i recently took my '78 vette into action gator to get an alignment because It pulls to the right while im driving and then back left when i break, which sucks when i have to slam on the breaks.
It was a very informative visit being that they found about $400 of work that was needed to the front end.
The control arms are shot on both sides, esp driver side, all the old rubber stuff thats been in there for 26 years has all deteriorated, and its causing bad wear on the inner side of the tire.
I really dont want to pay these people to do this work on my car. In this area i really have no idea what to do myself. Of course i would eventually have to pay for an alignment, but i would like to at least be able to buy the parts needed for this job outside of their inflated costs buy i really dont know where to find this stuff.

 

Hi: To help U out getting all the parts U need. Go to the "Corvette Forum" home page & on your left is all of the sponsers. Now all U have to do is "pick & choose". See....wasn't that easy?

Now, about the labor part of this front suspension job. Better to take it to "one that knows", if you've never done it before. But, if you got the time & are willing to learn. There are alot of guys (& gals) on this forum that can help U out & can point U in the right direction to get help in the DIY dept. Good luck!

 

i deff am willing to learn, and yes i know about the stuff on the left but my question was what are all the parts that i need because i am not really sure exactly all the stuff that i need. optimally i would want to re-do the suspention but that is well out of my price range unfortunatly

i know this is a broad question but any information at all will help.

 

If you can do it yourself all the parts are about $250 I used Van Steel free shipping

 

250 sounds about right for a complete set of parts, which if you going to do anything is a GOOD idea to just hit it all and get over with it....both upper and lower ball joints, all tie rod ends, there are 4 of them, all the controll arm bushings, 4 per side, two on top, two on bottom, then there are the shocks, you can get away with something cheap, like Monroe, or go sophisticated like Bilstein at 80 bux each or so....
we just talking stock stuff here now, nothing fancy or any mods like we all do...but getting the car back on the road with new front end....
we not going into the IRS in the rear now, that is entirely another horse....

GENE

 

First of all: it's not that difficult !! It is not a very easy job and it can be a pain to get rusty bolts loose but if it is not a daily driver (like mine) I'd just take it apart and get advise here on the forum whenever you're at a point where you're not sure how to proceed....

Here's my estimate on parts:

all new poly bushings, tie rod ends and ball joints for the front in a complete set - about $160 (for example #602518 from MidAmerica)

new springs - $70

new shocks - $20 each at AutoZone (these will be a lot better than your old ones and can easily be replaced/upgraded later - if you don't want to spend the $80 each for Bilsteins right now)


Do a search on front suspension bushings to get some info on the installation, there should be many photos in these threads ...

Get some good books, for example "How to restore and modify a Corvette"

Good luck!

 

yea my car is a daily driver, wouldnt want to drive anything else!
well if in the mix im going to replace the shocks and springs, how about performance? anyone got a preference as to what they think is best?
for this project i should have about $450, so as to prior estimates i should have around 200 to get good stuff with.

 

Do a search and you should find Lars paper on this. It is excellant(of course ) and will walk you through the whole job. Use thebest parts you can get- usually Moog brand.

Gary

 

The first thing U should do before starting this project, is to "soak" all of the connecting bolts & nuts associated with the front end parts with a real good pentration oil (like liquid wrench) for a good couple of days before starting. This will help.

Well, since you're willing to learn. I'll start U off. OK.....in order to disassemble all of the components in the front end: Put the car on good jack stands & make sure the car is stable on them. U can start by removing the steering linkage; Tie rods, drag link, idler arm, pitman arm: If you want to do this yourself, the best thing to do is get a good manual for your year vette. Try www.amazon.com or even e-bay for the manual.

Next after removing your wheels, rotor & caliper, you'll want to get at the removal of the control arms. There is a way to do this without even using a spring compressor. This is the way U do it: Go to the four bolt connections of the lower control arms; these are where the lower control arms are connected to the frame. Using a good floor jack & a block of wood (like a piece of 2X4), raise the jack up to the area between the two bolt connections where the lower arm connects to the frame. Raise the jack up until it takes the load off the control arm, but not so it's raising the car up (oh, did I forget to mention, your car should be on good jack stands & the car is stable on them) Now, remove the 2 bolts. These may be tuff to get off, so soaking 'em with a good pentration oil for about a day or two before U start the project, would be helpful. If U got access to air tools, that's even better. Once U got the bolts out, start to lower the jack very slowly & work the control arm bushings from the frame as U lower the jack. The lower control arm will now swing down to the floor & all U gotta do is reach in & pull the spring out. I do it this way everytime. Alot of guys will go through the trouble of using a spring compressor & taking the control arms apart from the upper & lower ball joints. I usually remove the upper & lower arms with the ball joints still connected to the spindle & the whole thing as a unit. Then I bench disassemble the rest. Then to reassemble, just reverse the procedures when U disassembled.

