suspension overhaul!!! (pics)
 

alright so, im replacing and upgrading quite a few suspension components over the next few weeks and this is my documentary as well as open questionnaire for anybody

components include
-suspension techniques rear sway bar
-tokico struts all the way around
-stillen front strut bar
-random bushings and links as needed all the way around the car


old and new
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/9389/img0015q.jpg
i painted it red cause theres no way im gonna have that lime green crap on my car

this is where your square bracket goes to mount on the st bar
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/8346/img0016ejr.jpg

right underneath the strut holder thing
http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/7561/img0018nxw.jpg

it was pretty straightforward to get the bracket in. pull out the bolt and the control arm coming from the left of the pic, unbolt the mounting that was holding the control arm up the bottom of the strut holder. then you sandwich the bracket in between and put everything back.
with the bracket installed
http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/6273/img0019xkb.jpg
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/2898/img0021ixm.jpg

to be continued in next post...

mounting the bushings into the hangers was probably the most difficult part seeing as how the u-shape brackets didnt allow much room for the nuts.
heres the bar all installed
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/9913/img0023zar.jpg

cross-threaded the crap out of this bolt due to no room to put the nut on
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/5536/img0024k.jpg

final product
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/8239/img0026e.jpg


will be updating with a short review after i get off work.
i deliver for pizza hut so it will be seeing a lot of use

i want to say thanks to traxtar, maxitech, and james92se for all their help

Lookin good in the neighborhood so far. Ill subscribe to this thread for future reference. :)

expect your sway bar bracket to break/ripped out.
i actually broke a few links.

that cross thread...spin a few threads on one side and then spin a few thread on the other side...then tighten them up equally. there should be no issues w/ stripping....you even had a lift to work under!!

i assume you greased the bushings right?...because they look pretty dry in the pic. i had grease oozing out of everywhere around the bushing when i was done.

good pics of installing that aftermarke swaybar. someone had a question about how to mount one of those last week i think. are you planning to upgrade the rear swaybar links before they break? cuz that bar will *probably* break them before too long.... your best bet is to get the ones from blehmco.com and have them welded in.

do you mean the links like the type you use to adjust the toe? or just the cross threaded one?

i figured that i would have a problem with it falling out. ill have to make a trip to the junkyard soon. i threaded one halfway, then tried to put the other one on sideways, and thats what happened.

note to anyone reviewing this thread to learn: DONT GET EXCITED AND RUSH IT! you will end up spending more money in the end
i assume this is why a lot of career mechanics dont work on their own cars

and i completely forgot to lube the bushings, what kind of difference/damage will it cause?


ya that was me. how would they break them?
ive heard of people putting in the sway bars but not needing the links
however, all the bushings on most of those links are shot anyway

er, somehow or another the added stiffness of the bar causes the stock links to snap off or something... i'm not sure HOW it happens, but it often does with stiff swaybars.

They are going to squeak like a mofo.

Did they give you lube packets? They usually skimp and give you these tiny packets. Cheap SOB's!

now you'll be really pissed that you cross threaded that stud since you'll end up doing it again.

the squeaking will drive you nuts.

Cool pix bud - but your undercarriage and suspension looks like you drove it through Iraq - it's dry as hell. If I were you I would spray that beast (with used oil) at the very least then go in and grease the suspension parts with a nitrile glove and hand. Use a Marine Grease or if you don't like attracting dust or dirt use Maxi Coat...but I find this maxi coat stuff isn't the greatest.

im going to the junkyard this weekend to get a new hanger since theyre riveted in.

i didnt hear any squeaking but my windows dont roll down so its kinda hard to hear.
will be lubing tomorrow or wednesday

other than that, main things i notice is since my shocks are busted i didnt bounce off the road as easily, and mainly i could take turns tighter.

from his name im asuming he is in texas, his undercarage has probably driven threw alot of dirt and his chance of rusting are a bit low. and seeing how clean it does look i wouldnt mind having dusty hands for a change vs the grease ridden ones.

Hmm, so the ST sways are now lime green? :gotme:

Mine are gray, although, they're about 10 years old now. It was my very first mod when I was 16 :wavey:

I have an Addco rear sway bar that I've never installed. It's thicker than the ST, but I really think the way the ST mounts is sturdier than the Addco.

