Front suspension

[4uall]

[rjkoop]

I was able to get all the suspension components apart. I'm going to replace the upper, lower control arms and shocks (hello, autoricambi!) for sure. The long bolts that go through the control arms look perfect.

The boots on most of the other components (eg. center link, tie-rod ends) need to be replaced. From what I can tell the actual joints look good. With all the components separated there seems to be no play and movement is smooth on the ball joints. So I think I'll just clean up the components, sand, prime, paint and replace the boots.

I had a few questions.
- to remove the boot do you just pry up the metal sleeve at the bottom of the boot?
- what's the best lube for the suspension components (eg. ball joints, control arm bolts, spindle, etc...)?
- does the orientation (left/right or top/bottom) of the center link, sway bar, spindle and springs matter

I just want to ensure I don't put something in upside down or backwards. If so I'll mark the left and right sides before I repaint.

[RMadden]

I had a few questions.
- to remove the boot do you just pry up the metal sleeve at the bottom of the boot?
- what's the best lube for the suspension components (eg. ball joints, control arm bolts, spindle, etc...)?
- does the orientation (left/right or top/bottom) of the center link, sway bar, spindle and springs matter

I just want to ensure I don't put something in upside down or backwards. If so I'll mark the left and right sides before I repaint.

I can't be of much help with the first two, but can with your third one.
The center link and sway bar should have a bend in the middle. that bend should be downward to ensure clearance of other parts.
I believe the spindle only goes in one way due to how the idler arm mounts to it.
*Edit* ^ I believe I'm wrong here, upon further inspection I don't believe this to be the case. To install the spindle correctly, make note of the two grooves on the end (see below)


You are going to want the deeper and longer one on top (again see below)



And finally, the springs. I can only speak for the stock springs, but I don't believe there is really a top or bottom with ours. I know mine are pretty beat up on one end, so I've always assumed it to be from the lower control arm scraping it and installed accordingly.

[rjkoop]

Ryan,
Thanks. Great information. That, along with the pictures I have, should be enough to ensure I install things correctly. And I have all the components from the driver's side in 1 box and the passenger side in another box.

Did the sanding of all the components last night. Next up I'll inspect the ball joints and determine what needs to be replaced.

For painting I think POR-15 isn't required. They cleaned up pretty good. The worst component was the control arms and I'm replacing those. I'm thinking a good primer a durable black paint should be fine. And I'll ensure I don't paint any contact surfaces.

Going to paint the springs red to match the calipers. Any suggestions on type of primer/paint to use on the springs since they flex?

Richard

[RMadden]

Painting springs is something everyone and their mother has an opinion on, so be prepared for that Plenty of people paint and powdercoat with no problem and have reported little to no flaking or chipping, but this is what I did.

I'm rebuilding/refurbishing my front suspension right now as well, and I decided to plasti-dip them. Now I've never painted anything before, so plasti-dip made sense with it being easily removable and, if I liked it, it could stay on since I know rubber flexes easily.

This is how the passenger side turned out (I've yet to do the driver's).


It looked light red in the sun, but in the shade it looked darker and complimented my black control arms nicely. I should also mention that I wirewheeled it to a shine prior, so spraying onto a darker spring may result in a darker red.

With that said though, I did run into problems. While trying to compress the spring, the internal compressor tore off the plasti-dip wherever it grabbed and left it looking pretty gnarly. I've decided to take it off and start over, since I still have a can or two lying around, and see if I can spray it on a bit more evenly and find a way to prevent the scraping.

[rjkoop]

Those springs look great. Mine will be red as well. I'm thinking about wrapping the ends of the internal spring compressor with cloth to prevent scratching. I'll probably just end up painting mine.

[rjkoop]

Painted the front suspension/brake components that I'm not replacing. Temp is about 8c here so I used a lamp and a small heater to help out.

I used leftover caliper paint for springs.


Not sure how well it will last but not too concerned.

Hanging to dry...

[RMadden]

I like how that paint turned out! Did you use a primer before hand or just a little sanding and spray on the paint?

[rjkoop]

I like how that paint turned out! Did you use a primer before hand or just a little sanding and spray on the paint?

Just hand sanded it with about 320 grit sandpaper, cleaned it (brake cleaner or maybe metal prep) and sprayed with leftover caliper paint. Seemed to stick really well. The caliper paint I have didn't require primer. To be honest the springs aren't too visible so I'm not too worried if the paint doesn't stay perfect. But I'm going to use the internal spring compressor with probably small pieces of rags on the metal contact points to minimize scratching.