First a little background.

The car has 225,xxx miles on it, original engine and tranny never had any problems from either. The front struts were replaced 47,000 miles ago. The idler arm was replaced 85,000 miles ago. The left front wheel bearing was replaced 1,000 miles ago.

Today the car couldn't be aligned because the tech discovered the left ball joint was wasted almost ready to break. The right ball joint was in slightly better condition. The end links for the front sway bar are wasted as well but this is an easy fix.

Should I just get the ball joints and end links replaced with stock parts? Should I get a front suspension kit from Energy Suspension or PST or Global West or what? Would this be the time to do springs as well?

I need your advice as this is my daily driver/beater. I can drive the other car for a few weeks so I have time to shop around and do this right. Any suggest are appreciated.

Please no lectures on greasing the car and this would never have happened, it's always been done greased promptly at oil change time and I'm the original owner.

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91 RS Camaro 305TBI w/198,500 miles

99 TransAm

72 Vette

 

That's alot of miles, there shipmate... Yea, I'd definitely replace all that stuff... The front end can be redone in a day or two, if you have all the stuff to do it. I replaced the whole front and rear suspension and steering parts last year. The thing is, if you replace the ball joints you're going to have it aligned. If you replace the struts, you'll have to have it aligned again. If you replace the tierods, you'll have to align it again. My opinion is do it all now - idler arm, ball joints, tierods, etc. Springs and bushings probably aren't a bad idea, either... I hope this helps...

KAM

 

Thunder,

Yes that helps...who stuff did you use?

 

I replaced everything with MOOG parts. Ball joints, tierods, centerlink, idler arm, springs. Bushings are poly's now, and shock/struts are Monroe. I can't recall the price tag on it all, but I did front and rear. If you're running performance type set-up, I'd probably upgrade with different struts, shocks, and maybe springs. But if it's a daily driver, occasional beater, I think you'd be fine with the Monroes. If you change bushings, be advised that the ones in the front LCA's will probably have to go to a shop to be done, as they're a ****** to get out. They ALL have to be pressed in (fronts and rears), but most everything else will come out with a simple hydraulic press. Another thing to consider about bushings is that if you change all those other components and the bushings are shot to hell, you're still gonna have a sloppy ride. Mine was like brand new, but as I've said, it all got changed. One more thing, it looks like Summit now carries MOOG parts, so you might want to check their prices, too. Good luck - any more questions, just ask...

KAM