crc Posted September 18, 2002 Report Share Posted September 18, 2002 I want to replace the rear strut mounts on my car. Anyone know if it absolutely necessary to compress the large mono-leaf spring? I know I have to compress the small auxiliary one. Has anyone done this safely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaD Posted September 18, 2002 Report Share Posted September 18, 2002 From what I've been told, You don't have to compress the leaf-spring, you can just put a jack under the knuckle assembly to keep that whole thing from rotating outwards, But if you have a leaf-spring compresser, then by all means, go fo it. And while you're at it, you should get those leaf-spring helper thingees I never got a chance to compress the Aux spring, but I've heard C-Clamps work, also, in theory you can use a threaded bolt to compress it, but I had no luck with that. They also make a tool specifically for compressing it, but, whatever, I wouldn't even know where to find that, dealer perhaps... Good Luck! -MaD- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaD Posted September 18, 2002 Report Share Posted September 18, 2002 Erg, scratch that!!! You DO have to compress the leaf spring. And in case you haven't read that other post, here's the REAL details ... Jack up the car any old place that's safe (I use the jack pad in the middle of the rear axle). Then set it down on jackstands with the jackstands supporting the body. Pull the wheel off. Using a BIG wrench (or preferably an impact), remove the 2 big 24mm(?) nuts from the bottom, and loosen the 15mm bolts at the top of the strut. THEN and this is THE MOST IMPORTANT PART: Use your jack to lift UP on the edge of the fiberglass spring as close to the knuckle as possible. I use a flat piece of wood to protect the spring from scratches. You've lifted the spring high enough when the bottom of the spring's rubber bushing is no longer touching the knuckle. NOW you can remove the 15mm bolts on top of the strut and hammer out the splined bolts on the bottom of the strut. The KEY is to compress the spring with a jack!!! For me, with 100% hand tools, I was able to change each rear strut in 20-minutes. I'm not a strong guy either, a little girl could kick my ass, and it was still easy. Once I took someone else's advice and jacked up the car under the knuckle and did NOT jack up on the spring to relieve spring pressure. BIG MISTAKE!!! I was fighting the spring the whole time, and it took 3-HOURS to do that one strut! That is still applicable since I believe you'll have to remove the strut to separate it from the mount. Unless you can somehow get a 24mm socket to fit in the trunk. -MaD- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patgizz Posted September 19, 2002 Report Share Posted September 19, 2002 i just put the jack under the knuckle and didnt have any troubles, took me about 25 mins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted September 19, 2002 Report Share Posted September 19, 2002 i just put the jack under the knuckle and didnt have any troubles, took me about 25 mins. I don't know how?!?! When I did it that way and got the bottom of the strut attached, I had to push in REALLY REALLY hard to get the top bolts to align. It was about 5" off, that's how much I had to push the top in. And it took a lot of muscle, a lot more than I've got. Not to mention a whole lot of :cuss: Then once I finally got one bolt in, I had to keep pushing on it and more :cuss: to get the other bolt hole to align. It took me 3-hrs of tugging, pushing, and :cuss: before I got the upper bolts installed. You must just be a really strong guy, or maybe the 94 spring is just that much weaker, I dunno. I do know my 89 is WAY stiffer in the rear than the 94. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crc Posted September 19, 2002 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2002 Hmm.. Contradictory advice here One said he had no problem jacking up under the knuckle (ok.. I just realized that sounds sick), another two said to avoid that and put pressure on the edge of the spring itself. Two against one? From what I read in a couple of service manuals I'm thinking you need to apply pressure on the spring itself, not the assembly. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted September 19, 2002 Report Share Posted September 19, 2002 Hmm.. Contradictory advice here One said he had no problem jacking up under the knuckle (ok.. I just realized that sounds sick), another two said to avoid that and put pressure on the edge of the spring itself. Two against one? From what I read in a couple of service manuals I'm thinking you need to apply pressure on the spring itself, not the assembly. Any ideas? You don't HAVE to put pressure on the spring itself... I WAS (eventually) able to succeed having just jacked up under the knuckle, but to do it in 25-minutes as patgizz says would have required the strength of the Incredible Hulk. Lifting up on the spring itself relieves pressure from the strut and knuckle. That makes it so easy that a little girl could do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaD Posted September 19, 2002 Report Share Posted September 19, 2002 Shawn is right. I tried this last night, I put a jack directly underneath the knuckle assembly, and I even jacked it up a little bit (so to speak, perv ) and then, I unbolted just ONE mount-to-body bolt and already, the pressure from the leaf spring started pushing the strut towards me. The jack really wasn't doign much. I tried pushing the strut back so that the hole was aligned...tough, a lot tougher than it should be. So anyways, I took the jack from under the knuckle assembly (incidentally, nothing really happened as I did this, other than the whole assembly came down a bit) and put it right next to it so that it was still touching the assembly, but so that the jack was jacking the actual edge of the leaf spring, and I jacked it