Complete Front Suspension Teardown and Rebuild

[1993cobra]

Floor jack and big hammer was easier than that.

[93N8]

Ouch!!!! That was a PITA! I noticed your compressors bolt thread isn't threaded thru the top. Mine was and I just had to unscrew the bolt and then finagle the hooks out near the middle. Don't worry. It'll all be worth it when your done

[Z282SLO]

So I ended up fighting with it for 12 hours last Saturday while trying to compress the Spring into the Control Arm .... In the end, I found about 5 ways which won't work and 1 way that does. Trial and Error.

I'm all for working on one's own car, but that sounded like a perfect job for a mechanic. Glad to see you finally figured it out.

[POOBLAH]

Floor jack and big hammer was easier than that.

Next time you do your springs, please post pics and a writeup. I'm real curious how you would manage to get brand new OEM length springs with new OEM isolators in with just a jack and a hammer. The back of my spring would not even fit into the back of the control arm without it being compressed at least 2-3 inches. I'm not saying its not possible, but I guess there's something that I'm not understanding.

[POOBLAH]

So I ended up fighting with it for 12 hours last Saturday while trying to compress the Spring into the Control Arm .... In the end, I found about 5 ways which won't work and 1 way that does. Trial and Error.

I'm all for working on one's own car, but that sounded like a perfect job for a mechanic. Glad to see you finally figured it out.

Yea.. I hear yea! Unfortunately I've seen too many instances where the mechanic rushed the job and screwed it up. Just on my cars wheels\suspension alone I had to fix a stripped\ busted k-member bolt (from a mechanic over torquing it), a missing strut dampener (because someone installed a strut that was TOO LONG!), and a snapped lug nut bolt because they cross-threaded the lug nut and then torqued it all the way down.

Thanks for all the encouragement! I just hope all this work pays off. The things I'm fixing along the way seem to be making sense regarding the issues I was having in the first place.

[buddha]

I've used one of these before in the past:

http://www.mile-x.com/otc-6494-strut-co ... MgodrEcA1g


Guy that I know owns a garage had one, so I was lucky there. Worked on a set of race springs (much taller than OEM), as well as a set of stockers. Works pretty well, and as you can see, it clamps to the outside of the springs.

[POOBLAH]

I've used one of these before in the past:

http://www.mile-x.com/otc-6494-strut-co ... MgodrEcA1g


Guy that I know owns a garage had one, so I was lucky there. Worked on a set of race springs (much taller than OEM), as well as a set of stockers. Works pretty well, and as you can see, it clamps to the outside of the springs.

Yea... That tool would have worked perfectly. Ah well. :-/

Next time someone does an OEM type suspension job, that will be the tool to recommend.

[POOBLAH]

Everything else went back on very smoothly, and it looks like it will end up fixing my lean issue on that side.

Splash shield Installed


Rotor Installed


Finished Assembly. (Minus wheel and sway bar)


I also went ahead and put ceramic brakes on to help reduce the brake dust. Once I get a complete set of 93 Cobra Rims... I want to keep them as nice as possible.

[POOBLAH]

Im kinda wishing I had some before pictures. Once I start on the drivers side, I'll take some then.

[Romo93]

Nice job, looks clean! I'm getting ready to do front/back springs and rear shocks.... can't say i'm looking forward to it. But, once I have everything apart and out of the way I will be cleaning things up as well. Maybe I'll wait until it's a little warmer.

[POOBLAH]

Thanks. I should have planned on replacing my rear springs as well.

Well I'm starting the drivers side now.

Heres some before pics



I'm also gonna have to redo the strut on the passenger side. I found a set of NOS Mach One Tokicos being sold by Dallas Mustang. I went ahead and picked up a pair. Its gonna bug me too much otherwise to have one strut on the passenger side have 78k miles and the drivers side have none.. lol...

[POOBLAH]

Cleaning the underside of the fender can be a real pain. At least the drivers side is not NEARLY as bad as the passenger side was. Still I'm having to fight with getting caked on road debris removed with a razor blade. (At least I wont have to do this job again for another 20 years!)

BEFORE


AFTER

[POOBLAH]

GREAT NEWS! I have finished the rebuild of the suspension. I took it for a test drive and it handled the best it ever has! The response between the steering and the movement of the vehicle is amazing now. I think the struts the previous owner had put on were too soft for the car. Now I have no reason to be scared of driving over bumps anymore. HA!

So in a nutshell.. Fixed

1. Bad passenger side ball joint
2. Weak passenger side spring (causing a nasty lean on the passenger side)
3. Cracked Sway bar bushings
4. Incorrect length struts
5. Missing strut piston bumpers

All that work, I'm just glad it paid off. I can't wait for the weather to stop being so damn cold so I can go cruising again.

The front sits ever so SLIGHTLY higher than the rear, but that doesn't surprise me since the rear springs have 92k and 20 years worth of driving on them while the fronts have none.

I just don't know what I'm happier about, fixing the driveability or fixing that damn lean it had. There were times it would bottom out on the strut so hard it would set the air bag light off.

[1993cobra]

Congratulations! It always makes you feel good when you finish a big job, and you see and feel the difference.

[escogt]

Congratulations! It always makes you feel good when you finish a big job, and you see and feel the difference.

X2! Nice job POOBLAH!!