Global West Control Arms
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 778
Likes: 112
From: Redneck Riviera, FL
Global West Control Arms
i just replace my upper and lower control arms with the global west units and the front now sits about 1 1/2" higher at the center of the wheel arch lip. this is with the same 57 year old #3851100 stock spring and both the upper and lower coil ends are seated in the stops. and since this is the same spring and these control arms use bearings and not rubber bushings there shouldn't be any need to wait for the front end to settle. the good folks at global west tell me that their control arms duplicate the oem units in all critical dimensions and so they say that can't be the problem. on the other hand that's the only thing that change and now the car sits higher. was wondering if anyone here had experienced this. thanks.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 6,239
Likes: 1,010
From: Watkinsville, GA and Glen Cove, NY
I am using their arms and did not have any problems. Love the arms and the del al lum bushings. Since you are sure the springs are seated properly I am at a loss as to what would be causing your issue.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 14,331
Likes: 8,139
From: Napa Valley California
When I installed my new Van Steel front suspension, the instructions state to only torque the cross shaft bolts and sway bar ends with the full weight of the vehicle on the suspension.
It also states to roll the vehicle forward and back before torquing.
I don’t know if Global West is the same so follow the instructions carefully.
It also states to roll the vehicle forward and back before torquing.
I don’t know if Global West is the same so follow the instructions carefully.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 778
Likes: 112
From: Redneck Riviera, FL
regarding the other end of the spring: the AIM references the position of the upper end of the spring as needing to be indexed such that the end of the coil is 3/8" shy of the stop. i didn't do this and i'm now wondering if for some reason the that end of the spring needed some compliance. is it possible this is causing some binding? it's hard to imagine how this would even work but i assume GM had their reasons. sure don't want to r&r this just to find out that's got nothing to do with it.
Last edited by 3154tm; Feb 4, 2024 at 09:13 PM.
Racer
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 330
Likes: 44
From: Cincinnati Ohio
There is a hole in the spring tower so you can see where the upper end of the spring is. You should see about half of the end of the spring. I would leave the sway bar disconnected and the the cross shaft end bolts loose until it is sitting down. Did you replace shocks when you installed the Global West arms? It could be gas shocks holding up the front end. The ultimate solution is to get rid of the original springs and go to coil overs. I installed Viking coil overs with double adjustable shocks in mine. It made a huge difference in handling.
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Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 778
Likes: 112
From: Redneck Riviera, FL
RU, funny you should post just now, i've been reading about this on one of the camaro forums. i hadn't even noticed the hole, turns out you have to know it's there and look for it. anywho, johnz was mentioned in one of the threads and he seemed to think that the 3/8" spacing between the end of the coil and stop was real important. there were even a couple of mentions about front ends being to high because of this. the hot set up seems to be putting something through the hole when installing the spring to insure proper indexing. fingers crossed, i'm going to give it a shot and see what happens. this will also give me an opportunity make sure the springs are right side up.
i did not replace the shocks.
i'd thought about going with coil overs but they're a lot more expensive and i was real happy with my ride height the way it was. also, i don't track the car and i couldn't picture myself spending time trying to get the shocks adjusted correctly.
i did not replace the shocks.
i'd thought about going with coil overs but they're a lot more expensive and i was real happy with my ride height the way it was. also, i don't track the car and i couldn't picture myself spending time trying to get the shocks adjusted correctly.