Suspension Refresh - How much time??

[Jcon]

Next week or so ( Waiting on parts to arrive) I will be refreshing the front and rear suspension. Nothing major


Polybronze A Arm & Spring Plate
22/28 Torsion Bars
Turbo sways and new sway bushings


Assuming I have maybe average skills and all the right tools and that nothing is siezed or breaks when trying to remove..How long should it take to complete this job?


Thanks

Jeff

[djmcmath]

Have you considered replacing the spring plate bushings? What about the A-arm bushings? Have you considered installing zircs for greasing the A-arm bushings? If you're installing new A-arms what about the ball-joints? Are you planning on cleaning/painting anything while it's out?

If all goes well, nothing has to be cut off with a dremel tool, you have all the parts (nothing surprises you mid-day), and there are no unforseen problems ... you could probably get through that mess in one really full Saturday. When I did it, I had a number of unforseen problems, I stripped and painted everything, I was super-careful on everything, and it took me most of a month.

Sounds like fun, though.

Dan

[patkeefe]

Jeff:
I put mine on jackstands on 7 Feb. It's coming down today for a ride to see how it works. Mine is a 78 SC. I was out of town for a couple of weeks, and flu strcken for another, but I spent a lot of night and weekend time on this.

It's the while you're in there syndrome that's the killer.
Good luck!
Pat

[Jcon]

DJ

I should have been more clear. It's the bushings on the A Arm and Spring plates that I'm replacing. I'm using the Elephant Racing Poly Bronze.

I was hoping if I took 2 days off from work - ie no one home to bug me - I could knock this out. Just wondered if it was realistic.

Pat - I think I'm ok with the while your in there stuff as long as I get to it while I'm out of cash


Jeff

[greglepore]

I'd allow 3 days-you might get thru it in two if they're long. Mine took about 3 days working daytime only.

[patkeefe]

Jeff:
You're right about the cash thing. I'm afraid to add up the invoices. Must have been $2k with everything. Bilsteins, $500, TB's, $500, ball joints, turbo tie rods, all new bushings, drop links, wheel bearings. My SC was pretty worn out, suspension wise.

There is someone selling practically all of this stuff on the classified board for $1100 or somewhere in that neighborhood. Timing is everything.
Pat

[Jcon]

Sounds about right $ wise. I've already done the new Bilsteins, and turbo tie rods. Now with the 3.6 in it I've really got to go the next step with torsion bars and bushings.


Jeff

[jyl]

For just the A-arm and springplate bushings and torsion bars, if everything goes smoothly, I think you could start at the crack of dawn and be done by bedtiime.

In the front, to maximize your chances, I think you should get an extra wedge bolt (it is possible to deform the old ones, when hammering them out of the strut, and they are not expensive).

In the rear, since you're not removing the trailing arm and all the stuff attached to it (brakes, half-shaft, hub, etc) I think it should be pretty simple.

In the similar thread started by 450knotoffice, I posted my feelings about the difficulty of each of the steps involved. You will be skipping all the difficult steps.

[Chuck Moreland]

It really depends on experience level, plus how much time you spend detailing.

If you are going to make everything look 'purdy - cleaning, painting, detailing - you can add a lot to the project time. And elapsed time will grow even more if you have to send it out for powder coating / replating.

If you just R&R with the new parts, I'd budget 1 full days per axle. That assumes you are reasonably handy, staying focused, and doing this for the first time. That gives you some buffer to figuring things out.

Of course unexpected problems may slow you down (eg. stuck torsion bars, corroded bolts that shear, new-found body cancer).

[Dixie]

I think you're being optimistic.

I just started pulling my '88 apart Saturday to replace bushings, T-bars, and shocks. So far I have 9 hours in. Four on Saturday, and five on Sunday. What I have accomplished is the RR corner is 100% apart. The LR corner is 10% apart.

I have lots of hand tools, impact wrench, air-ratchet, and air hammer. So far I think I've used 50% of the tools I have. I even got to use the 3/4" drive 32mm socket and breaker bar.

Of course, three hours was grinding down wrenches so I could get the trailing arm mounting bolt out, and another three cussing the bolt out. Removing the bolts is a bear on G50 equipped cars...

Here are a couple pics of what I've accomplished so far.

[Chuck Moreland]

Adding the trailing arm bushes to the project certainly will add time as Rob is discovering. My estimate of 1 day per axele is based on A arms and spring plates only. I think that was the original question.

I'd also recommend doing the fronts first. It is easier, and the knowledge (and confidence) gained will help with the rear.

[Nine9six]

Originally posted by Chuck Moreland
I'd also recommend doing the fronts first. It is easier, and the knowledge (and confidence) gained will help with the rear.

Chuck, would that be real or false confidence gained from doing the fronts first? Nothing worse than a little false confidence to make a guy really dangerous

[Jcon]

Sounds like I'm in the ballpark time wise. I'll keep accurate time and let you guys know.

Jeff

[MuffinMan]

I think you'll come pretty close to finishing in two days, just start early ! You're not doing things like new ball joints, turbo tie rods, rear trailing arm bushings, etc, that add time to the project. As Chuck mentioned, cleaning and painting adds significant time to the procedure. In my case, the majority of the project time was spent getting the front a arm movement smooth, which I eventually accomplished.

Also, I didn't find the rear that much more difficult than the front. If you're not doing the trailing arm bushing, the hardest part of the project may very well be removing the torsion bars, if they are original. They just pop out of some cars, and other people spend hours banging on them to loosen them up. With the help of a friend, I did the entire rear, including new trailing arm monoballs, in about a day. My suspension was refreshed about 5 years ago, so I did not have the task of removing original rubber spring plate bushings or struggling with "stuck" torsion bars. As Hans and Frans used to say, "You can dooo it!"