[Guest]

This car has 140k miles so naturally it's to be expected that things will be worn.

I did replace the shocks a few months ago and it did make a difference, but there's a lot of slop left.

I was wondering where y'all thought most of the rest of this slop would be, or to put it a different way, what is going to give me the best "bang for the buck" and is therefore the thing i should do first?

 

[Guest]

The idler arm is always a culprit, and ball joints should be checked out, too.

 

[Guest]

Is there an aftermarket replacement for the steering components that's a big improvement over the stock pieces, or is stock replacement parts the best bet?

Same question about the A-arms.

 

[Guest]

I just bought a 94 9c1 about a month ago, had that same "loose" feeling -

My front end was SHOT - bushings gone, ball joints bad, tie rod ends gone, shock on 1 side broke off, etc etc etc.

Go get a front end kit from Performance Suspension or PST, however, the PST kit does not include all the stuff that performance suspension does.

 

[Guest]

Sometimes when you post a question you get an answer that is SO good it just makes you grin.

THANK you.

A complete kit for my front end is only $280. Just what the doctor ordered.

 

[Guest]

Eric, I Ordered The Same "Front End Rebuild" Kit From Performance Suspension And Just Finished Putting It In! The Kit DOES NOT Include New "Tie Rod Adjuster Clamps"" Or a New Moog Center Link. I Ordered These Also To Make The Rebuild Complete. Cost About $80.00 More For These 3 Items From Performance Suspension. I Also Called Dal And Had Him Send Me 2 New FRONT Coil Spring Isolators Since The Whole Thing Was Apart. $15.00 For These. You Only Need 2! 1 For The Top Of Each Front Coil Spring. Also, Check And See If You Have The Larger Ball Joints That Alot Of Forum Members Talk About On Here (I Believe The 9C1's Are 5/8 Instead Of 9/16). Just Tell Perf Suspension You Have a 9C1......Mike

 

[Guest]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Also, Check And See If You Have The Larger Ball Joints That Alot Of Forum Members Talk About On Here (I Believe The 9C1's Are 5/8 Instead Of 9/16). <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Note that only the 96 (and a few LATE 95) 9C1s got the 5/8" balljoints from the factory. All 94 and most 95 9C1s got the same 9/16" balljoints as the Civie Caprice, SS, Roadmaster, etc.

 

[Guest]

Can I upgrade to the larger Balljoints in my 92 Custom Cruiser? If so, Do the control arms need to be modified?

Does Performance Suspension and PST both use poly graphite bushings? I know PST does, Not sure about PSC.

 

[Guest]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Vandal835:
Can I upgrade to the larger Balljoints in my 92 Custom Cruiser? If so, Do the control arms need to be modified?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You will need new lower control arms and new spindles, or have a machine shop redrill the holes in the control arm and and spindle to accomodate the larger size.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the input guys. That info will make my life a lot easier when I go to do the job.

BTW, I already verified the 5/8 studs several months ago.

 

[Guest]

I have heard things about the Bill harper Control arms. Are these arms allready bored out to accomodate the larger ball joints?

Are new Spindles alot from GM?

 

[Guest]

Performance suspension also uses polygraphite bushings - be sure to pull them apart and grease them, use a pulley puller. I think some of the complaints about poly squeaking is due to many ppl not greasing them correctly.

 

[Guest]

Someone correct me if I'm out to lunch, but I believe the RPO codes for the 5/8 joints are 9HJ & 7SD (depending on the application). At least that's what I was told by the dealership locally when I went in to replace mine recently.

 

[Guest]

With PST being discussed, I just thought I'd add that we sell PST's Polygraphite Super Front End kit for $60 cheaper than anywhere else, including directly from them. It is $300 shipped to your door, and a center link is $35 extra.
http://www.powerperformancemotorsports.com/

The menus are a bit messed up right now, so the front end kits are under "Exterior".

 

[Guest]

Whats the difference between the PST master kit and the PSC one? As far as I know, the PST kit just has the new upper A-arm cross-shafts and tie-rod adjuster sleeves - I thought 80 bucks more wasnt worth it but if you have it for 300 then I recommend that ErictheBald go with PST's kit.

 

[Guest]

Performance Polygraphite Front End Kit
$200

Performance Polygraphite Super Front End Kit
$300


What's the difference?

 

[Guest]

I assume you are talking about PST - the regular front end kit does NOT include Inner tie rod ends (only outer), no adjuster sleeves, no upper a-arm cross shafts (PSC's kit doesnt have these either), and... I think thats it lol.

I went with PSC (cheaper - 280 vs 360 reg. price) and it had inner tie rod ends (which I needed) and adjuster sleeves are only 7 bucks each at autozone. And if you dont screw up your old cross-shafts you shouldnt need new ones.

 

[Guest]

Originally posted by Vandal835:
I have heard things about the Bill harper Control arms. Are these arms allready bored out to accomodate the larger ball joints?

Are new Spindles alot from GM?

Brian,

Since no one else answered your question. I guess I will. I have Bill Harpers front end upgrade done on my car. Bill will redo your frontend to your specifications. I asked for Del A Lum bushings, Offset upper arm Shafts, 5/8 Ball Joint Upgrade and Powdercoated the Lot. It looked almost too pretty to put back on the car, but what a difference.

I would get in touch with Bill and get a price worked out for the various mods you want and see what you think.

To get new Lower Control arms & spindles will run you close to $700 if you want new 5/8" parts from GM. i.e Left and Right Lower Control Arms and Left and Right Spindles. This still will not get the Uppers done, so you have to figure that in as well.

 

[Guest]

at 140K...just replace everything...centerlink, inner and outer tie rods, tie rod sleeves, idler arm, upper and lower CA bushings, upper and lower balljoints, spring isolators, swaybar endlinks, swaybar-frame bushings...try to adjust the slop on the steering box...maybe replace it.

I did the idler arm when I bought my car (109K miles) and it felt a tiny bit better...but the front end still sucked, I just took it all apart (145K miles) and nearly crapped myself when I saw how bad some of it was, so I put in an entire new front end except for re-using my stock control arms. What an amazing difference. I realize it isn't cheap, but at that mileage, it's most likely everything is worn out unless it's been replaced before...throwing 1 or 2 new parts at a bad front end will only cause them to wear out faster than they should.

 

[Guest]

Originally posted by Mike454SS:
at 140K...just replace everything...centerlink, inner and outer tie rods, tie rod sleeves, idler arm, upper and lower CA bushings, upper and lower balljoints, spring isolators, swaybar endlinks, swaybar-frame bushings...try to adjust the slop on the steering box...maybe replace it.

I did the idler arm when I bought my car (109K miles) and it felt a tiny bit better...but the front end still sucked, ...throwing 1 or 2 new parts at a bad front end will only cause them to wear out faster than they should.

Mike has a Great point here, Too many people try just one thing, usually the New Moog Idler arm then complain that it wore out too fast. etc..etc...
If you can, try and get all the parts together and do it all at once. It's cheaper on the labor, and you WILL notice a big differnce.

I did mine all at once and was shocked at the condition of my center link to pitman arm connection. I guess that would explain how I wore though a set of tires in 10k miles on the front.