These are what Caped are talking about. I'll get around to installing these one of these years

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e...e/100_1988.jpg

LOL you too... i have mine sitting around in a box...somewhere.

ok so if youve never put them on is it really necessary to have them? or do you not have an upgraded swbar installed?

I ripped one out, with the stock sway bar. you are almost guaranteed to rip them out with an upgraded sway bar.
add a pizza delivery gig, you will.

Mine were actually lost for YEARS. I kept telling myself over the years, "I could have sworn I bought a set from Matt", then became resigned to the fact that maybe my mind was just playing tricks on me and I never did get a set.

Then recently I found them, of all places, in the box with my Addco mounting hardware. Whodathunkit that I would have put them in such a logical place :laugh:

is there anywhere i can still get a set of these links or does anybody have any they would like to sell me?

http://blehmco.com/suspension.htm

second to last on the page.

got the rest of my parts in!!!

tokico struts all the way around and stillen strut brace
im really not feeling the blue though, the next time you see them they may be red
if anybody has any opinions on this feel free to express them, idk how much youll be able to see the actual strut so im not sure if its really worth it to paint them
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/4599/img0028jtr.jpg
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/7419/img0031e.jpg

will be installing everything next week sometime, ive got a major project due next tuesday which is my final grade and i havent even started on it and i need to buckle down in electrical class too.
im thinking, front struts one day maybe strut brace the same day, then rear struts last.
maybe vice versa, my rear struts are really f#$&ed
any specific order you would install them? all feedback is appreciated

if you wanna paint the fronts black go ahead. no sense painting the rears tho since they are hidden inside the casing. since it's already clean and new the pint should stick decently well i'd think.

rear struts is going to take you a while....so make sure you have enough time slotted for the work.

The rear struts are definitely a big time PITA

Also, austin, where in Texas are you located?

right now im in sweetwater

i hope to be moving to san marcos after i get out of school though

ah.. down the street... :o

hold up sweet water as in Sugar Land?

haha no sweetwater as in middle of nowhere windmill capitol of texas 45 miles west of abilene on I20. i wish i were by houston right now

The fronts are pretty easy to access. The rears on the other hand seem time consuming, as you have to remove the rear seat, and all that crap down at the bottom. I think I will pay someone to do my rears, Its a little confusing to me, even though I did replace the rear rotors before. My rear shocks are shot to hell!

ok, so i finally got around to putting in the rest of my suspension. fronts were easy as hell, got that done in about 2-3 hours as well as my strut brace install.

the rears proved to be quite a difficult task and took me about 2 days equivalent to 5 or so hours worth of work. the second one was much easier than the first since i knew what i was doing.

this section will be more of a how to than the sway bar install
unfortunately the pictures arent as good as the first set

first for the fronts, take off the wheel of course
youll need a phillips head screwdriver to get off the lug cover and a 21mm socket for lugnuts, i prefer an impact gun, much faster

now once you have the wheel off you need to take off these two bolts that connect the strut to the knuckle
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/6127/overhaul1.jpg
it was either a 17mm or 19mm socket cant really remember. i used an impact on the bolt side and a wrench of the same size on the nut side

also you will need to unclip the brake hose from the strut as well
its kinda hard to see but there is a clip holding the hose and you can use a simple phillips head and pry it off
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/1475/brakeclip.jpg

after you have those two steps taken care of you can unscrew the 3 top nuts. get ready to catch the strut because it will fall
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/3132/img0003dxe.jpg
this uses either a 10 or 12mm socket, wrench, impact whatever you prefer

once you have the strut out you will need to compress the spring to get the strut out
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/4...ompressors.jpg
these dont work too well or maybe i just didnt do it right, idk either way it was easier to use this machine
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/3737/overhaul6.jpg
you dont need really need to mark where the spring is set since the fronts have bearings

you take off this top bolt (19mm) to get the strut out once the spring is compressed
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/5691/overhaul3.jpg

old and new
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/7673/img0008rpx.jpg

these bushings go on top of the strut and under the spring holder thing, as you can see, i need new ones. theyre not 100% necessary, but they do make it a much quieter ride
http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/1700/overhaul4.jpg
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/3412/overhaul5.jpg

when you put the struts back in you have to finger tighten the top bolts to put them back on the knuckle, lower the car down so it is under a load, then since i had a strut bar to put on, i simply adjusted it to fit over the strut towers then put the bolts on top. make sure you have the car under a load before you final tighten them
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/3734/img0002agf.jpg

in the spring make sure it is seated in the strut correctly or else it could pop out and cause some major damage everything goes back in reverse order

