i have any 89 2.8liter rs with wore out suspension. in reguards to replacement of these parts is it something that i want to tackle on my own, im a moderatly experenced person. if i was to order shocks and struts do i need to take into account any extra parts? ill probably go back with gabriel or monroe for good use and price. not necessarly into tons of road race performance. any suggestions would be appreaciated. thank you

 

You could probably do the shocks with some common sense and basic tools, but I'd take it to a shop to get the struts done, its not exactly an easy driveway job.

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89 IROC original owner, 3 amplifier 8 speaker Kenwood/Infinity sound system, 300,000 miles on original 305 TPI. Change your oil!!!
http://members.bellatlantic.net/~viking88/iroc.html

 

Eh, I dunno about that. The struts are harder than the shocks, yeah, but they're not very hard. One problem is the lower strut-to-knuckle bolts must be torqued to 200 ft/lbs. My torque wrench only hits 150. Unless you have a torque wrench like a shop would, you're probably not getting the bolts "as tight" as they should be- 150's pretty damn hard.

Pop the caps off of the strut towers though before you have the struts taken care of- I kept losing them at shops until I learned to take them off beforehand.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards

 

the struts are not difficult.
1)jack car up in air on jack stands
2) remove wheels
3) compress springs with spring compressor (purchase for about $50-60), rent or borrow(?)
4) remove brake hose clamp from strut
5) remove strut bolts, as TomP said the bottom ones are TIGHT, use a breaker bar and a pipe if necessary. When retightening you dont need a torque wrench, just go as tight as you can with the same tool you used for removal.
the monroe front struts are OK, their rear shocks are too soft for Z28 springs, but may be OK for your suspension.

 

thank you very much for the info