quote Originally posted by Blacktree: Nope, no problems with UCA mounting bolts. They fit into the new metal sleeves just as easily as they fit into the original ones (rust notwithstanding). And FYI, it's the Prothane Total Poly Kit, part # PTP-7-2034 from Summit... same one you bought. And my car is a 1987 SE.

Cool, thanks. Guess I must gotten a different size bolt along the way somewhere. Ah well, off to the dealer!

Brad

You might want to drop by a junkyard and see if you can scrounge a couple UCA bolts. It is quite possible that somewhere along the line, your original ones were replaced. Also, The Fiero Store sells new UCA bolts with nuts and alignment washers for $9.95 each.

[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 04-04-2004).]

Alright, I have good news and bad news. Over the last week, I've rebuilt and installed the steering rack. That's the good news.

I've also been trying to find the right size wheel studs for the modded hubs. I went to NAPA and had them look up the part number for the stock wheel studs, and looked through their book for something about 6mm longer (to accomodate the added thickness of the Grand Am rotors). I just installed the new wheel studs into the hubs today. I used one of my wheels and a breaker bar to pull the studs into the hubs. After I was finished with that, I put the hubs on the benchtop so I could pound out the bearing races. That's when I noticed the cracks in the hubs. Apparently the wheel studs were a bit oversize, and caused stress fractures around the wheel stud holes.

My modded hubs are now junk. Just when I thought I was almost finished...

free bump so I can bookmark this one Also a + for ya

WHOA!!! Back from the dead!

Since I'm here, I might as well bring some closure to this thread. After cracking my modded hubs, I bought another pair from WCF. They were lost in transit. Luckily, WCF insured them. So they sent out another pair.

After receiving the modded hubs, I assembled the remainder of the suspension/brake parts and that was it. A couple notes:

1) The front brake rotor shields interfere with the Grand Am rotors. So the shields were removed.
2) If you remember, I tapped the holes in the front upper control arms for 3/8" threads, so I could use bolts to secure the brake lines (in place of the original rivets). That didn't work out. The Grand Am calipers have the brake hose oriented differently. So I ended up using some electrical conduit clamps and 1/4" bolts. See photo below.

I've been driving on it for about 6 months, and I really like the new suspension. It's firm, but not enough to rearrange internal organs. With the front/rear say bars, body sway is almost nil. Driving this car is almost like point and shoot.

The Grand Am brakes on front and rear are great. While there is the expected slop in the brake pedal (during the first inch of travel), once the brakes start to grab, they grab hard. So far, during daily driving, I haven't noticed any brake fade. And that pleases me very much.

Don't be surprised to see a "Re-rebuild a suspension with me" thread, after I get all the bugs worked out of it.

<BUMP> for the newbies!

Black, did you also swap out the Master Cyl as well? If you do that it will take care of the slop you are seeing I bet. I have the PN for the correct M/C to upgrade too.

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4.9 Caddy in Garage! Car in Driveway! ACK!

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http://home.cfl.rr.com/fierose
Central Florida Fieros
http://www.centralfloridafieros.org

Proud Member and founder of the DOWN SOUTH SUNNY WINTER PICK ON SNOW PEOPLE COALITION!

Looking to find out how things are still going with this and see how the KYBs are doing for you?

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Bobby from NW Indiana
93 Northstar and 5 speed Getrag
219customs@verizon.net
My 86 GT build thread
MY 88 Northstar build thread

I decided to keep the Fiero brake m/c. Pedal effort is just where I want it. I can deal with the slop. I've heard that the Blazer m/c increases pedal effort too much.

Just out of curiosity, has anyone tried a different brake booster to reduce pedal effort with the Blazer m/c?

I've been driving on this suspension for almost a year now. My impressions:

• I really like the brakes. During normal driving conditions, there is almost zero brake fade... even in the hot summer months. In my opinion, they're much better than the stock '84-87 brakes.
  
• The Eibach springs are pretty stiff, noticeably stiffer than stock. The urethane bushings add to the stiffness. If the suspension were any stiffer, I don't think it would be suitable for daily driving. Bumpy roads and railroad crossings make me cringe.
  
