Steering And Suspension Upgrades

[hawkfan]

Thanks. Just looking at all of my options. I'd like to finish up the rear suspension after the holiday and jump on the front suspension next week while I have the time off.

 

[hawkfan]

So a 'right' and 'left' pair of these arms would work:

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/STOCK-METRIC-LOWER-CONTROL-ARM,2093.html

Nothing is written in stone, I just want a backup plan in case the machine shop can't give me quick turnaround on the arms

 

[charlief1]

You want 2 left arms. They're 8.5" long and the stock ones are 8.4" long. If you go with the rights they're 8" long.

 

[hawkfan]

Rear lower arms(Spohn) and rear springs(Moog 5379) are in. Taped the isolators to the springs which made it really easy to get everything in and seated. Waiting on the 'special' housing bushing tool fron Gbody to do the rear uppers.

Noticed that the bushings on the front driver side upper a-arms are in REALLY bad shape, almost like they're being squished out of the bushing shells. I've never seen that before. Even the passenger side bushing under the downpipe doesn't look as bad. Ordered tubular upper a-arms with tall(er) ball joints from Gbody. All the other parts(lca bushings, tie rods, centerlink, idler arm, sway bar bushings and end links) are Moog problem solver parts. Hopefully they are worth the $$$. Most of the parts to do the front suspension should be here this weekend. Hope to finish this all up by the end of next week. Thanks all for the help so far. It's saved me a lot of time and headache.

 

[hawkfan]

Ran into some trouble while trying to remove the upper a-arms. I was able to remove the nuts WITHOUT damaging the splines on the bolts, so they are still pressed in the frame. The problem is that the bolts are too long to get the UCAs out. There's not enough clearance between the end of the splined bolts and the exhaust manifolds. I'm thinking just knock the bolts out of the frame, but I don't want to damage them since the splines are obviously not rusted out. I'll be swapping the uppers out for the G bodyparts tubular type, but planned to re-use the mounting hardware since it's hard to find the splined bolts. Anybody else had this problem???

 

[WH1_T-Type]

From what I understand you need to get behind it and whack it out, but honestly I screwed that up and took them out like a standard bolt...boy was the alignment shop upset about that!!!! But I paid them to do a job and they did it...lol

I do believe I put that in the thread....so I guess this is just a bump for you! lol

BTW: once you get a good technique on how to get them out PLEASE post them in the thread......I do plan on editing the OP and adding tips from other members into it.

 

[hawkfan]

From what I understand you need to get behind it and whack it out, but honestly I screwed that up and took them out like a standard bolt...boy was the alignment shop upset about that!!!! But I paid them to do a job and they did it...lol

I do believe I put that in the thread....so I guess this is just a bump for you! lol

BTW: once you get a good technique on how to get them out PLEASE post them in the thread......I do plan on editing the OP and adding tips from other members into it.

I figured I'd have to find a way to knock/pry them out. I read that you screwed the bolts themselves out, so I see why you didn't have this issue. A part of me thought about doing that just to get the job done. There is absolutely NO room to get a hammer on the front of the bolts to tap them out. It looks like I'll have to break out the 3lber and chisel to pry the bolts from the frame from behind. Man, this car is full of surprises!

 

[charlief1]

You can still get the bolts from GM if you want to just replace them. That way you don't have to worry if you screw them up.

 

[hawkfan]

You can still get the bolts from GM if you want to just replace them. That way you don't have to worry if you screw them up.

I thought they were discontinued. If that's the case, I'll do what I have to do to get them out. I really didn't feel like dropping the headers just to get the arms out.

 

[WH1_T-Type]

If you can I'll probably replace mine!!!

 

[charlief1]

I thought they were discontinued. If that's the case, I'll do what I have to do to get them out. I really didn't feel like dropping the headers just to get the arms out.

Call the dealer first but the last time I checked they were still available.

 

[lmt87]

hope this helps,separate ball joint from knuckle,remove nuts from splined bolts set shims aside,clean threads and spray with oil reinstall nuts flush with bolt threads push control arm inward against nuts pry control arm up and down,tap nuts side to side,up and down,keep moving control arm and bolts around till they loosen. may need to put socket on bolt head smack with hammer. may take some time but they will come out.

 

[lrayzer]

hope this helps,separate ball joint from knuckle,remove nuts from splined bolts set shims aside,clean threads and spray with oil reinstall nuts flush with bolt threads push control arm inward against nuts pry control arm up and down,tap nuts side to side,up and down,keep moving control arm and bolts around till they loosen. may need to put socket on bolt head smack with hammer. may take some time but they will come out.

I have had some just fall out by themselves when I removed the control arm, had to tack weld it back in on the head side.
I have also used my sawz-all to shorten the damn things to just what it needs, then slipping the arm off, those damn things will remove some flesh while working other items.

 

[hawkfan]

hope this helps,separate ball joint from knuckle,remove nuts from splined bolts set shims aside,clean threads and spray with oil reinstall nuts flush with bolt threads push control arm inward against nuts pry control arm up and down,tap nuts side to side,up and down,keep moving control arm and bolts around till they loosen. may need to put socket on bolt head smack with hammer. may take some time but they will come out.

This worked! Wiggling everything out takes a while, but it also keeps the bolt splines and frame indentations intact. Of course I'm going to have to 'press' the bolts back in now, but that won't be a problem.

 

[Tom87GNX]

I probably won't even use the spring compressor to get the old springs out. I have a good floor jack that I can let down slooooow and some tall 6 ton jack stands, so I should be able to use the jack method to get the springs out. The less I have to use the spring compressor, the better. If I can't rent a ball joint and bushing press, I'll just take the arms to the machine shop.

If your replacing the from springs and don't care about trashing the originals you can do what I do. I use an oxy/ace torch and heat the springs till they collapse and loose their tension. This will allow you to remove them without a spring compressor. This doesn't help with installing but at least you won't have to worry about compressing them to take them out. I don't like doing front springs either due to the possible dangers, so the less I have to use the comp tool the better

 

[hawkfan]

Ok. so I got the springs in, bearing repacked, shields and new disks installed. and tie rod on. I'm having a little difficulty with my Mook sway bar end links though. The long bolt seems too short to thread the nut on enough to squeeze the everything down around the sway bar and LCA. I'm heading to the hardware store to find a bolt that's at least 1/4" longer.