I've got an '84 Z28 69K on miles. All original. Going to replace center link since it's shot and tie rod ends. Also thinking about replacing the struts and springs. My question is, would you replace the springs at this point. Car sits level and even and it seems the struts are still good. NOT looking to lower it, just figured since he's in there, he could do struts and springs. Do springs go bad after 28 years with that low of miles?

 

If the car sits level and you're happy with the ride height, I'd leave them. Simply installing new shocks and struts may raise the ride height slightly.

While you may not think the shocks/struts are bad, I can assure you that going new, especially upgrading to Koni Yellows, will provide results that will amaze you.

 

I replaced my shocks at 65k miles and couldn't believe the difference. If you have the cash, I would recommend it.

 

I bounced the car today and the shocks seeme tight. I pushed and it rebounded and didn't bounce. They may have been replaced, I'm not sure. If they were shot wouldn't it bounce at least twice?

 

Shot, yes, but there's a long downward curve before shot. Also, IMHO, Konis are so light years beyond the performance of all other shocks on these cars. The OEM style shocks were completely inadequate for these cars even when new. It's the first thing we all did to our f- bodies in the eighties.

 

The "press down and see if it bounces" test doesn't seem to apply to us. Maybe it works better on light weight 4 cylinder cars. I know my GTA didn't bounce at all.

I wound up replacing the struts and shocks at 50,000 miles and my car is 5 years newer than yours. When the shocks came out, I could quite easily compress them by hand. Trying to compress my new shocks took a towel and putting all my weight down on them to make them budge.

Your old springs sound like they're level enough. Although I imagine the 1984 spec Z28 springs were probably something like 400 lb/inch (front springs). I know when the IROC's came out, they had heavier duty springs. Guessing somewhere in the 550 lb/inch range.

Fortunately in today's world, most suspension pieces are simply 1982-92. So you don't need to pick certain model pieces. It's basically V8 springs or V6 springs. The newer V8 springs from Moog run in the 700 lb range. (front springs) These are considered to be the stock replacement size.

I would at least do new Moog 5665 springs for the rear since they fall out when the shocks come out. Changing the front springs is a bit trickier. And it's a separate install from doing front struts. So you can always change the front springs out later if you want.