Question regarding bushings: is it possible to change out the a-arm bushings without pulling the springs? I found one video of someone pulling the upper a-arm outwards with the spring in place. can the lower be done as well?
Posts: 183
Question regarding bushings: is it possible to change out the a-arm bushings without pulling the springs? I found one video of someone pulling the upper a-arm outwards with the spring in place. can the lower be done as well?
Location: Stevens Point,WI
Posts: 2,470
My VIN: 6125
The upper control arm isn't directly attached to the shock/spring so that is why it can be removed independently. You'd still have to free the upper ball joint from the steering knuckle if you wanted to remove the upper arm completely.Originally Posted by rjd2
The lower control arm supports the bottom of the shock and spring, so the shock and spring have to be removed first before unbolting the lower control arm from the frame. You'll need to use a spring compressor to safely remove the spring.
This was the style of compressor I used when I rebuilt my suspension a few years ago and installed Eibach lowering springs.
The shock is what holds the LCA from being pushed down too far by the spring and over-extending into the frame and damaging it.
Here's another pic from reassembly.
Last edited by Mark D; 12-07-2020 at 11:02 AM.
Posts: 183
Thanks so much Mark! I am definitely getting that "peeling of the onion thing" going here.... Can you tell me your thoughts on the ride feel, and general happiness with your suspension upgrades? I am fairly sure my car was lowered at one point; the stance definitely does not look as high as stock 80's photos. With that said, the struts and springs look old, and the rubber bushings are visibly cracking. Winter is setting in, brake system is already out of the car, so now is really the time to do whatever I'm gonna do.... Appreciate your feedback on the Eibach suspension upgrade.
Location: Stevens Point,WI
Posts: 2,470
My VIN: 6125
Overall I'm very happy with the suspension choices I made when I did my rebuild. Up front I have the Eibach lowering springs and SPAX shocks that DMCH / DMCMW was offering as their upgrade package back in 2011 when I started. The shocks have adjustment settings for damping so there is a little bit of control over ride quality. I have mine set towards the firmer side but they are not as jarring as the stock suspension was.
I also have poly bushings on the front upper and lower control arms, as well as the front sway bar mounts to the frame and where they install into the LCA. I installed lower control arm support braces with poly bushings as you can see in that last photo. Those help maintain proper suspension geometry during hard braking and cornering. Somewhere on the board is a video of a stock suspension setup and it's pretty crazy how much fore/aft movement there is with the LCA when you brake hard.
For the rear I have Eibach springs and SPAX shocks as well. The the shocks have an adjustable collar where it supports the spring perch to adjust ride height. I'm running just sligtly under the stock ride height from what I measured before I started the rebuild. I went with DMCH reproduction rubber bushings for all of the upper and lower control links on the rear suspension. I reused the existing trailing arm bushings since they had no signs of aging or wear.
I swapped all the parts in one shot so it's hard to tell what the biggest contributor was to improving the handling. Getting the front ride height down to a reasonable level and no longer having positive camber was probably a big one in my case. I also rebuilt my steering rack which had blown out bushings, and replaced the wobbly steering column bushing. Also rebuilt brakes, clutch, and the cooling system, and touched up any rust on the frame. It definitely turned into a "while I was in there" type of project and I just did everything at the same time.
The difference from where I started to where it is now was transformative. It doesn't even feel like the same car.
If you're interested in more photos of the rebuild I've got a couple dozen photo albums here http://dmctalk.org/album.php?u=269.
Here's one of my favorites...
Last edited by Mark D; 12-07-2020 at 11:59 AM.
Posts: 183
Oh geez. You went whole hog. Yikes. I don't think I've got that in me, lol. But the Eibach suspension kit, new bushings, paint control arms, and then back together I think is doable. I've already got the brakes blown apart, and that was only a few hours. While my front springs are definitely lower, the shocks look old, I am guessing original. I believe the seller told me he did a cut job on the springs, but it's been so long... my steering rack feels good, at the moment, but that is a tough thing to get to when it's all together....thanks for the feedback, I think you're inspiring me to go for it!
Posts: 1,250
I read this and went to their site. The picture shows spacers that you bolt between your caliper halves to make it wide enough to go on. I'm thinking that in the kit you got, the spacers were allready on the new caliper. Your old one would be wide enough if you put the spacers on it. Can you confirm you didn't try bolting spacers on your old caliper. (I might be ordering this soon.
I was just looking at my brakes and I think it would fit assuming it's less than 3/4" wider. Wider than that, you might need to grind the back side of the caliper a bit.
Posts: 255
They sell a rotor kit that comes with the spacers for your original calipers or you can buy the kit with newly manufactured calipers that are already wider (no spacers).
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