in the process of replacing bushings and thought let’s try a steering brace. TDS checked out as the one that fits for dual fans and also takes advantage of the extra bolts in the area. have no idea what those extra bolts are for. my car has 64.9K miles and from what i can gather the bushings are shot. they should probably be replaced every 30k. here goes some progress photos

 

have seen better paint. the new bushings. doing rubber for now

whole enchilada

 

factory vs new acdelco.....clamps looking ugly from miles and 25 years of storage

 

broke out the drill and wire brush attachment in all my excitement of what the new handling may feel like and then realized i have a sand blaster. set that up, fired up old air compressor and knocked out the old crud. cheap paint next, no time for factory color at this time, will do that later, just want performance at this point. want to drive the car!

 

mount points checking at 36mm. and yes, it is hollow. found the weep holes right next to the ends. also checks in at 36 mm in the center. other areas, vary due to bends.

 

started out the day with hydraulic fluid in face, had to fix that first. nothing like having to fix your tools before you can get to work. luckily new floor mats showed up to make everything right. can’t wait to put them in and road test everything. will follow up with installation and road test asap

 

Sway bar down, ready for steering brace to be installed

 

A couple of shots of where the extra bolts are that TDS utilizes for their design, bolts are currently out in these shots - there are only two. I was confused after reading the directions and took out one that I didn't need to take out. its all good. nice to clean things up anyway.

 

Got the back side greased up as a rust preventive measure. Ready to install

 

Now here is where the fun begins. I put the bar up, and the holes are a smidge off. I call TDS, Lon answers right away. Tell him my plight, he says file it. So I did. Now I understand why the other manufactures don't use the other holes. After filing to get some extra space needed, I had to juggle the bar around back and forth, like squeezing on a balloon. You move one side, then other side doesn't fit. Be sure to have a stick of wood and a rubber mallet handy if you do this install, because you will be moving the steering brace around until it fits just so. After everything was in place, there was zero tolerance to get the bushing brackets back up. the tabs fit, but with zero clearance. amazing that it went in, but it did. Here it is in place, when I thought I was almost done. Nope, had another 30 minutes of fiddling to get it in its proper place. Instructions say 15 min install, I'd say count on at least an hour if not two.

 

lubed up the inside of the bushings with a little Sil-Glyde before putting them in place. NOTE, I've been told lube not required for rubber, but also been told it couldnt hurt.

 

Oh yeah, make sure to put slits facing forward. I was pretty certain that was how it was during disassembly, and then later on read it in the Service Manual. Got lucky!

 

Here are a few photos that show how tight things are. I'd venture a guess that not using these extra holes prevents product returns and phone calls. These are taken prior to final adjustment which was required once the sway bar brackets were put in place.

 

Everything installed.

 

One trick during bushing install to use is to tight the front side most of the way first, while doing back somewhat. The reason is the slit will try to work its way out, and then the bushing separates at the split, one side goes left, other side goes right. I figured out to handle this by squeezing on it with my hands while tightening the front first.


this side turned out almost perfect


driver side gave me more fits. you can see its slightly off here.

 

Took it out for a road test, night and day! I think the old bushing were shot. Had a lot of slop up front, and quite a bit is gone now. I'm sure there are other steering and suspension issues that need attention, but this took the car to a whole new level. I haven't drove it in so long, I forget how it is supposed to feel. My other car is a BMW 545i with Sport Pak Suspension, and I'm very used to it. The 2 cars are so different. The Formula is just all mechanical, while the BMW has lots of computer assist. Going around a corner in the BMW is a very flat experience, while the Formula feels more like a really cool amusement park ride that you can drive yourself. Its so low to the ground, and light. Can't wait to get the rest of the suspension tuned up, and maybe some subframe connectors.

 

BTW - I think I'm going to circle back and install some GRADE 8 washers where there those extra bolts are utilized. You can see the bolt flanges are not quite lining up right. Need to have a closer look next time I get it in the air.

 

I wonder if your frame is tweaked just a bit from age and wear. When I installed that same steering brace on my 92 with very low miles it went in perfect and everything lined right up.

 

Don't know why you're using rubber bushings, but lubing them is totally unnecessary.
It also makes no difference whether the slit faces forward or back, but no harm in following the factory instructions. I don't see the point of TDS making all those extra holes if they don't line up with the holes on the car. Would have been better off drilling your own...

 

one mistake I made was putting the car down after removing bolts. could have shifted the factory brackets a bit from the weight of the car. not sure if that could have caused it. didn't have to file a whole lot, but I did have to file.

car has 64K on it. owned it since 92, and it saw mostly Houston freeways for pleasure drives for about one year which at the time were great condition, then went into storage for 25 years.

 

Just putting the car back to factory right now. bushings are easy enough to switch out if I decide later. I had asked if lubing was required here on the board, where were you!! why do you say not required?

 

Weird... I installed the TDS wonderbar on seven different thirdgen cars now, two of them are my own cars. 88 and 92. Never had any fitment issues you described.

 

The rubber bushings flex with the movement of the swaybar. Polyurethane doesn't flex nearly as much, so the bar rotates inside the bushing, and will squeak if not lubricated...

 

Even if I didn't have to file the extra holes, the sway bar brackets tabs barely lined up. they squeezed in perfectly, but that required making certain everything was exactly where it needed to be. and then, there was zero clearance. 36 mm sway bar perhaps?

 

Go with the weld ons from Lon @ TDS. Heidts makes them now. These made a huge difference in not just the handling but the "ride" became sooo much smoother. I only have the front A-arm bushings left to replace and my suspension will be done

 

My cars both have WS6, so they have the 36mm version. But I also installed it on a 92 3.1 V6 with the 30mm and many others. Only fitment issue was with a 85 Camaro 2.8 V6, but not the hole line-up, it was the lower coolant hose that was in the way.

