Redoing supension- DIYs or Advice anyone?

[Kliminati456]

Hello all,

My 1990 coupe's entire suspension has most likely never been touched i its 20 year life and is covered in rust and in bad need of some revamping. Im looking to do all this (KW V3 coilovers, top mounts, sway bushings, end links, tie rods, 034 aluminum front/rear subframe mounts (not anodized??), diff mounts, 034 Delrin control arm bushings, new rear control arms, front/rear ball joints, add 26mm rear sway bar, 034 spherical tie rods, 034 camberbolts or new oem hardware 14mm(anyone know where I can find these by the way), sandblast/powdercaot everything, add front wiechers strut bar). That being said i dont have too much experience with any of this, but rather than giving a mechanic 100s of dollars I decided to buy the tools and do it my self and gain some knowledge/experience in the process.

So my question for you all is do any of you know of some good DIYs or have any advice like what to make sure to do or not to do. Also what tools ill be needing?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help in any way I greatly appreciate it. I will post some pics soon of what im looking at right now.

[Error404]

I've just done the lot on my coupe, don't underestimate how much work it is to do properly, but its totally worth it. You'll mostly just need normal hand tools except you will need a press to get the old bushes out of the wishbones & subframes.
I'd use POR15 paint rather than powder coat TBH, its much more chip resistant, but obviouly involves a more work. Get it all blasted up to save hours with the wire brush

Worth seam welding rear wishbones and fronts too unless you have the forged arms, increases strength somewhat. Also seam weld the subframes too this "seals" the two pressed halves that are spot welded from the factory, and also increases strength.

Think about what you want to get out of the car as this will affect your choice of parts for it.. i.e. coilovers often too stiff for road use.
Not sure what you'd need camber bolts for?
You'll need all new hardware - get these from the dealer

If you want any help drop me a PM

[Kliminati456]

Thanks for the advice Error. I read through your coupe tidy up thread and yours is looking real nice. I dont have access to a press so it looks like ill be cutting/drilling/burning out those old bushes. Ill have to look into the POR15, I dont mind more work I just want a quality result and it seem to work very nice on yours. I already have the KW V3 sitting on my floor for a month but its taking me some time to save up for other parts (cant put those nice new shiny things on my beyond rusted hubs etc). Luckily the V3 are compression and rebound adjustable so I can tweak them if they feel too stiff. I probably would have no need for camber bolts as long as I replace the ball joints. But i will definitely need all new hardware that for sure. How hard was it to remove the hubs and clean them up as you did? I just have no experience with that and dont want to mess any thing up worse than it is. Here are some pics of what Im dealing with. These pics are of the rear subframe as it is much worse than the front. Those control arms are just getting tossed for new ones since I need new ones that have slots for anti roll links in them for new rear sway. Sorry for the bad angles as it is hard to get a descent shot under there.





Yea I know its pretty bad and will bother me until I fix all this.

[Error404]

its pretty average for a 20 year old car I'd say
you'll definately need access to a press and some appropriate sized drifts to get the old bearings out of the hubs.

Nothing you need to do thats very difficuklt its just lots of work - get it stripped

[Kliminati456]

Picked up a nice used sway bar today in great condition. Its off of an 85 4000quattro front (26mm). Was going to repint it before I put it on the back but it is in such good condition I done need to. The bushes seem to be almost new as well

[s2driveruk]

mmmm, crusty

soak everything (yourself too ) in penetrating spray to give yourself a fighting change to crack those nuts off I'd say!

[Error404]

Originally Posted by Kliminati456

Picked up a nice used sway bar today in great condition. Its off of an 85 4000quattro front (26mm). Was going to repint it before I put it on the back but it is in such good condition I done need to. The bushes seem to be almost new as well

IMHO that will be WAY too stiff for the rear. It is going to be in the region of RS2 front bar stiffness when you consider the length of the lever arms - nice front upgrade over the "normal" CQ / S2 bar - you'd need forged arms and the right droplinks to make it work. I'm looking out for a URq front ARB for this very purpose ATM

FYI I am running a 22mm rear bar in that configuration and it is very stiff.....

