I need to do a front suspension rebuild. My bird has 235,000 kms and makes a good clunk (right front) on acceleration. I was wondering what parts should I replace. I'm not looking for performance. Does replacing the bushings that hold the a-arms to the frame make that much of a diff?

 

I can tell you this. I replaced 2 dead struts, tie rods and lower ball joints, and now after 200 hundred miles, my driver's side front spring creaks after getting warmed up. If I had known this would happen, I would have done the spings/struts/ball joints/bushings all at once. I had the car aligned and will probably have to align the car again after new springs. If there are any type of isolators in the front springs, replace them or risk another tear down. I may even replace the drag link just to be safe. My car has 77,000 orginal miles and a new idler arm but I am at the point where if you are going to tear in, might as well hit all. Also, I have poly front stablizer bushings in front and new rear coil springs and shocks.

 

i recently replaced my bushings with energy suspension proformance polyurthane (sp?) bushings. i did not notice much of a diference, but that may b due to the fact that i still have a few problems to fix down there.

i have just completed (almost) a minor suspension re-build. i replaced a-arm bushings, one a arm (bent) both a arm ball joints. moog suspension tie- rods, idler arm, and center link. also put new springs in. still to replace: sway bar bushings, probably a spindle (bent, i think. won't know for sure until i get it alighned again)

when i replaced the tierods andcenterlink and idler arm i noticed that my steering is now TIGHT. feels like a four year old car, not a sixteen year old car.

anyway, now that i have written a book good luck with your re-build. once you are done you can go carve acanyon and take turns as fast as straights.

 

Yes, there are isolators for the front springs... they're at the top of the spring. I've posted part #s for them (and for every other suspension part I did as part of my rebuild) on the suspension forum...

Anyway, the only difference between a performance and non-performance rebuild is the bushings. The stock rubber has probably deteriorated by now, so it might be wise to change them. Your 146,000 miles (235k km converted) seems like it's time.

And, how often do you do lube jobs? How often do you repack the front bearings?

Two parts that must be replaced occasionally are the idler arm and center link (aka "drag link"). These wear out just because of the design of our suspension. If you haven't replaced them yet, do this asap!

Tie rods are "self-adjusting for wear", whatever the hell that means- but unless you hit a curb, you shouldn't have to change them. Ball joints wear out if they're not lubed often or if you have high mileage. Springs, again, it's up to you... probably more mileage-dependant than anything else.

And don't forget the struts & shocks! Most f-bodies I've seen still have the original factory units... and they're long dead.

The clunk might also be a worn-out upper strut mount. There's a "bearing" in those- and I say "bearing" because it's not a real bearing; more like a crappy sleeve. If that wears out, the strut will actually be moving around up top!

I replaced it ALL at the same time (except for the rear control arm bushings, still trying to decide how to box the rear lca). My parts were: Springs = Suspension Techniques, Linkage & Ball joints = All Moog, Bushings = Energy Suspension, Shocks, Struts, upper strut mounts = KYB, and Hardware = GM.

Moog is more expensive but it's the manufacturer "of choice".

 

My parts were: Springs = Suspension Techniques; Linkage = Moog; Bushings, Balljoints, Front LCAs, and Hardware = GM, Shocks, Struts = Tokico. I haven't quite finished putting it all in. I still have the linkage to do and rear springs and shocks.

 

springs = moog
tierod/centerlink/idler arm = moog
bushings = moog