Great work with taking pics along the way. :thumbsup: Have you taken her out for a drive yet with all those new suspension goods?

now the rears are a major pain in the a$$.

first you have to take of the sway bar, then the track arm, parallel links, then brake caliper

this requires 19mm, 17mm, 14mm, 10mm sockets and wrenches. impact guns are always preferable since they work much faster

before everything is taken off
http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/5395/rearstrut.jpg

after
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/2410/overhaul8.jpg
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/5766/overhaul10.jpg

once you have taken all the suspension "aligners" off you then have to take out the backseat to get to the strut housing. there are two clips for the bottom of the seat, you simply just pull up and they should come undone. then you lift the front of the bottom up and out. the back of the seat has 2 10mm bolts on each side at the bottom, then behind the middle arm rest there are 2 more 10mm bolts. after you have all those taken out, you lift the seat up from the bottom and push up at the very top. you should be able to see the clips holding it at the top
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/5052/overhaul12.jpg

here is the top of the strut, these are 14mm bolts. come out just the same as the front. again, make sure you have something to catch the strut assembly
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/2231/overhaul11t.jpg

now, before you put it in the spring compressor you will need to mark the spring holder because theres only one right way it will go on. any kind of paint or something stronger than a marker will work. i think i ended up using engine enamel (big gray spot)
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/4593/overhaul13.jpg

once you have the strut out (compress spring, remove top nut) dont forget to clean up the assembly (no more pics, was very frustrated and ran out of room on camera) there is a flat nut sort of thing holding the cartridge in the strut housing. i used a 14" monkey wrench to get this off, and a vice to hold the strut housing.

make sure to put about 2 oz of hydraulic jack oil in the strut housing and lower the new cartridge into the housing.

you should be supplied with a new flat nut thing that is a different size since the oem one will not work. tighten it down as far as you can, does not have to be completely on.

all the while you should still have the spring and top holder still on the compressor, there is no need to take it out. put the strut back up through the spring and holder, tighten down the the top nut and uncompress the spring. again, make sure it gets seated right

then you return the spring to its housing, finger tighten the top bolts only to button up the bottom alignment parts then let the car down once you have everything buttoned up then final tighten the top bolts and put the seats back in and you should be good to go

ya, i did the front and back in 2 different installations. the strut brace made a big difference. the rear pretty much just kept me from bouncing all the way down the road.

the car feels much better than it did before. turns are much much easier and i can turn much tighter than i could before

i took it out for a performance test around the lake today and was having trouble really testing it out. whenever i would take a sharp left turn my car would jerk to the left real hard and put me into oncoming traffic. in a related problem my transmission is having difficulty figuring out when to shift. my shift timing switch seems to be stuck in power mode and im pretty sure thats the cause of it. im also thinking it might have something to do with the cv axle not being splined right. im not sure. im going to look at it when i align it in a week or 2

you need that bushing.
it's a bump stop AND there's supposed to be a boot as part of it but that looks like it's gone.

no bump stop and you'll start breaking parts.

also the front struts...the upper spring seat has a certain orientation. there's a notch on one part and that should be out.

also it's a good idea to grease/regrease the upper strut bearing.

When I changed my front struts and strut mounts two weeks ago, the old damaged bump stops didn't have the plastic part. So when I got the new ones I was like "WTF are they suppose to have that plastic portion?". If you look at the FSM the plastic part is not there but if you look at the dealership diagrams (ex: courtesyparts) the plastic part is there. So I'm thiking it's an updated design or something.

I thought I took a pic of it so I can show but I guess I didn't.

will be ordering that after next tuesday when i get paid
im not sure what you mean about the notch though, pic? or maybe point it out in one of mine?