Is it possible for a home mechanic with handtools to do the following repairs, or should I leave it to the professionals?

VBP suspension kit- It appears that the rear spring should be a job, but doable, though the front looks very difficult. The poly busings should be a easy fix when these parts are reinstalled I assume.

Rack and Pinion- My car has steering morning sickness. Can I replace this myself?

Thanks
Roger
( buried in snow in Ohio)

 

The spring is easier than you think... and the bushings are a snap for any body who knows the difference between a open and closed end wrench (although getting the old ones out may require some cursing and a hammer )... I say get some jack stands and have at it buddy!

 

Do you have the most important tool, the GM Shop Manual for your Vette?

 

Don't know from experience, but from everything I've read a shop press will be real handy changing bushings.

 

I did bushings with a bench vise & sockets etc. It's tricky but doable.

 

Roger - My '86 also developed a case of morning sickness and before pulling and replaceing the rack (or having it done) I got some good tips from CF members. I drained the PS resevoir as much as possible and replaced it with 1/3 bottle of Lucas PS repair goop-stuff and the rest with (I believe) Valvoline synthetic PS fluid. I did this 3 times over the course of a week using the car daily. I don't have any of the morning sickness problems I had before and the total bill was about $14. There's no guarantee this fix will work in all cases, or how long it will work, but it might be worth a try.

 

OK, I've done my entire front and rear suspension, and here are my bits of wisdom....

The only place you really need a press are the front upper arms. Any brake shop will do these reasonably cheap if you bring them the control arm....might as well have them press in new ball joints while you have it apart. Make sure they don't bend them....it's easier to do than you might think.

All other bushings I did with a bench vise. If you're using poly (which I highly recommend), use lots of silicone grease, or it could squeak.

A dremel with a sanding drum comes in VERY handy for deburring and removing old bushings that have fused themselves to metal sleeves, control arms, etc.

On the rear control arms, there is a hole in the frame of the car that happens to coincide with the location of the upper arm nut. Put a piece of duct tape over it, or you WILL drop the nut into the frame and you WON'T be able to get it back out. Do this or you will wish you had.

An extra floor jack comes in handy for a variety of reasons, especially lifting a rear knuckle that doesn't want to line up with the bolt holes.

While you have the rear apart, it's a great time to do half shaft u joints, and even wheel bearings if you need them. Don't forget rear tie rods and to check the rear center link for wear. The link is cheap on eBay brand new, OEM part. Don't buy it anywhere else.

Oh, and shine things up while you're in there. Aluminum suspension parts look very nice shined up.....kinda like this...




If the car is your daily driver or you're short on time, do it a piece at a time over a period days, weeks, or even months. Just keep in mind it needs to be aligned at the soonest opportunity when you're done.

Can a home mechanic with basic hand tools rebuild a C4 suspension???

You bet....and it's nowhere near as hard as some have made it out to be. Get a Helms manual for your car, and get busy with it. Have fun..!

 

Frizlefrak said it best, his experience was the same as mine when I did front and rear bushings. When you take out the front sway bar to do the bushings, that's the best time to pull the rack. Take the column apart at the lower u joint, the two rack mounts and pull it out the side.
If you know a 3/8 from a 15mm you can do this easily.

 

Re the morning sickness. The Lucas trick is exactly what Gordon Killebrew recommends.

 

It's called a steering flush and in most cases it does work,
When I worked at wynns oil we made a device for flushing the rack and sent along the wynns steering rack flush.
It was just a power steering pump with an electric motor attached to the pump and steering line .
Good luck on the bushings I gave up and good year installed my front for $500.00.
I did all the rear bushings but the grease they give you is like sticky bees wax ,it gets everywhere.