Parts needed to completely rebuild a front suspension & steering.

Control Arm Bushings (2 for each upper & 2 for each lower control arm for a total of 8 bushings. These bushings will need to be pressed in & the old bushings removed, so U may want a shop do this part)

4 ball joints: 1 each for the upper & lower control arms. U will need to grind or drill out the rivits holding in the factory ball joints. The replacement ball joints come with bolts, nuts & lock washers for reassembly.

Steering components:

2 inner tie rods; 2 outer tie rods; 2 tie rod sleeves; 1 drag link; 1 idler arm; 1 steering pitman arm (& a new or rebuilt steering box; which could be considered optional.); 1 Powerd slave shock; & 1 centering control valve.

Front sway bar parts: 2 set of bushings & sleeves for the 2 ends of the sway bar. 2 bushings for the sway bar to frame connection housings.


I hope this helps. Get a manual & study the part about the front end before tackling this project. Good Luck!

 

Oh yeah..I forgot to mention the shocks. You'll need those also, 'cause your gonna tear up the one's in the car now trying to get 'em out.

 

wow that really really helps alot. i went out and bought a haynes manuel from discount, they have alota info in there bout this stuff, and got a couple other books from my buddy w/ a C3 also. what brand parts do you think would be best for a job like this? should i get new control arms or are the old ones ok? and as far as the steering components.. quality and performance be4 price.
Will i need any special parts for this job or just your every day garage tools work?

I really appreciate the help thanks

 

Sounds like you might also have some issues with your front brakes. It shouldn't pull the opposite way just because you apply the brakes. Sounds like a caliper might be bad.

 

yes my driver side caliper was leaking, i had it replaced but the damage was already done. as for that, its another project.
i want this stuff http://www.ssbrakes.com/ ! it looks so cool.

This also is the car that the work is being done on.
http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/636272

 

I just got finished doing the front end. In theory it's not that tough but you do run into rusty bolts, bushing you have to press in and out, getting out the springs without taking your head off, being covered with grease and grime, etc.

Let me tell you, after redoing the front end myself - if I got a price quote for $450 from a shop (I assume that's for parts and labor, replacing all bushings, spring, etc) I would be tempted to go with that deal, very tempted.

 

If somebody offered to do this job for $450 (incl. parts and labor) I'd go with that immediately.... unfortunately this offer is too good to be true !! The front end rebuild kit is about $160 (uper and lower bushings, upper and lower ball joints and tie rod ends) - that leaves only $290 for labor - unrealistic ...

I've done it and it is a weekend job for somebody who has done it before - that includes cleaning all the parts and painting them. No shop would do that, they just re-install the rusty parts...but even then it will take them several hours.

With the Bilstein shocks (two) and some new springs you're looking at $400 in parts... get one or two more books about this car and you're almost ready to go... soak everything Friday afternoon, start Saturday morning and you should be back on the road Sunday late afternoon...

 

the shop priced me at 370 with minimal actual replacement. meaning control arm bushings, only repacking the ball joints, nothing with the tie rods and leaving my 26year old stock suspension system in there. if i can get all of that replaced and add some "performance" parts in there for less than that it would be well worth the effor on my part.

 

It is well worth the effort - you'll learn a lot, you re-install all the parts cleaned and painted, you just know it's done right.....

Prepare yourself for this job, get books that have lots of photos (how to restore and modify...)

you'll need some 'special' tools such as an angle grinder for the ball joint rivets.... don't worry, the new ones have bolts instead of the rivets...

Once you have all the parts email me and I'll send you some photos of my re-build...

 

On which type of bushings. Basically, there are 2 types out right now. Poly & good ole rubber. The poly bushings will last practically forever provided the front end stays within alignment specs. But the drawback with poly bushings are that they're 'stif', much stiffer than rubber & it will change the ride in your vette. My personal preference is rubber (like OEM type). They don't last as long, but, if your not driving the car in all types of weather (erspecially winter) then the rubber ones will last a good long time.

Some special tools you'll need. To get out the tie rods & the rest of the steering linkage, you'll need what is called a "Pickle Fork". You can pick one of these cheap if you live near one of those discount tool places (like Harbor Freight & such). Other than that, ordinary garage tools will work & air tools will work even better.

 

Before you go with SSBC. Check out "Wilwood" brakes. There is a place out in Oregon that's doing the wilwood Vette conversions. It's a real trick set up. U gotta check it out.