Location: FL
Posts: 170
My VIN: 16823
Club(s): (DMA)
So now that I have the parts I need I am going to be replacing the factory shocks and springs soon. My question is, what are the best things to do while the suspension is apart? My car is mostly original but has been well taken care of, but if there is something that will be an improvement over factory, or will need to be replaced soon anyway, I might as well get it done now.
Anthony
1983 DMC-12 VIN 16823
2014 BMW M5
Location: Taylors SC
Posts: 5,326
My VIN: (former)05429
Club(s): (DMWC) (DCUK)
Sway bar bushings at a minimum.Originally Posted by aipri
Dave S
DMC Midwest - retired but helping
Greenville SC
Location: San Francisco Bay Area, Calif.
Posts: 2,084
My VIN: 0934
Club(s): (NCDMC) (DCUK)
+1 on those bushings.
Your VIN is late enough it has the crumple bar reinforcement already up front, so no need for that.
Check the Trailing Arm Bolts while it's up - unless you have tended to them recently. At a minimum spin them in place to verify they are still straight. Better yet, pull and have them checked for cracks and/or replace.
Since the new setup calls for a 4-wheel alignment somebody will likely be wrenching on them anyway to add or remove shims.
And be sure whoever does the job knows not to lock down any of the bolts/nuts that are over any of the rubber bits until she's back down fully on her tires. Thus no preloading of the bushings. Not specific to a DeLorean. Any decent alignment/suspension shop knows.
Be sure you have an idea about how you want to set up the rear ride height before the alignment. Assuming your new rear shocks are threaded-collar type.
If the rear ride height is headed lower then the rear camber may go out of spec. That affects how it handles, how the tires wear and how it looks. Depends on how far down you go. Installing adjustable lower links fixes that. That's a part you need to buy ahead of time unless you want to add them later - and alight the rear end again....
March '81, 5-speed, black interior
Location: Jarretsville, MD
Posts: 259
My VIN: 5786, 3196
Club(s): (DMA)
+1 for the adjustable rear links. My girlfriend's car has the adjustable links, but the camber was still off, as if they hadn't been adjusted for the lower height. Getting that fixed made a noticeable difference in handling.
Also, Delorean Parts NW makes a sway bar bushing kit that us supposed to he an improvement and help kep the LCAs in place better. I should have done that on my car while it was apart.
Location: Cleveland, Oh
Posts: 240
Give Dave a call at MW and pick up the LCA brace kit and away bar bushings. Huge improvement over stock. Lotus designed the front suspension in typical lotus fashion-save parts. So they designed the away bar to also be a radius arm. The LCA braces allow the sway bar to be just that for the most part. Takes the load and redistributes it to the frame.
-D Knight-
Location: Stevens Point,WI
Posts: 2,471
My VIN: 6125
+1 on the lower control arm braces. I installed a set and I think they're great.
Check any bushings you can for signs of wear and age. If they look bad or borderline most of the bushings are cheap and relatively easy to replace. With the suspension removed it's also a good time to touch up any rust on the frame and suspension arms. I went full tilt and removed everything, sand blasted all the suspension parts to bare metal, and then powder coated. I used POR 15 with rustoleum top coat on the frame. Lots of pics of how that turned out in the various albums in my profile if you're interested.
If you haven't flushed and bled your brakes in a few years you might want to do that too while the car is up in the air. If you find you're having problems bleeding any of the individual calipers you may have gunky fluid in there blocking the small bleed passages. Check your master cylinder reservoir for rust and gunk too. If it's bad in there it's probably bad in the calipers. If thats the case then you'll want to rebuild the calipers with new seals. Seal kits are pretty cheap and it's a not to difficult to do. You might want to also replace the flexible brake hoses if they're showing wear.
Check your steering rack boots for wear. Those seem to crack after a while and then all the oil inside the rack leaks out. Consider replacing the boots and topping up the oil, or if you have excessive play in your steering consider rebuilding the rack. Typically the delrin bushing on the passenger side of the rack wears out and can get sloppy. PJ Grady has bushing replacements.
If you're looking for performance/handling the strut tower brace is also a good addition, but that can be done totally independent of any other suspension mods.
Last edited by Mark D; 05-30-2014 at 03:56 PM.
Location: Rowlett, TX
Posts: 1,533
My VIN: 5482
How much are the LCA brace kits? Difficulty to install? Pics? You've sparked my curiosity now.
Jeff
Location: Stevens Point,WI
Posts: 2,471
My VIN: 6125
Price is around $340. You can buy direct from DMC Europe, or DMCMW stocks them too.
http://www.delorean.eu/catalog/produ...ducts_id=95065
Easy to install...remove bolts from LCA and shock mount locations... replace with new longer bolts with the extra support brackets on each end.
There is a bracket on each side of the LCA, each with two bushings. The idea is to stop fore/aft movement of the LCA and allow the brace to support the control arm instead of just the anti-roll bar. Under acceleration/braking the suspension geometry will stay in better alignment than the stock setup.
See this video here to see much fore/aft the stock setup has while driving:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMHO4Aydk04
Pics:
EDIT:
Few more pics:
I had the suspension completely removed from the car in these last few pics and I was rebuilding from the LCA up, but you can install the support brackets without having to do all that.
Last edited by Mark D; 05-30-2014 at 05:14 PM.
Location: Rowlett, TX
Posts: 1,533
My VIN: 5482
Awesome - thanks for the quick reply and plethora of info. I'll add this to my list of repairs for sure!
Jeff
Location: Stevens Point,WI
Posts: 2,471
My VIN: 6125
Sure no prob, there is some good info here too:
http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?94...U-LCA-brackets
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