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Front suspension rebuild
by brian @ 17:57:21 - [perma-link]I've ordered some nice suspension parts from Hotbits for the rally car, but they won't be here for a couple of
weeks. We have a rallycross this weekend, so I'm rebuilding the
suspension with another set of KYB strut inserts and some new GR2s in
the back. Its the same stuff we've blown out at most of the rally
events. In fact I'm pretty sure they were already dead at Doo Wops,
based on the way the car bounces around in some of the videos I've seen.
There are some changes this time, though. I've replaced the springs
with 200lb/in instead of the 300lb-in that were on there. This puts
it in the range of the rally springs Josh and I found in a 1988 Toyota
performance catalog. The 300's are better for smooth roads, but are
too harsh for bumpy gravel. 200 is towards the upper end of the
range, but I didn't want to make too much of a change at once and be
bottoming out everywhere.
So first step is to remove the old strut assembly from the car. I
sort of cheated by loosening the top nut with the impact, and letting
the spring pop the whole assembly out of the top mount. Then remove
the two bolts connecting the strut to the knuckle. After that, slide
off the spring and remove the top nut from the strut housing and
remove the old, beat, nasty insert.
I put the new inserts in with some oil for better cooling. The oil
can transfer the heat from the insert to the housing better than an
air gap. Hopefully this will keep the inserts from heating up too
much and blowing out. The insert goes in, then crank down the top nut
to lock it in using a vise and a socket extension through the holes in
the lower tabs. Slide on the new spring and stick the strut assembly
back in the car, attaching the lower part to the knuckle first. Then
I use a floor jack under the control arm to push the strut up through
the strut mount, then crank down the top nut with the impact gun.
The rear doesn't use inserts. I replaced the whole assembly with new
GR-2s. The left rear strut was completely blown. The piston has no
resistance until it gets about 2" from the bottom, when the piston
finally hits the small amount of oil remaining inside. The right rear
strut seems to have held up fine. It has resistance all the way up,
and felt the same as the new one. Once compressed, the gas charge
pushes it back out, just like the new one. I swapped in the new one
anyway, but I'll keep the old one as a spare.
Finally, I pulled out the front sway bar. It turned out to be much
more difficult than I had expected. It tucks up behind the exhaust so
the only way to remove it was to take apart the exhaust connection in
front of the catalytic converter. I'm glad I removed it in he
garage. I was planning to run the morning session of the rallycross
with the sway bar, then remove it for the afternoon session to
compare. It would have sucked fighting with the sway bar and the hot
exhaust while lying underneath the car in the mud.
I also discovered a missing exhaust gasket. I'll get a replacement
tomorrow, or maybe tonight.
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