ok everyone so im starting my trans am restore abit early im looking to restore components to the front frame (bushings, front suspension, steering components, radiator support) i also wanna put new floor pans from the front toe board to the front of the rear seats. for the rear of the car im also dropping the rear end an putting new axles an a new set of gears instead of the 370s i got now looking for 410 in the rear also looking to replace rear suspension components, for frame tightening i wanna put a really good set of sfc's an a strut tower brace i was wondering what are the best aftermarket companies that will sell these parts for a really good price an also to start things off how hard will it be to drop the front frame what will need to be done thanks for the help in advanced

 

undo all wiring and hoses, take out engine, take off wheel and rent a strut compressor tool, take out struts put jack under k member, take k memeber out. thats basically it, besides taking out bolts and such. pretty easy if you have all the resources

 

sweet this is great info also how do i post pics up on this formum so i can show all the work that needs to be done an get ur advice on it

 

i found the easiest way to post pics is make a photobucket account, its free and painless, and then it has the option of directly linking it to the page and then the website magically makes it show up on your page =)

 

You forgot the sway bar, brakes, and the steering. It's actually pretty easy to remove the crossmember. Once the weight of the engine is off of it, disconnect the brake lines from the prop valve, unbolt the struts, sway bar, and steering, then the crossmember-chassis bolts and the entire thing will fall out. No need to remove the struts from the spindles, spindles from the A-arms, or bother to compress the springs. Technically you don't even need to pull the engine unless you want to...

 

itd be alot easier to drop it though, although it can come out of the bottom. i sorta vaguely included steering stuff with lots of other bolts. and i did not know that about the struts. so you can leave them in the caps then?

 

The top nut on the struts has to be removed so they can drop down with the crossmember. The strut to spindle bolts are usually torqued down tight, and they're behind the brakes. It's easier to deal with the sub-assemblies after the crossmember is out from under the car. Two clean, lightly torqued nuts, easily accessible from the top of the car are easier, and faster to remove then 4 rusty, super tight, bolts under the car.

 

very true, that way you dont have to rent a tool either

 

yea for all of this no matter what the spring will have to be compressed out of the control arm an chassis of the car right ??? so first things are first is to compress the springs an remove the struts

 

from my understanding of what drew is saying, you can unbolt the struts from the strut tower cap its one bolt on top per side, and then drop the whole kmember fully assmebled. then the struts are already decompressed so you just have to unbolt them from the arms and such and do what you want with them

 

The springs are compressed between the crossmember and A-arms. Put your jack under the A-arm, jack it up until the arm lifts a bit, and remove the strut nut. When you lower the jack, the spring will decompress. Or just stand back and let er rip. The spring isn't going to go flying, both ends are in pockets.

Going back together, you'll probably need the spring compressor.

 

You can the car back together without a spring compressor two different ways (that I'm familiar with):

1. Buy lowering springs. This is by far the easiest. Just put the spring in place, put a floor jack under the control arm and pump it until you can re-attach the ball joint.

2. Remove lower control arm, set spring in place, and jack entire control arm up until you can get the attachment bolts back in, then the ball joint. This is a huge PITA but if you don't have a spring compressor, or if you have an "external" one like mine, it's an option.

 

Method one is possible even with stock springs. Ive done it this way several times...however using some lowering springs is def easier. With the a-arm dropped down on its pivot point, you might have to give the spring a little help. But at that point, its not compressed THAT much to where its super dangerous.

As always...regardless of how much its compressed, get a chain around it just in case. But Ive never used a compressor on my thirdgen front springs. Just be smart, safe, and use your noggin and its not that bad of a job.

J.

 

yea i just decided im gonna buy a spring compressor it will help out in the long run an also it will make a extra spot in my tool box 50 bucks is very cheap these days an it will go far in life

 

Make sure you take care of that $50 compressor! Anti-seize on the threads, make sure its seated properly etc.

I was never able to get a compressor installed to actually do me any good. I know there is a specific compressor for that type of spring set up...and maybe thats why. I was always trying to use readily available compressors. If you get one that fits and works for you though, its DEF a worthy investment! Can never have enough tools!

I have some plans in the works to build in "keepers" for dropping the k-member. Basically a very large bolt that you'd screw up from the bottom, into a welded nut on top of the k-member. But...I dont really make a habit of pulling the k-member (ideally anyway haha), so I can probably just put up with pulling it all apart. My eibach pro springs drop in/out pretty easy.

Good luck!

J.

 

Ehhh... Over on some other forums, I've read a few people have taken their springs to a shop and had them compressed and banded. Then when they're in position, cut the bands with snips. I'd probably look into that before buying a Chinese spring compressor. Using a floor jack and the weight of the car might work, assuming that the spring is soft enough and the car is heavy enough.

 

k so its coming to that time the trans am gets its overhaul im getting everything ready to start dropping the k-member to be refurbished, cleaned up with all new bushings, motor mounts, an suspension bushings a-arm bushings are a must found out that they are cracked an gone to h*** tie-rods have a ton of play,shake, wobble so those will be getting done as well ball joints the boots on both sides are cracked an dry rotted to s*** im mostly focusing on getting the rear an k member down this winter then sending the car to get new floor pans with sfc

 

does anybody know where i can buy rocker panels for my 89 gta since those will get replaced as well