No, any of the purple locations are good for jackstands, my personal favorite is the one right by that rear yellow one, poor picture, but circled with a dot right where it would go, look on yours and you'll see a natural spot the curved jackstand fits on.
For jacking it up, use a jack in the center of the rear of the cradle, place it on the stands, chock the wheels, place some wood or something else under if the jackstands fail, then you can use the hydraulic floor jack on the front center then rear center of the cradle to raise and lower one end at a time as needed (make sure you are on a smooth floor and the jack can roll, or it will pull the car off the stands), also make sure the dogbone is disconnected, and beware of cables, wires, etc.
Thanks for the photo, that's the spot I think I noticed before.
So disconnect dog bone but that's it.
No one has answered my question of saving the metal casing of the old front bushings to use with the new Poly bushings, I believe that's what I need to do, correct?
Thanks for the photo, that's the spot I think I noticed before.
So disconnect dog bone but that's it.
No one has answered my question of saving the metal casing of the old front bushings to use with the new Poly bushings, I believe that's what I need to do, correct?
You guys are very helpful, much appreciated !
Yes, and make sure to feel around and visually inspect everything to make sure no wires get tugged, and for your question, the outer shells are pressed into the cradle, effectively a part of it, you burn/melt/scoop/drill the rubber out of it, then slide the poly or solid bushings in, the outer shell gets reused because it is pressed in the cradle, so by "saving" them, you leave them alone as a part of the cradle, and just remove the old rubber.
First, the alignment tech should never align the car with bad bushings, BJs, tie-rods, end-links, and like mentions on a Fiero, cradle bushings. Total waste of time and money for the alignment cost.
As for the cradle replacement bushing remove with the cradle in the car, to me is unrealistic. Very time consuming and too much hassle to do. A lot easier to do with the engine out of the car, cradle on the floor. And yes, safer. You can use a special puller to remove the front cradle bushings. Clean out the bushing bore, and install poly or Rodney’s solid bushing kit.
While the engine is out, you can check and replace needed parts easier also. Check and / or replace the LCA bushings. That’s not easy to do if the bolts is rusted, and chances are the channels are rusted out too. (Where the LCA bolts into the cradle) Very critical is there is structural damage or rusted out. Plus, rear lower ball joints is a good time to check or replace. Those are riveted on if still original ball joints. Air chisel will break the rivets off.
Upgrade to a Fiero store engine dog-bone, as that is a huge improvement for the 2.8l. Every Fiero should have that upgrade today.
Is TFS dog bone poly rebuild kit as good as TFS Poly dog bone?
My dogbones aluminum was in good shape, just the rubber was shot, so I replaced it with the poly bushings, work well, look good, no complaints, if your aluminum is in good shape, I don't see why you need to replace it (others more knowledgeable, feel free to correct me)
don't replace front w/ polly right now unless have rust out shell or other problems. Just install the huge rear rubber then drive for a while. That should stop cradle wander as you engine brake or accelerate.
Low mile car can have rust rot bushing shells or damage suspension otherwise & why car sat for decades. Most tire shops & more do bare minimum of work & only see numbers on Bear etc alignment machine are good.
Even when suspension & alignment are perfect... the road & how you load a car can cause pulling etc. Examples: 1. Many have roads have big crowns cause pulling to 1 side. If have 3 or more lane in one direction then left can pull left, Right pull right, middle(s) can go either or no pulling. 2. Old or high volume "Flat" roads can ruts cause pulling near random for what side & little or no warning. ● & both more so on any vehicle w/o power steering because non PS vehicle have < 2° Caster that make iffy roads even harder to drive on. Is why 84-87 Fiero has steering "stabilizers" attach to the rack. Normally you never know it there but hit a bump w/ 1 wheel or angled RR tracks & the stabilizer goes very stiff in microseconds so S-wheel won't slam you or worse. 3. Fiero GVWR = car weight + 2 x ~ 190lb people + ~ 50-100lb cargo. Have same or more weight in one spot then car can have steering, brake & other problems. But Even 100lb driver can affect wheel alignment on lighter cars & why some old shops can have the driver in the car doing alignment jobs.
My dogbones aluminum was in good shape, just the rubber was shot, so I replaced it with the poly bushings, work well, look good, no complaints, if your aluminum is in good shape, I don't see why you need to replace it (others more knowledgeable, feel free to correct me)
don't replace front w/ polly right now unless have rust out shell or other problems. Just install the huge rear rubber then drive for a while. That should stop cradle wander as you engine brake or accelerate.
Low mile car can have rust rot bushing shells or damage suspension otherwise & why car sat for decades. Most tire shops & more do bare minimum of work & only see numbers on Bear etc alignment machine are good.
Even when suspension & alignment are perfect... the road & how you load a car can cause pulling etc. Examples: 1. Many have roads have big crowns cause pulling to 1 side. If have 3 or more lane in one direction then left can pull left, Right pull right, middle(s) can go either or no pulling. 2. Old or high volume "Flat" roads can ruts cause pulling near random for what side & little or no warning. ● & both more so on any vehicle w/o power steering because non PS vehicle have < 2° Caster that make iffy roads even harder to drive on. Is why 84-87 Fiero has steering "stabilizers" attach to the rack. Normally you never know it there but hit a bump w/ 1 wheel or angled RR tracks & the stabilizer goes very stiff in microseconds so S-wheel won't slam you or worse. 3. Fiero GVWR = car weight + 2 x ~ 190lb people + ~ 50-100lb cargo. Have same or more weight in one spot then car can have steering, brake & other problems. But Even 100lb driver can affect wheel alignment on lighter cars & why some old shops can have the driver in the car doing alignment jobs.
Thanks, your link points to a browser issue, is that what you intended...
Owner died, daughter parked it in a very dry place, why I don't know..
[This message has been edited by hunter29 (edited 06-04-2024).]
So far so good, front bushing rubber out, a bit of a challenge, FYI. I did not want to use fire to get the center core out.
I used my soldering iron, slid it in gave it ten minutes then grabbed it with vice grips , turned it until it broke loose, then pulled it out. Worked great.
So grease, lube up the front cradle bushings before I put them in to keep water out ?
Is silicone grease acceptable?
[This message has been edited by hunter29 (edited 06-25-2024).]
One more question, when I install the rear cradle bolts I assume I want to torque them to spec even if it risks breaking the nuts in the cradle frame , correct ?
[This message has been edited by hunter29 (edited 06-25-2024).]
It happened to me on our '86 notchie, left side witch hat let go but on the disassembly. I would take the risk and torque it. If you get the "click" of happiness, you're golden. If it breaks, you have the opportunity to upgrade to a new unit as sold by Rodney and/or TFS OR a professionally home-built unit (like mine!) and satisfying results.
...when I install the rear cradle bolts I assume I want to torque them to spec even if it risks breaking the nuts in the cradle frame , correct ?
When I reinstall my cradle bolts, I chase all threads to make sure the bolts screw in with no resistance (from rust, crud), apply copious amounts of anti-seize... and yes, torque everything to spec (with minor allowances made due to the application of anti-seize).
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 06-26-2024).]
Thanks Patrick, I do use the search function, but don't always find what I'm looking for.
I just spent an hour reading dozens of pages trying to find out how to drop the rear ball joint out of the knuckle so I can remove the lower control arm.
Rear ball joint, just had to loosen the control arm,
I thought it was stuck... it wasn't...
In regards to the torque spec I don't know, some say in this application torque it to spec. Others say reduced 25%. Even 40%. So im still looking into it.
[This message has been edited by hunter29 (edited 06-27-2024).]
