Hello all,

I'd like to rebuild the front suspension and would like to get help getting a parts list together. .
Any help would be greatly appreciated with Part names or part numbers.

1986 GT auto.

Thanks in advance.

You need upper and lower ball joints- the newer upper BJs are adjustable for proper (Negative) camber. Upper and lower A-arm bushings, and Tie rod ends. Possibly stabilizer bar bushings. Grease also, and a grease gun (That works!) Do not get the Poly bushings- they are very stiff, and they cold flow- meaning that just sitting there after a while they distort and develop gaps...

I actually got a whole spare front cross-member/suspension and rebuilt everything before so I could just swap parts and be done quickly...(I mainly needed the crossmember so I could shorten the bump-stops by 3/4"- while still being able to drive my Fiero).

The bump-stops are no longer made- baby your originals- While doing the bump stop mod, I had my welder friend weld in nuts so I can bolt on the bump stops (the nub they mount with is almost impossible to remove from the cross-member undamaged). I bought a set of poly bump-stops they do not work and are extremely hard.

Both the Fiero Store and Rodney offer these parts, but you can get them from Moog also...Be careful that some of the BJs have a locknut rather than cotter pins- I would only go with cotter pin BJs.....

I just rebuilt my entire front suspension with custom control arms. Not the same as stock but I can probably give you a few lessons learned as you go. Took me about 3-4 weeks to do my job myself but that was with a bit of extra work due to some mods that had to be made. Yours might take the same due to messing around getting the old ball joints / bushings out of your control arms. The job was a huge pain but with the right technique and tools you can do it almost entirely yourself. Helps to have 2 people for a lot of things though, especially ball joint remove / install.

If you find tie rod ends for the front let me know. I had trouble finding any that were cheap. I assume the only other parts you need are bushings, ball joints, and the shocks, plus replacement bolts for the lower control arms at a minimum (I was able to re-use my upper bolts which are super long ones, but the lowers had to be cut off to remove).

Thank you ... I am in to process of getting all the parts together. Have you looked at Rockauto? They seem to have all the parts listed.
I am still debating if I want to order lowering ball joints from Rodney or just cut one coil from the stock spring.

Thank you all for the feedback.

I found the front outer tie rod ends Moog pn moog-es2232rl...from Walmart they are only $31.64......At Summit they are $43........

I just ordered all my parts... Wish me luck... Hopefully the install will be easy.

Used all MOOG where possible.

If you find you need new bolts, look on ebay using chassis bolts as a search. They are flange bolts and nuts, sold in sets of 10. Fairly cheap, but I bought mine a while ago.

quote Originally posted by wftb: If you find you need new bolts, look on ebay using chassis bolts as a search. They are flange bolts and nuts, sold in sets of 10. Fairly cheap, but I bought mine a while ago.

Would you mind listing an item number or link so I can purchase them? I want to make sure I get the right ones.

I looked but it was so long ago I don't have any info on them, best to just measure them and type in a google search. You won't get identical to OEM but will be close enough. OEM have a bit of a shoulder to them but that is not needed any way.

quote Originally posted by wftb: I looked but it was so long ago I don't have any info on them, best to just measure them and type in a google search. You won't get identical to OEM but will be close enough. OEM have a bit of a shoulder to them but that is not needed any way.

If you can, could you look thru your purchase history? I've found stuff I've purchased a few years back.

I tried but I could not find any purchase history on Ebay. I will post up a picture of one of the bolts and get some measurements, might take me a couple of days though.

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86 GT built 2.2 ecotec turbo
rear SLA suspension
QA1 coilovers on tube arms

I just did the front end on a 85 . All ball joints and tie rod ends came from Rock Auto.
All Moog. If you need the bushings to mount the rack look up 76 chevette. All the Moog parts were all USA made too !

quote Originally posted by PhatMax: I just did the front end on a 85 . All ball joints and tie rod ends came from Rock Auto. All Moog. If you need the bushings to mount the rack look up 76 chevette. All the Moog parts were all USA made too !

Thank you for the info..

Hello Everyone,

I successfully removed the bushings from the upper and lower control arms. I am in the process of installing the new bushings but I can't seem to get the bushings to sit flush with the control arm .


Any help or instruction would be greatly appreciated.

Here are some pics. Pic's 1 and 2 are the lower control arm and pic 3 is the upper.

[This message has been edited by str8maxn (edited 10-03-2019).]

I used a vice, a BFH, and some scrap steel as spacers when pressing the new bushings in to prevent your issue, it looks like you may have gone to far.

Looks like you've bent the mounting tabs pushing the bushing in.
I cut a piece of thick steam pipe into a half circle so that it fit between the tabs so that the top one would not crush in as I pressed the bushing in.

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Anything I might say is probably worth what you paid for it, so treat it accordingly!

Dave

www.ltlfrari.com

Hopefully this will help... did this almost a decade ago, but the parts should all still be available (with instruction):

http://www.pontiacperforman...roSE_Suspension.html


And for front brakes:

http://www.pontiacperforman...7FieroSE_Brakes.html

Thank you for the links.

Hello All,


I am in the process of putting everything back together but can't seem to remember where some of the parts go. I forgot to take pictures prior to removing the parts.
Does anyone have a front suspension diagram?. Most of it is self explanatory. My main concern is where some of the washers go.

I can seem to recall where these go..

.

[This message has been edited by str8maxn (edited 10-22-2019).]

Yes, those washers are for adjusting castor.

quote Originally posted by wftb: Yes, those washers are for adjusting castor.

Thank you Mystery solved for the washers..

Hello all, I am getting really close to finishing up the front end rebuild. I have a few questions regarding the sway bar.

1. How do you know what side is left and what side is right on the sway bar? Or does it matter?
2. When do yo u know when to stop tightening the nut on the sway bar link? Or do I have to torque down? If so, to what?

Here is what it looks like thus far.

FYI- I torqued the sway bar ends to 12lbs. I am all done and the car feels much better on the front end.
Here is what the car looks like with new coils in the rear and cut springs in the front (one ring) . I am hoping the front settles just a bit more.

Thank you all for the help....



Before Pic

[This message has been edited by str8maxn (edited 10-30-2019).]

Nice job, big improvement I think.

Hello All, It's been a few days now and the front end has not settled as much as I have hoped. Originally, I cut one ring off the front coils to lower it. How much more do I cut now? 1 or 2 inches more?

Also, I used a ball joint separator and was really not concerned about damaging the ball joins because I was replacing them. Any tips for separation with damaging them?

Go to Harbour Freight and get a ball joint seperator tool. There are 2 styles, one of them should work.

Got it.. How much more should I cut without having to mess with the bump stops/