up just a little bit and already I was able to feel the difference in "play" the leaf spring had, then I was able push the strut back into place. So yea, unless you want that strut swinging outwards and either denting the christ out of your wheel wells, or worse, smacking you in the face, I'd relieve that pressure from that leaf spring. Luckily, when I broke my mount-to-body bolts the first time, my strut was so blown that the piston was still in the chamber, otherwise I would've had a nice dent to repair. And come to think of it, I forgot that I DID jack the actual leaf spring somewhere towards the middle, after I ended up breaking both bolts and the whole assembly was in the "OUT" position. I must have blocked that out of my memory :? -MaD- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88Intl Posted October 14, 2002 Report Share Posted October 14, 2002 Have new struts and mounts, and have pulled the rear wheel. Will have to compress auxilary springs, will a C-clamp do the trick? The rubber bushings on the ends of the leaf spring are shot. An aftermarket supplier makes replacements, hopefully available at local auto parts stores. Any other manufacturers? http://fmsiinc.com/friction-block-bushing.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaD Posted October 14, 2002 Report Share Posted October 14, 2002 These are the Delco PN's Part Number Description 10432057 Insulator Kit 10432060 Adhesive -MaD- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88Intl Posted October 14, 2002 Report Share Posted October 14, 2002 These are the Delco PN's Part Number Description 10432057 Insulator Kit $38.30 10432060 Adhesive $23.68 -MaD- Just got those prices from the dealer. Anyone know of aftermarket alternatives? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaD Posted October 14, 2002 Report Share Posted October 14, 2002 These are the Delco PN's Part Number Description 10432057 Insulator Kit $38.30 10432060 Adhesive $23.68 -MaD- Just got those prices from the dealer. Anyone know of aftermarket alternatives? 10432057 Insulator Kit $21.83 10432060 Adhesive $13.50 Got these prices from GMPartsDirect.com -MaD- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted October 14, 2002 Report Share Posted October 14, 2002 These are the Delco PN's Part Number Description 10432057 Insulator Kit $38.30 10432060 Adhesive $23.68 -MaD- Just got those prices from the dealer. Anyone know of aftermarket alternatives? GM Parts Direct is cheaper. I get $21.83 for the bushings + $7.95 shipping = $29.78. Adhesive is $13.50 + $5.25 shipping = $18.75 Subtotal: $48.53 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaD Posted October 14, 2002 Report Share Posted October 14, 2002 You may have put the shipping on there, but I posted quicker! -MaD- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted October 14, 2002 Report Share Posted October 14, 2002 You may have put the shipping on there, but I posted quicker! -MaD- Damn, you win, I lose. :worship: :worship: :worship: Good thing this wasn't a shootout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian P Posted October 14, 2002 Report Share Posted October 14, 2002 http://www.w-body.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=618 since it's being trampled on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88Intl Posted October 18, 2002 Report Share Posted October 18, 2002 Have the left rear strut out. Had to pound the $%#! out of the strut-to-knuckle bolts with a hammer to remove them. Left the nuts on to protect the bolt threads, but the nuts are a bit flattened. Local auto parts store dont have, will have to check with the dealer for replacements or grind off the flat spots on the nut. Degreased all the suspension parts, and repainted them gloss black, they looked rusty. Maybe paint the calipers silver too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TurboSedan Posted October 18, 2002 Report Share Posted October 18, 2002 hey if you can, post the part # when you find it. i'd like to get new strut bolts and nuts too. i had my rear suspension taken apart today too, and hammering the bolts out has marked mine up also. i damaged the threads minorly once already, but was able to fix that with a Dremel thankfully. joshua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailor77 Posted October 25, 2002 Report Share Posted October 25, 2002 I get $21.83 for the bushings + $7.95 shipping = $29.78. Adhesive is $13.50 + $5.25 shipping = $18.75 Subtotal: $48. Is this a price for one side only or for both sides? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted October 25, 2002 Report Share Posted October 25, 2002 Both sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailor77 Posted October 28, 2002 Report Share Posted October 28, 2002 Ok, I went to GMPARTSDIRECT to inquire about the bushings....here is what I got in response Subject: RE: Customer Service Request 1526 bushings not sold separately. They only come with a new monoleaf. Thank You, http://www.GMPartsDirect.com Ok, those of you that have ordered them, when did you get them? I really need them and don't want to have to spend $500 to buy the whole monoleaf!!! AHHHHHH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted October 29, 2002 Report Share Posted October 29, 2002 Ok, I went to GMPARTSDIRECT to inquire about the bushings.... Ah, that's your first mistake, dealing with a PERSON!!! You'll always get BS answers that way! Instead, plug in the part #'s and you should be able to order them. Part Number Description 10432057 Insulator Kit 10432060 Adhesive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailor77 Posted October 29, 2002 Report Share Posted October 29, 2002 OK I just ordered them. Have to wait and see now. You better be right or I am going to put that monoleaf of mine where the sun don't shine. LoL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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