cudak888
Well-Known Member
Believe it or not, I'm still tinkering with this thing. Even with the FFI upper control arms, the steering never really self-centered properly. The caster is all over the place.
I knew the original strut rods and their bushings were the weak link in the mix, and also wanted the ability to shorten them up just a tad in the event it could improve caster without affecting the sweep of the suspension. I almost went for the QA1 adjustable rods, but given that the heim joint on those basically binds the rod with zero give at the K-member (rather than providing at least a slight amount of give across the sweep with poly bushings), I passed on them. The poly bushings of the PSTs improve on this, but I decided to match up the Firm Feel upper control arms with their steel strut rods. Essentially a beefy, factory style design with adjustability and poly bushings - and $50 cheaper than the PSTs.
The fun bit of this job is that one has to loosen the LCA to get the rod out. Thankfully, that makes undoing the torsion bars a hell of a lot easier. I loosened up the torsion bar adjustment (not before measuring the bolt head-to-plate with a caliper for returning it back to the same spot), then unbolted the LCA, removed the torsion bar retainer ring, and gave the LCA a few good whacks.
Bada bing, bada boom.
I undid the strut rod before this, of course. Undid it at the K-member first, then at the LCA. It's fun (not) to undo the K-member bolt when the radiator is in...no room for a socket and ratchet.
And here's the shiny-shiny:
I installed them in a bit shorter and extended them to the factory 17.5" length. Didn't want to affect anything at this point. Heck, I don't have my turn plates or caster/camber gauge yet ("Anyone here getting rid of these cheap?"). Yes, I did this while crossing my fingers I wouldn't screw up the existing setup too much.
Apparently, I was pretty accurate about it, because nothing major changed in the front end after buttoning it all up, other than it's riding a bit higher as the rods are now keeping the LCAs from pulling backwards - what they should have been doing in the first place.
Speaking of which, it's always fun to look at the front end after dropping it off the jack post-suspension mods. Before rolling the suspension to settle, it always takes on the Un Homme est Mort suspension setting. The clone LAPD Belvederes in that film had their torsion bars cranked to the moon for jumping the bridges on Dell Avenue.
I tightened the LCAs after settling it out.
-Kurt
I knew the original strut rods and their bushings were the weak link in the mix, and also wanted the ability to shorten them up just a tad in the event it could improve caster without affecting the sweep of the suspension. I almost went for the QA1 adjustable rods, but given that the heim joint on those basically binds the rod with zero give at the K-member (rather than providing at least a slight amount of give across the sweep with poly bushings), I passed on them. The poly bushings of the PSTs improve on this, but I decided to match up the Firm Feel upper control arms with their steel strut rods. Essentially a beefy, factory style design with adjustability and poly bushings - and $50 cheaper than the PSTs.
The fun bit of this job is that one has to loosen the LCA to get the rod out. Thankfully, that makes undoing the torsion bars a hell of a lot easier. I loosened up the torsion bar adjustment (not before measuring the bolt head-to-plate with a caliper for returning it back to the same spot), then unbolted the LCA, removed the torsion bar retainer ring, and gave the LCA a few good whacks.
Bada bing, bada boom.
I undid the strut rod before this, of course. Undid it at the K-member first, then at the LCA. It's fun (not) to undo the K-member bolt when the radiator is in...no room for a socket and ratchet.
And here's the shiny-shiny:
I installed them in a bit shorter and extended them to the factory 17.5" length. Didn't want to affect anything at this point. Heck, I don't have my turn plates or caster/camber gauge yet ("Anyone here getting rid of these cheap?"). Yes, I did this while crossing my fingers I wouldn't screw up the existing setup too much.
Apparently, I was pretty accurate about it, because nothing major changed in the front end after buttoning it all up, other than it's riding a bit higher as the rods are now keeping the LCAs from pulling backwards - what they should have been doing in the first place.
Speaking of which, it's always fun to look at the front end after dropping it off the jack post-suspension mods. Before rolling the suspension to settle, it always takes on the Un Homme est Mort suspension setting. The clone LAPD Belvederes in that film had their torsion bars cranked to the moon for jumping the bridges on Dell Avenue.
I tightened the LCAs after settling it out.
-Kurt
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