hey all so just about to start suspension work on my 88 firebird, and ive never done ANY suspension work on her. Ive owned her for 5 years and shes been sitting for the past 2-1/2 years. Since shes been sitting now there are odd moans and groans when turning wide left and a different moan or groan when turning right. Any ways im wanting to FINALLY re do the suspension and wondering where i should start. I know eventually i would like to do a drop with i believe the Eibach Sportline springs, but i know i need maintenance and am asking, what should i do first? and then what?

Any advice or information is greatly appreciated

thanks all!!!

 

Moaning when turning? Is this during a moderate to high speed? sounds like bearings

 

First would be to get it back to working like factory. I would rebuild the steering, especially if it is original. That would include center link, idler arm, inner/outer tie rods, tie rod adjuster sleeves, ball joints, a-arm bushings, new caster/camber plates and struts. Then get a nice alignment done. As mentioned if the noises are coming from the bearings, replace those as well.

Then I would move to the back of the car. If you are going to be lowering it, a substantial amount, I would go with adjustable panhard rod and adjustable lower control arms and some new shocks. That alone should do the car wonders.

 

As soon as you get everything back to normal operating condition/fix anything thats broken or worn out, my advise would be get subframe connectors as your first mod.

 

i havent got to drive the car that much lately so im not sure, the only time i notice the weird sound is when im slow and doing like a U-turn in a court, or doing a U-turn to park next to the curb. I guess its really only when i hammer it left, its a odd sound, and then when i hammer it right its a different odd sound, but at slow speeds.

Sounds like i got my hands full!! lol ok i should have chose better nomenclature i guess i meant i havent done any suspension OR steering work!!! im way over due
What kind of brands do you recommend? i do like quality items but i dont have the deeeeeeepest wallet.

Yeah i heard subframe connectors are awesome, theres a local guy that does the custom work for all that im gonna see. two of my buddies just got there Nova and Mustang done up and there loving it.

 

Moog is the favorite around these forums. If you want to do a one stop shop Spohn has a kit. Otherwise Rockauto will have great prices and if you look around they will have a discount coupon out there you could also use. For the tie rod adjusters I would look at getting a swedged tubing like here.



The ones that came from the factory are known to flex under hard cornering.

Caster/Camber plates are completely up to you. You can get factory replacements or you can go with an adjustable setup if you are planning on doing any sort of spirited driving. I have some old Hot Part plates and love them. Founders makes a set along with UMI, etc.



Bushings for the a-arms can come from any place you trust. I went with Energy Suspension, since I had them laying around.

For struts, get the absolute best you can afford. I personally saved my money and went with Koni yellows. I really like them a lot, but have yet to push them super hard. It's kind of tough to do when you have nothing under the hood.

 

Like they said. Start with what needs repaired. Moog is always the way to go. Don't buy from the parts stores. i saved $150 getting all my moog steering linkage and balljoints from summit instead of the local parts stores. I hear rock auto is cheaper yet.

You can't go wrong with Koni Yellows. If your building a street car i'd use Moog a-arm bushings but if your building a car you will autoX/road race then i'd go with Global west delalums. I also have J&M products/Hotpart.com CC plates but mine are different than the ones pictured above. If i were to buy a set today I would buy founders because they are the cheaper and same design as mine but with a recent improvement. UMI if you want to brand match your entire chassis/suspension. I also used Timken (Made in USA) bearings that will need to be pressed in at a machine shop. Be careful buying bearings so you don't accidentally get 1LE bearings.

My parts list is in my vB garage if you wanna check it out. I'm building my car to be a street able autoX/road race car.

 

I found both front struts from rock auto in the moog brand shipped for 60 bucks. What a deal!

 

Forgive me for not being clearer, moog is great but their struts are not. I didn't even know moog made struts. Get GOOD struts and shocks like koni (1) , bilstein(2), or kyb(3). You won't regret it!

 

Sorry my bad. I meant to say Monroe, Sensatrac series. I had a brain fart

 

Ok Gotcha, I and many others recommend you don't buy those either. Not for your Bird any way. They are not a performance part. Please do a search on struts and shocks so you can see what people are using and why. There are HUNDREDS of threads on the subject. Read at least 20 before you make a decision.