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Bought my 96 CE last year and have decided to go ahead and upgrade the suspension. I'm going to replace all bushings with poly, clean everything up while its apart and replace the springs with a set from a 94 ZR1 that I bought from another forum member. I am even thinking of pulling the engine and going through it while the car is parked because it has multiple oil leaks.I figure it will be easier to fix them all and take care of any other problems while it is out of the car. Plus, it will be easier to clean up the undercarriage while everything is out of the way. I knew all of these things were needed when I bought the car, so no real surprises at this point.
Car has the F45 suspension (RTD) and it still works, so debating on whether I am going to keep it or change it out to adjustable shocks. Opinions?
Left front showing 20 years of neglect
Right front
Left rear
Right rear
Last edited by Fastnail; 02-10-2016 at 05:41 PM.
Reason: Changed picture for left front
pretty much went through the same thing with my 96; other area's that are almost certain to need attention, U Joints (total of six), and on mine, one (of two) rear camber rod ends needed replacement. Also a good time to check the C Beam for over sized / worn mounting holes; repair or replace as necessary; also consider getting (or making ) beam plates (cheap to make; kinda pricey to buy) and installing them.
pulling the engine? not really necessary until a clutch swap (assuming it's a manual) is needed; all seals (except rear main of course) are accessible with engine in car although there will be a ton of old oil / grime around the front of engine and crossmember.
Of course, and without a doubt the engine bay is easier to clean with the engine out. lol.
What is important is pulling the radiator (and A/C condenser too?) and cleaning out a thousand dead bugs, bits of sand and god knows what imbedded in the cooling fins) Good luck.
Last edited by mtwoolford; 02-10-2016 at 12:12 PM.
I've seen a lot worse. However, you will be proud when it is nice and shiny new bushing are in place. Are you planning on polishing aluminum, repainting, etc? When you get into this you get the opportunity to inspect the whole thing a piece at a time. So doing the four corners is a good plan. I think pulling the engine should wait on the clutch too if it is a manual. You don't want to do that twice. Or maybe you had planned on doing the clutch at the same time anyway. If you have a CE, there is a little more incentive to go all out with the refurbish.
pretty much went through the same thing with my 96; other area's that are almost certain to need attention, U Joints (total of six), and on mine, one (of two) rear camber rod ends needed replacement. Also a good time to check the C Beam for over sized / worn mounting holes; repair or replace as necessary; also consider getting (or making ) beam plates (cheap to make; kinda pricey to buy) and installing them.
pulling the engine? not really necessary until a clutch swap (assuming it's a manual) is needed; all seals (except rear main of course) are accessible with engine in car although there will be a ton of old oil / grime around the front of engine and crossmember.
Of course, and without a doubt the engine bay is easier to clean with the engine out. lol.
What is important is pulling the radiator (and A/C condenser too?) and cleaning out a thousand dead bugs, bits of sand and god knows what imbedded in the cooling fins) Good luck.
Already replaced the radiator and cleaned out the condenser last fall. Car is an auto, but pretty sure the rear main is leaking after looking under the inspection cover on the torque converter, so gonna pull it and go from there. I'll get the rear suspension pulled this weekend and I will be sure to check the items you mentioned. Already planned on changing all u-joints while I have it apart.
I've seen a lot worse. However, you will be proud when it is nice and shiny new bushing are in place. Are you planning on polishing aluminum, repainting, etc? When you get into this you get the opportunity to inspect the whole thing a piece at a time. So doing the four corners is a good plan. I think pulling the engine should wait on the clutch too if it is a manual. You don't want to do that twice. Or maybe you had planned on doing the clutch at the same time anyway. If you have a CE, there is a little more incentive to go all out with the refurbish.
Good luck,
WEK.
Planned on cleaning aluminum parts and see how they look. Don't know if I will go as far as polishing everything, but I'll see after everything is cleaned up.
Well, I got all of the front suspension out, will start on the rear tomorrow. Going to have to spend some time cleaning everything up. Checked all of the rotors and they all need replacing. Any recommendations on a good rotor/pad combination for the street and light track use? I'm going to go ahead and replace the brake lines with braided stainless lines while it's all apart.
The upper were easy. Just make sure that you keep the shims labeled for the correct locations. I used zip locks and separated them by side and whether they were on the front bolt or rear. The lower requires that you remove the frame brace on each side where the motor mounts bolts to it. You can't get the rear bolt on both sides of the lower arms out without removing the braces. Hardest thing was getting blocks under the motor with the jack in the way. I'll add some pics tomorrow of the braces. I used a 1/2"x6" bolt with a coupling nut that another forum member suggested to break the ball joints loose. Worked great and was a lot cheaper. You have to remove at least one of the lower arms to get the spring out. I had to raise my car about 20"-21" in the front to get it out, also. The ZR1 spring should go in without having to go that high because it is flatter than the stock spring due to the higher spring rate.
Cheers
Here are the pics of the bracket that had to come off to get the bolt out for the lower control arm removal.
Here is the bracket that the motor mount bolts to on the driver side
And here it is removed.
This is the bolt that will not come out without removing the bracket, don't know why the bolt can't come in from the front, but I'm sure they had a reason to install it that way, so I will reinstall it the same when I reassemble the suspension.
Found out I didn't need to support the motor on the pan because the mounts also sit on the suspension cross member, so as long as I don't try to move the car it should sit there fine until I pull the engine.
Cheers
Last edited by Fastnail; 02-12-2016 at 06:19 PM.
Reason: Added text and pictures
Redo the batwing bushings in polyurethane; some people say it's too hard, but really, once the batwing is out, it's not hard at all, and judging from your photos, I doubt that you'd be deterred in any case.
This is really the time to do it, so unbolt the differential from the batwing; I'm sure you'll notice that there is no drain plug. There are kits out there to install a drain plug, but really, all you need to do is drill and tap the bottom of the differential case for a 1/8 th inch pipe plug and install a pipe plug with an allen head; makes for a nice neat , flush installation which will encourage frequent and easy rear end lube changes.
Before you reassemble every thing, go to VBP (vette brakes and products) web site, it's a pretty much one stop shopping experience for all things C4 suspension parts and mods; of course there are others too.
02-10-2016, 10:37 AM
Starting Suspension Upgrade
I figure it will be easier to fix them all and take care of any other problems while it is out of the car. Plus, it will be easier to clean up the undercarriage while everything is out of the way. I knew all of these things were needed when I bought the car, so no real surprises at this point.
I've seen a lot worse. However, you will be proud when it is nice and shiny new bushing are in place. Are you planning on polishing aluminum, repainting, etc? When you get into this you get the opportunity to inspect the whole thing a piece at a time. So doing the four corners is a good plan. I think pulling the engine should wait on the clutch too if it is a manual. You don't want to do that twice. Or maybe you had planned on doing the clutch at the same time anyway. If you have a CE, there is a little more incentive to go all out with the refurbish. 
