just finished up my front end last night. here's what i went with:

bilstein shocks, front and rear
polyurethane front lower control arm bushings
speedway front upper control arms (solid greasable bushings)
moog inner and outer tie rods
moog center link
moog upper and lower ball joints
moog idler arm
moog sway bar bushings and endlinks
moog front springs
jeep steering shaft

moog suspension and steering components for our cars is really nice stuff. and only marginally more expensive than the generic brands. if you shop smart you can find good deals. for example, the center link was only $67 on amazon.com with free shipping compared to $78+shipping on rock.auto. i bought all the other moog parts on rockauto. tirerack.com has the best price for the bilsteins, around $245 shipped for all 4.

 

[818GN]

if they couldn't or wouldn't line your car up then you should address the steering components as well as the suspension. i just finished up my front end last night. here's what i went with:

bilstein shocks, front and rear
polyurethane front lower control arm bushings
speedway front upper control arms (solid greasable bushings)
moog inner and outer tie rods
moog center link
moog upper and lower ball joints
moog idler arm
moog sway bar bushings and endlinks
moog front springs
jeep steering shaft

moog suspension and steering components for our cars is really nice stuff. and only marginally more expensive than the generic brands. if you shop smart you can find good deals. for example, the center link was only $67 on amazon.com with free shipping compared to $78+shipping on rock.auto. i bought all the other moog parts on rockauto. tirerack.com has the best price for the bilsteins, around $245 shipped for all 4.

Good info. Do you have the part #'s handy by chance? I will address the steering components as well. Also, do the poly bushings squeak?

$245 is a good price for those. Lowest I found was $320ish.

 

[jdpolzin]

I took my 87 GN to Pep Boys yesterday for an alignment, since the car is pulling to the left. Left it for an hour, went back and was told that my bushings are shot and there is a bit of rust underneath. They left the car as-is, instead of trying to tweak anything.

My goal is to replace the front suspension, as I am quite sure that all the parts are still factory original. This car is 90% street and 10% track. It is my weekend car, but the goal is to be in the 10's, eventually. No point in gobs of power if you can't get it to the ground or worse yet, can go straight.

What is the general consensus on a front end suspension rebuild/upgrade.

1. Shocks- Currently looking at Bilstein and KYB. QA1's are a bit expensive and I am not sure I need coil overs at this point.

2- Bushings- OEM vs. Energy/Moog/etc. What is the best all around bushing preferred for these vehicles?

Should I replace all bushings or just front? Is their a kit available for all in one shot?

3- Front/Rear springs- Leaning towards Moog based on other posts I have read. However different part #'s are listed and I am not sure which is best for a street car. What part# is best?

4. Rear bar-Going to go w/ an HR bar. Are airbags needed/recommended w/ this bar or no?

5. Rear control arms- Looking at UMI boxed upper/lower combo. Should I get the adjustable or non-adjustable kind? Does it affect performance?

Look forward to any and all advice.

Thanks.

1. Bilsteins

2. Moog bushings. Dont use Polly bushings in any moving parts. Use Energy Suspension body bushings

3. Front Springs --- MOOG 5658
Rear Springs ---- If you are drag racing the car, you might not want to lower it too much. If you only race a few times every once in a while, use BellTechs or Global West.

4. Start with the bar, you might not need airbags. If you feel you do after trying it out, then put some bags in there.

5. If your going to buy rear control arms, I like UMI double adjustable uppers and Hotchkis lowers. The UMI lowers use polly bushings and squeek after time. Hotchkis uses a hard rubber bushings and it works great.

For the front upper control arms, why buy something that isnt adjustable? the front upper control arms are one the most vital pieces of the front end. Get a set of SPC adjustable arms. These use a Del A Lum bushing that is greasable and are also double adjustable. The best thats out there and the cost isnt too high. People who use dirt track upper dont realize these arms have basically no bushings, thats harsh on the car and will eventually wear just the old SSM bars that trashed the frames of so many cars.

 

[ryan319]

Good info. Do you have the part #'s handy by chance? I will address the steering components as well. Also, do the poly bushings squeak?

$245 is a good price for those. Lowest I found was $320ish.

i haven't had the car out yet but i've used poly bushings before and i've never had them squeek. just lube them with the supplied grease.

i don't have the part numbers handy but you can find them on rockauto or where ever you're ordering from.

 

[jdpolzin]

Polly will work fine for a while. They arent going to start binding up or squeeking until they start to get old. You'll be fine with them if they are already installed. The MOOG problem solvers on the other hand provide great performance, a great ride, and wont brake down nearly as fast as the polly.

GM installed our factory high durameter rubber bushings 25 years ago and most cars are still riding around on them! Thats impressive.

On the other hand, we all installed Polly bushings 10 years ago because they got all the hype in the magazines, now we are having problem with them. Polly is cheap to make, easy to sell because it sounds cool to say you have "FULL Polly bushings."

So 10 years on polly, 25 years on old technology rubber. Seems like a no brainer to me.

If you want a high performace bushing, go with Del-Alums and never look back. Thats something Global West marketed that needs to get a little more attention. For normal street use though, they arent needed.

 

[818GN]

Lots of good info so far.

Are the rear cargo springs from Kirban's the same/similiar to the Moog rear springs?

Also, is the front end rebuild kit from Gbody, something worthwile to invest in since I am looking to redo the shocks/springs/bushings/etc??

 

[autoteach]

I bought the front end rebuild kit along with new upper control arms, lower ball joints, lower control arm bushings, springs and shocks--all from G-body parts, and it turned out great--might as well do it all at once. If I could do it over, I would look for a knuckle/brake assembly from an '98-05 2wd blazer and upgrade that at the same time as well.

 

[autoteach]

here's a pic all done

 

[jdpolzin]

Lots of good info so far.

Are the rear cargo springs from Kirban's the same/similiar to the Moog rear springs?

Also, is the front end rebuild kit from Gbody, something worthwile to invest in since I am looking to redo the shocks/springs/bushings/etc??

Nothing against Brian becaue he is a great guy but in all reality, you can get all of those parts from the parts store and save some money. But, it is convenient to just call up Biran and have him send a set your way. Whichever is best for you. I'm not a fan of the cargo springs in the rear becasue I dont care for my car to sit like a 4x4 but thats just my opinion. If anything, I would just get stock replacement Moogs.

 

[818GN]

Nothing against Brian becaue he is a great guy but in all reality, you can get all of those parts from the parts store and save some money. But, it is convenient to just call up Biran and have him send a set your way. Whichever is best for you. I'm not a fan of the cargo springs in the rear becasue I dont care for my car to sit like a 4x4 but thats just my opinion. If anything, I would just get stock replacement Moogs.

I am planning on putting 275/55/16 MT Street radials in the rear. Would stock spring give enough clearance for this w/o rub?

I am going to look into piecing together the front replacement kit separately to save if I can save some $$$. Is there anything special about the Gbody front replacement kit, besides the convenience?