 

something i noticed today about the factory bushings.

 

why do you like the ones from TDS?

 

They fit perfect with no exhaust clearance issue, I just had to drop the 2 bolt connector @ the cat and it fit right in.. They tuck up tight I have only minimal scratches on them, I have had them on for 3 years now. Only 2 pieces so only needed to weld in 4 places. They are tubular. And the best is the ride I stated. It rides smoother, it goes over the RR tracks smoother It took alot of those creeks out when turning on rough surfaces and hitting the pot holes. It most definitely helped the handling by lessening the body roll.

Now I can't compare to others out there as these are all I have used but all things considered, price, ease of installation and results I don't think you will get that much more out of one of the more expensive and complicated sets out there, especially knowing you how you are using your car.

 

Thanks, will definitely look at them closer. Ed who had the 91 Formula decked out with SLP and other goodies also had Alston's I believe. He said much of what you did, said he really liked the way they tuck up under there. That is a big selling point.

 

Great write up sir. Enjoy the drive!

 

I too have have had TDS wonder bar on my car for years with zero alignment issues. A couple of things to consider if your car didn't have the extra K-member brace the frame rails have likely flexed. And there use to be adjustable wounder bars that you could put tension on between the frame rails.. If someone ever had those on your car the end result is you spread the frame rails apart or move them in depending on the direction of tension you put on it. Also if there has ever been any damage etc. My Car is WS6 but shouldn't matter on the frame mount points.

 

owned the car since 92. bought the car literately from a little old lady from Pasadena (TX) who happened to like Trans Am's but switched to the Formula when she saw this one. I can guarantee you she didn't have that on there

 

One other thing, I'm pretty certain WS6 does not necessarily mean 36mm sway bar. FE2 does, for certain years.

 

LiquidBlue, mine had the large sway bar, not sure with the RPO codes but mine had everything but the 1LE and leather that you could get on a 5.0 TBI Formula (in fact when I bought the car in 97 my insurance company argued with me that the option combination wasn't possible... though I've since never had an issue so I think that was them more than anything). Does your car have that A frames on each side that goes from the K-member to the frame rails that reinforce the lower frame rails to help keep them from flexing. They don't seem like a lot of structure but they made a huge difference. But after all this time a little flex and spreading is expected on these frames. Or its possible TDS was off on the one you got, but mine looked like it was cut specifically for my car.

 

Pretty sure A frames installed. Is it the thing you can see in 1st photo - post #8? (didn't realize some cars didn't have these, never noticed one with out)

P.S. Don't think leather was ever available for the Formula's

 

I just realized these have bolt in option. I could bold them in until ready to commit to welding. May have to go for this. Have you tried the bolt in option before welding?

 

No I did not. I felt it wasn't the best logic to put holes in an already questionable, flexible piece of steel. I also heard somewhere that the bolts could "wollar" out the holes in the frame over time and become lose. I guess if you really want the bolt on option I would say if you like them weld them up shortly afterwards and at that point leave those bolts in also. One thing to remember, make sure the suspension is loaded prior to either install. I see you have a lift but it needs to be a drive on.

 

I was looking for install instructions and noticed you have to drill. I'm not really down for that either. if you don't mind, could you post some photos of your installation? I'd really like to see the clearances, along with mount points

 

NP....I will take some photos when I get home tonight.

 

Some pics of my 92 with the Alston SFC from TDS. I am VERY happy with them, feels like a new car. No more T-Top squeek and took most of the "wobble" out on bad roads. I had them installed on a 4-post in June 2016.

 

great photos. got ant side shots that show ground clearance?

 

I have the Alston inners and UMI outer SFC.
The inners are a little lower than any suspension or unibody parts.
Maybe 1in or so.
But that's what you want
In the event of bottoming out, you will scrape the SFC and not your trans or exhaust.

 

Why do you have both? Are you sure its an entire inch? That is a lot for me, can barely get the car out of the driveway as it is.

 

I autocross my 92 so I'll take all the stiffness I can get.
I've never lifted a tire In a corner so there is no such thing as too stiff when it comes to unibodys.

I doubt you will encounter any driveway issues with the inner SFC.
You will scrape the nose long before the SFC when going up steep driveways.
Unless you have some crazy peaky driveway where high centring is common.
But even then, do you want to scrape your transmission or some 2in mild steel tubes that aren't critical?

 

I have the inner subframes also. I bolted them in and then drove to a friends mufler shop to weld them in. Factory height I rarely scraped, but since I lowered it with 1.25 inch lowering springs I scrape speed bumps and going into my flat driveway if I do it to fast as I have one of those psudo curb thing that directs the water down the side of the road that is common in neighborhoods here. Actually want to raise it .5 inch in front as it is lower in the front. That should avoid most scrapes. Dailied it for 8 years with subframes and factory height.

One note they will interfere with all off the shelf ls1 swap trans cross members.

 

I am afraid I never made some, just have these three pics where you can see them... If you want to, I may be able to take some pics on saturday.

 

looks like they are lower than your ground effects, hard to tell really.

 

These are my UMI outer SFC and Alston Inner SFC on a 92 RS
the inners are barely lower than the Uni-body and exhaust.
my car is about 1/2 lower or equal than stock height. (ground to top of the fender is 26.75in)

the Inner SFC were a complete PAIN to weld in though. lots of fit up. took 30-40min of cutting, grinding, and bending (and my car is 100% rust free and unmolested)
outer SFC were hilariously easy to TIG weld in.





i covered this in my video.

 

Thanks for the photos. Will watch video when I can, family in town this weekend. why so much bending, how did you do it, heat and bend?