Upgrading stock suspension ?'s

[Turbo Negro]

I have an 87 GN that is completely stock with 98,xxx miles.

I plan to rebuild the stock suspension with all new poly bushings. I also plan to replace the body & trans mounts with poly. And do the swaybar bushings and end links, as well. A new set of shocks is also going on.

My questions are:

1) What shocks are recommended?

2) What is the best source for these items and can they be purchased in a
COMPLETE package?

3) What size are the front & rear stock swaybars if ordering bushings separately?

and

4) Am I missing anything?

 

[charlief1]

Welcome aboard. First things first, poly bushings suck on suspension parts other than the sway bars. While they stiffen up the suspension they also cause a rough ride and will squeek after a while. You'd be better off with replacing the upper con arms o the front with tubular ones. Might cost you a little more but most of them have a greasable bronze bushings in them so you never have to worry about melting one on the passenger side again.

If you do a search on evilbay you can get a bigger front sway bar off a 3rd gen F body fairly cheap. That will help the front. The rear sway bar is mounted directly to the lower con arms and doesn't have bushings.

As far as a kit goes, look around a little and you can find a complete stock rebuild (bushings, ball joints, tie rods, ect) but if you do some research you can find much better than stock parts that work to make the car handle better.

 

[novaderrik]

the poly bushings don't cause a rough ride- they allow the suspension to do it's job and absorb bumps with minimal deflection instead of binding up and causing the chassis to do the work of the suspension- using stiff springs and shocks that are calibrated for stock rubber bushings causes a rough ride.

 

[Paul69camaro]

the poly bushings don't cause a rough ride- they allow the suspension to do it's job and absorb bumps with minimal deflection instead of binding up and causing the chassis to do the work of the suspension- using stiff springs and shocks that are calibrated for stock rubber bushings causes a rough ride.

Spot on!

 

[Turbo Negro]

Probably do the poly bushings as previously mentioned, anyway. The only stock rubber stuff I've seen are reproductions and not OEM, too. I've had some prior experience with the poly with no ill effects, but not on a GN. I definately want to keep all the hard parts stock, at least for now.

I still haven't located the stock swaybar dimensions, front & rear. Was hoping someone here would know.

 

[John Larkin]

Buy Moog rubber parts from RockAuto.com. Best prices anywhere, fast shipping. You'll have to piece it together but you'll be glad you bought it all there. The stuff is not cheap even at a discount. For shocks, Monroe Sensa-Tracs are a good all around shock; some people buy Bilsteins for at least 4x the price. This is alot of work. Most GNs came with F41 suspension so it is better than just a grandma grocer getter to begin with.

If you have to have poly, best of luck to you. I just don't see the need for a stock car.

 

[coach]

If you do any welding or have access to one, box in your training arms with some sheet metal. Adding the better bushings and boxing them in will get you very good performance on the street or track. It is easy to do and not very expensive. HR Parts sells a kit with all the pieces pre cut. Solid arms or boxed make a big difference.
The advise from the others above is just going to get repeated, so you pretty much have your answer unless your going to go REAL fast.

 

[Turbo Negro]

Buy Moog rubber parts from RockAuto.com. Best prices anywhere, fast shipping. You'll have to piece it together but you'll be glad you bought it all there. The stuff is not cheap even at a discount. For shocks, Monroe Sensa-Tracs are a good all around shock; some people buy Bilsteins for at least 4x the price. This is alot of work. Most GNs came with F41 suspension so it is better than just a grandma grocer getter to begin with.

If you have to have poly, best of luck to you. I just don't see the need for a stock car.

The Moog parts are definately a viable option for my needs. Thanks for the input! The window sticker lists "Sport Suspension" as standard eqpt. with no mention of F41. Also the lable on the inside of the trunk does not list an F41 option.

Sooo... Anyone know what size the stock "Sport Suspension" swaybars for an '87 GN are?

Also anyone here have experience replacing the body mount cushions/ bushings? I read somewhere the body must be raised a couple inches to do this!

I was hoping to do them individually w/o lifting the entire car off the frame, requiring lots of measurements & a complete body to chassis re-alignment. If the body has to come off, I'll be in way over my head & will have fork over big bucks to have it done.

 

[coach]

The Moog parts are definately a viable option for my needs. Thanks for the input! The window sticker lists "Sport Suspension" as standard eqpt. with no mention of F41. Also the lable on the inside of the trunk does not list an F41 option.

Sooo... Anyone know what size the stock "Sport Suspension" swaybars for an '87 GN are?

Also anyone here have experience replacing the body mount cushions/ bushings? I read somewhere the body must be raised a couple inches to do this!

I was hoping to do them individually w/o lifting the entire car off the frame, requiring lots of measurements & a complete body to chassis re-alignment. If the body has to come off, I'll be in way over my head & will have fork over big bucks to have it done.

Its not that bad to loosen up the bushings, one at a time, and replace them. Find out which ones you need, several were missing from the factory. The only ones I did on my car that required the body being moved at all were when I added the GNX which were not factory for a GN.

 

[cruzn57]

it's been my experience that using poly bushing was a mistake, and a regret!
they always sqeak, and in 3 cars I used them on, road alot rougher.
Rubber a arm bushing are designed to twist, poly doesn't, so how would it ride better?
do what you wish, but why ask for input if you just ignore it?

 

[coach]

it's been my experience that using poly bushing was a mistake, and a regret!
they always sqeak, and in 3 cars I used them on, road alot rougher.
Rubber a arm bushing are designed to twist, poly doesn't, so how would it ride better?
do what you wish, but why ask for input if you just ignore it?

A little WD-40 after the install and I never had any squeak. Grease the bolt tube before you shove the bolt thru. Be sure to tighten the bolt real good so the tube doesnt move...you want the bushing to move, not the metal to metal on the bolt and tube. If your squeaking...this might be why.

 

[DavzGN]

The front bar is 32mm. Not sure what size the rear is but it has no bushings. I just installed energy suspension bushings 9.8119G and end links 9.5166G the G in the numbers indicates black poly and R is for red poly.

David

 

[Turbo Negro]

After some more research I've decided to go with the rubber parts. I'll be ordering the 22 pc.body mount kit & bolts from Kirbans today.