I got the control arms and TQ box reinforcements in. It wasn't too bad for me. I guess I got lucky because after some elbow grease and a breaker bar to the get the bolts initially loose, everything came apart without problems. I had to replace the lower rear control arm bolts since the shanks were pitted really bad. I also had to replace the upper front bolts since the aftermarket aluminum upper control arms were much thicker and the stock bolts were not long enough the get the nut fully threaded on.
As for the UPR reinforcement kit, the smaller upper bracket bolts were not long enough to reach all the way through so I had to get longer ones. (suggestion) On the upper brackets, put the top bolts in first but only snug them gently. Then drill the holes for the smaller lower bolts and put them in. If you tighten the top bolts too much first, it will deform the big inner bracket and make it difficult to drill the smaller lower holes in line. I bolted my kit in only and did not weld. Not gonna see any serious launch action anyway and street tires only.
I had my car up on 4 jack stands because I was doing camber plates in the front too. That and two floor jacks. Only one jack is really needed but since I had two it was easier to have one under the rear to support it and another smaller one to manipulate the orientation of the rear to get bolt holes lined up and some minor compression of springs to get them back in. Be careful and realize when working that the floor jack will easily take the weight off the jackstands. If you're under there wrestling with things, its easy to bump the jackstands out of position. You do not want to be under the car without the jackstand in the right position, even if theres no weight on them. All the fun you can have driving and working on your car means nothing when you're crushed underneath it.
On test drive the suspension feels better and less wobbly over bumps. I heard no significant louder reverbs on bumps. It just feels better and tighter overall. As for how it feels on hard upshifts, too hard to tell now. The roads are so cold when you push it towards the upper limits it just spins wheels anyway. Once the weather warms up and I can get the tires good and hot, I'll pound some 1-2 shifts and post back on any difference I notice.
The car is running great. I still got my SC kit siting on the shelf but I've been so busy with other things I have not gotten to it.
I got the front end aligned for the first time since installing the camber / caster plates. The camber was too neg since I lowered the front. They brought the camber back to stock. They also made a big change in the caster by bringing the tops of the struts towards the rear.
The car handles better now and tracks straight as an arrow.
I got the control arms and TQ box reinforcements in. It wasn't too bad for me. I guess I got lucky because after some elbow grease and a breaker bar to the get the bolts initially loose, everything came apart without problems. I had to replace the lower rear control arm bolts since the shanks were pitted really bad. I also had to replace the upper front bolts since the aftermarket aluminum upper control arms were much thicker and the stock bolts were not long enough the get the nut fully threaded on.
As for the UPR reinforcement kit, the smaller upper bracket bolts were not long enough to reach all the way through so I had to get longer ones. (suggestion) On the upper brackets, put the top bolts in first but only snug them gently. Then drill the holes for the smaller lower bolts and put them in. If you tighten the top bolts too much first, it will deform the big inner bracket and make it difficult to drill the smaller lower holes in line. I bolted my kit in only and did not weld. Not gonna see any serious launch action anyway and street tires only.
I had my car up on 4 jack stands because I was doing camber plates in the front too. That and two floor jacks. Only one jack is really needed but since I had two it was easier to have one under the rear to support it and another smaller one to manipulate the orientation of the rear to get bolt holes lined up and some minor compression of springs to get them back in. Be careful and realize when working that the floor jack will easily take the weight off the jackstands. If you're under there wrestling with things, its easy to bump the jackstands out of position. You do not want to be under the car without the jackstand in the right position, even if theres no weight on them. All the fun you can have driving and working on your car means nothing when you're crushed underneath it.
On test drive the suspension feels better and less wobbly over bumps. I heard no significant louder reverbs on bumps. It just feels better and tighter overall. As for how it feels on hard upshifts, too hard to tell now. The roads are so cold when you push it towards the upper limits it just spins wheels anyway. Once the weather warms up and I can get the tires good and hot, I'll pound some 1-2 shifts and post back on any difference I notice.
The car is running great. I still got my SC kit siting on the shelf but I've been so busy with other things I have not gotten to it.
So I was under the car today replacing my rear bandaids and I noticed that the rear swaybar was bolted on the inside of the stock stamped lower control arms. Where does the swaybar bolt to on boxed or tubular aftermarket arms? For some reason my pics keep uploading upside down but yall get the picture.
It's not hard at all, the main tool you need is a floor jack and jack stands.
Jack up the rear of the car and support the car under the torque boxes. With the floor jack under the differential, unbolt the rear shocks.
Once the shocks are undone, lower the axle and remove the springs. I have found that if you leave the wheels on, you can slip your foot into the wheel and step down, which will relax the spring on the side you're stepping on, and they almost literally fall out. Do the same thing on the other side.
When replacing the arms, remove ONE ARM AT A TIME! make sure you replace that arm before moving on. this prevents the axle from shifting around uncontrollably.
Once all of the arms are installed, do not tighten all of the bolts completely. You'll want to raise the axle back up under the body so it's near ride height. THEN tighten all the bolts.
lower the axle back down and re-install the springs the same way you took them out.
jack the axle back up and bolt your shocks back in.
just reading what you said the steps are incomplete for someone who hasn't done it before. Like you said install the arms and tighten the bolts once you raise the rear end up so it's near ride height. Well when you go to put in the springs you'll have to untighten the arm to strut mount bolt to get the spring in lol.