First, let me apologize for this rather basic question. I checked and there is nothing in the "tech advice" section that helps, and I couldn't find anything archived that is on point for what I want.

I have a '92 F'bird convertible, 305 TBI with the stock "LO3" soft-ride suspension set up. It has about 75,000 miles on it. The suspension, front and rear, is entirely stock.

The first problem, the rattly front end, I solved by re-securing the front brake calipers. worked like a charm.

The second problem is more challenging. The front end dives and wallows, to the point that it bottoms out on relatively small road dips. It is not the shocks - they stop the bounce instantly. Rather, it is either the soft springs, or the soft struts, or a combination of them.

I assume that the springs are still fine - the car doesn't have lots of miles on it. The struts, on the other hand, could go in that short of time. They do not appear to be leaking though.

So my question: what if I swap out the soft struts for the firmer factory struts? I have the parts manual, I can figure out the part numbers. Is that a waste of time/money? If I swap the struts for firmer ones, am I just going to place more pressure on something else that I'll need to replace or upgrade later?

The car's use is as my summer daily driver. I jump on it a bit but the end result should favor comfort over high-end handling. I want it stiffer but not buckboard-stiff.

Any help or suggestions are much appreciated.

Dan
bird@javanet.com
1992 Firebird convertible
1967 Firebird convertible

 

If a firmer ride is what you seek then I'd go shopping for a set of performance shocks and struts(KYB,Bilstein,Tokico)and keep the stock springs. You may be able to find the 1LE shocks and struts from the 88-89 model year but I doubt if they are available new anymore. After 89 the 1LE used the same shocks and struts as the rest of the F bodies. Don't rule out the possibility that the springs are weak. Though unlikely,it can happen even at the mileage you state that the car has.

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