[s2driveruk]

is that with standard drop links Alex? I have the rs2 one upfront now but rear is stock and i need to balance them out at tad

[Error404]

nope mine is on odd one
Type85 front bar on the with Type85 kinked drop links into the URq front wishbones on the rear. If anything its a bit too stiff for the 26mm bar upfront, which is why i'm after something stiffer.
Either that or i will try a Type89 22mm frnt bar on the rear with modded stock droplinks to clear the driveshaft / handbrake cable

[Kliminati456]

haha ya s2driveruk I might need a whole case of penetrating oil for some of those bolts.

So Error are you saying to use this bar in the front and the stock front bar in the back? The coupe's farb is 25mm if im not mistaking. My plan was to use the 26mm one in the back and then to counteract this set the front kw's to stiffer compression and rebound.

I read mixed reviews some saying the 26 mm in back is too stiff while some say its perfect and some even want it larger. But I guess that is all relative to what you are using up front as well. In general what are the effects of using (larger farb,smaller rarb) vs (smaller farb,larger rarb) vs (equal sized arb). Thats probably one of those questions that has many variables so there is no simple answer You dont have to answer im just thinking out loud I guess

I looked into the POR15 you suggested Error and that stuff looks pretty good. An alternative I found is this stuff.... http://www.discountpaint.net/store/p...productid=8476 Kind of pricey but it is also a primer and top coat in one so it could help to save some time.

On a side note I got a wiecher front strut bar today. Space is tight but I can make it work. got to do some drilling too...

[visintainer]

wow thats rusty. you live on the easy coast? i was luck to pick up my coupe that was always garaged.

i've been currently upgrading all the same suspension components like yourself. i didn't like how soft everything felt.

[Error404]

Originally Posted by Kliminati456

So Error are you saying to use this bar in the front and the stock front bar in the back? The coupe's farb is 25mm if im not mistaking. My plan was to use the 26mm one in the back and then to counteract this set the front kw's to stiffer compression and rebound.

I read mixed reviews some saying the 26 mm in back is too stiff while some say its perfect and some even want it larger. But I guess that is all relative to what you are using up front as well. In general what are the effects of using (larger farb,smaller rarb) vs (smaller farb,larger rarb) vs (equal sized arb). Thats probably one of those questions that has many variables so there is no simple answer You dont have to answer im just thinking out loud I guess

you can either go very stiff on your coilovers and loose the ARBs all together or you need to find a balance. As a VERY basic rule Smaller front ARB, Larger rear ARB = more oversteer characteristics and vice versa. Obviuolsy there are a million and one different set-ups and everyone wants something slightly different.
IMHO there is not a front ARB out there for these cars that will balance that short armed 26mm bar on the rear.

[speeding-g60]

read my thread on Motorgeek, it shows every step.

including how to build your own coilovers.

[Kliminati456]

visintainer I am on the east coast but the car is from Minnesota . Me and my girlfriend flew out to buy it and then drove it back to CT (an interesting story in itself). The car was garaged by the previous 2 owners but 20 years of sand, salt, and Minnesota Winters have taken their effect. Luckily the whole under side of the frame has been sprayed in some sort if super thick rubberized coating that has lasted all those years so their is no frame or body rot. Funny thing is you would never know when looking at the car from above because the whole top exterior has been redone. He did warn me when I bought it though that he never touched ant suspension components at all so thats where I come in. I think the end result will be worth it though.

[Kliminati456]

Thanks for the input Error. Ill keep an eye out for a 22mm arb while I collect the rest of the parts I need.

Hey speeding checked out your thread thats awesome! If I didn't already have KWs sitting on my floor right now waiting to be installed I would definitely be following in your footsteps. Nice work my friend