• Thanks to the stiffer suspension, rear bumpsteer has been significantly reduced. But I'm still debating on whether or not to install an RCC bumpsteer correction kit.
  
• I'm getting the impression that the KYB dampers are not the best match for the Eibach springs. While they're OK for daily driving, they don't seem to have enough control over the springs during aggressive maneuvers (specifically the rear struts). I may end up switching to Konis in the future.
  
• The urethane sway bar bushings, along with the rear sway bar, really keep body roll under control. The car feels very confident through turns.
  
• The urethane control arm bushings transmit every little imperfection in the road into the chassis. If you like a smooth ride, do not use urethane control arm bushings. But if you like to "feel the road" ( like me ), then go for it.

I should also note that there are still some issues with the suspension/brakes that I haven't yet addressed. They are as follows:

• Engine Cradle Bushings -- The car still has the original ones. They really need to be replaced.
  
• Tires -- I'm still "slumming around" on generic 215/60-R14 tires. I plan on replacing the wheels sometime in the future.
  
• Brake Hoses -- I had to replace one of the rubber brake hoses because it was dangerously close to failure. The other 3 don't look all that great either.

[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 02-23-2005).]

Why don't you go with the Russel braided stainless steel lines? They aren't too expensive if you get them through summit and they are DOT approved. just measure your stock ones and get the closest to them with the one straight connection and the 90° end and you're in business. Looks sharp!
I wonder if the 225/55s on the 16x7 rims I have are gonna hit this goofy flange on the Monroe sensatracs I have. It sure sticks out, and I used 1.25 inch lowering springs out back too. I wound up just cutting one coil out of my front springs which I understand will give me maybe a one inch drop... I just rotated my upper ball joint up front since I felt I was pretty conservative with lowering that end. If you're wondering how it's gonna look with the rear lower than the front don't worry; I already have a pair of 205/60s on a 15 inch rim! It'll be just under an inch smaller in diameter, should keep me level, and pull the rear wheel up in the fender gap. I know it's not the trendy 17 or 18 inch rim sizes but with all the poly, I want a softer ride than you can get from 40 series tires!
You are right, the rear is much simpler than the front to do, I wish I hadn't gone with the poly up front now. No rear sway bar for me (yet) and I'd love to figure out how to do a partial cradle drop to do the front cradle busshings, then stuff it back up and slip the rear pads in.

[This message has been edited by USFiero (edited 02-24-2005).]

Can we see a pic of your car ??

Here's a somewhat recent shot:

[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 02-05-2006).]

Blacktree, I have a question for ya. I pulled the rear hubs/bearings off of my 85 (Isn't it weird how one side looks better than the other? Must have something to do with how the car is usually parked?) I tied a wire tie on the upper hole so (according to the Haynes) I put iot back exactly the same (wonder why? probably an engineering reason for this. Wonder why I shouldn't rotate 'em?) -sorry to ramble, I'm getting to my real question... I don't have PIP or a decent camera, but I noticed on the inside of the bearings that go towards the transmission one side (drivers') had a rubber seal and the orange seal in the bearing itself comes out farther. Has anyone else noticed this?

quote Originally posted by USFiero:I wonder if the 225/55s on the 16x7 rims I have are gonna hit this goofy flange on the Monroe sensatracs I have. It sure sticks out, and I used 1.25 inch lowering springs out back too.

okay, I've got the back put back together, and I can still put my fingers (barely) between that flange and tire. A lotta debate whether steel braided brake hose are wise or not...

[This message has been edited by USFiero (edited 10-30-2005).]

** ADDENDUM #1 **

I recently installed Ocelot braided brake hoses. And I'm glad I did. They improved the brake pedal feel noticeably.

With the original rubber brake hoses, the brake pedal had a "rubberband" feel to it. Now it feels nice and solid. But of course, there is still some slack in the pedal, due to the Grand Am calipers.

And here's the kicker: the Ocelot braided hoses are cheaper than a set of OEM replacements from Fiero Store.

Also note that I only use DOT4 brake fluid.

[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 08-02-2005).]

Blacktree how is the new suspension working out ?

Improved ride quality ?

Feel like new ?