Poly Suspension Upgrade (all pics) (Page 9/16)
MadDanceSkillz MAR 09, 10:08 PM
After 8 hours of not knowing whether my hands were covered in my blood or the red Mobil 1 synthetic suspension grease I am using, side one is done. I replaced the outer Tie rod and tie rod end, upper and lower ball joints, wheel bearings and races, all rubber bushings have been converted to poly, a new high performance shock has been installed along with an Eibach lowering spring, and everything has been blasted with about 3 cans of brake parts cleaner and painted. Whew!

As for shortcuts, I really found none. The worst part of the entire job was probably reattaching the lower control arm. What a pain! Stick one side in, get the bolt in, and get the other side into position. I had to use the spare tire prybar to align the hole on the other side. Speaking of, you DO have to cut down those caps considerably. Mine had to be cut down to literally half of their previous size and they barely squeezed in. I actually had to grease the sockets for the arms.

Thanks for all the pictures, Brian. Pretty much everything was self explanatory but if it were not for your pictures I would have installed several of the poly bushings the wrong way around. The only thing left on this side is the end link for the sway bar (Mine was in very bad shape and it will need replaced rather than reinstalled).

Let me say this to everyone thinking about this swap...it does not require much specific knowledge, but it is NOT for the faint of heart. Just make sure you have the right tools, a lot of time, and a mindset that this isn't getting done in 3 hours. Take your time, do it right, and try not to bang up your hands and arms s much as I did. There's blood caked on the metal surrounding the rotor as I never removed the rotor...haha. I'll post again once the passenger side is done.

And once again, thanks, Brian. It would have been terrible to get this far and realize I installed bushings backwards only to take the entire thing apart again!

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86GT Modded 3.4l Pushrod V6 with Trueleo
1972 Honda CB350 Motorcycle

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randye MAR 09, 11:36 PM
I'm going to both *agree* and *disagree* with those who said don't use the poly dust boot covers.
The fact is, you *can* use them, but you must modify them slightly by using a small knife or an xacto blade and open the small end of the poly cover up enough to fit
OVER the stock rubber dust boot.
I don't fault anyone for using the nifty red polyurethane dust boots, they look great, and I used them on my 87 GT specifically because they look good.
Only difference is I used them with the rubber OEM style boots under them. They fit just fine.
MadDanceSkillz MAR 10, 01:00 AM
Randye,

I did the same thing. MORE sealing power that way and better looks.

I don't know about other kits, but the Prothane boots are very soft, almost as soft as rubber. I think they would actually seal well on their own. I just used both at once since mine were in good shape anyway....well, at least some of them were!

The whole dust booth thing is a bot ridiculous, I think. Your car is unlikely to explode or fall apart if you -properly- use poly dust boots. And I haven't heard of any poly dust boot related engine fires yet.
MadDanceSkillz MAR 10, 12:45 PM
Round two begins...my rubber was really trashed. That explains the subpar handling...
MadDanceSkillz MAR 10, 12:49 PM
Forgot to mention a useful tip...buy 4 or 5 cans of brake cleaner if you're like me and don't have an air ratchet. These bolts have been in for 25 years and believe me, they don't want to come out. Spraying break parts cleaner on the bolts and the threads on the other side of what they are bolted to makes removal MUCH easier.

Edit for another good tip:

The upper A-Arm or control arm or whatever you want to call it uses two thick washers. It is nearly impossible to fir both of them back in once you do the poly, the trick is to pound the poly back out a bit so the washers fit in and then use the force of tightening down the big long bolt to push the poly back in. Some tapping may be required to get it to seat all the way in again. This will save you at least 20 minutes of frustration.

Yet another suggestion: Replace the upper ball joints and steering stabilizer while you do this. The lower ball joints are, as always, a pain in the ass, but the uppers are extremely easy and you have to almost remove them anyway.

[This message has been edited by MadDanceSkillz (edited 03-10-2010).]

Brembo-Fiero MAR 10, 07:40 PM
How sore are your hands and the forearms?

Don´t forget to align the suspension after all that hard work.

Do you have some pictures?

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Jürgen Martin
white GT 87
Germany

MadDanceSkillz MAR 10, 09:06 PM
I didn't take pictures because Brian already did a great job of that. Mine looks a lot like his just with new ball joints, tie rods/ends etc and blue sway bar end links instead of red.

And yes, I'm very, very sore. Hopefully my girlfriend will help out with that with a back/shoulder rub. She's reading this as I type it. Hint, hint

[This message has been edited by MadDanceSkillz (edited 03-10-2010).]

MadDanceSkillz MAR 11, 11:30 AM
After around 21 hours of work my front suspension has been completely rebuilt. My hands and arms are bloodied and scarred and I don't know if the grease will ever wash out, but it's done. Now I just have to do the struts and limp it into down for an alignment.

Thanks for the thread, Brian.
Wickedlilpleasures JUL 01, 12:58 PM
Damn GReAT WORK~!.. Im taking notes love it very neat
PerKr JUL 01, 03:21 PM
these threads are so great to have when you're working on stuff like this

when I disassembled my front suspension I noted that the front and rear bushings/pivots of the lower control arms don't line up. has anyone noticed any excessive wear due to this?

I also feel that while the upper control arm bushings were easy to press out, I have to recommend the fire process for the (front) lower control arms. I managed to deform the left LCA trying to press the rubber out of its sleeve (managed to get it somewhat proper with a hammer, but I have a lot of measuring, hammering and brazing to do before I can even think of putting new bushings in there)

edit to add a question: do you re-use the old bushing inner tubes or do the poly bushings come with new ones?

[This message has been edited by PerKr (edited 07-01-2010).]