bigscaht Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 so lately Ive been shopping for suspension parts to rebuild the front end on the Monte! I got poly bushings for the control arms.. new front springs new KYB shocks(front & back) new steering linkage kit (included everything but the pitman arm) undecided on weather or not to get a bigger front sway bar????(yes/no??) so since i have all this on the garage floor a few questions have came to mind..... 1. Are the spindles left and right specific? mine are stock! 2. I remember in some post it was said that when installing front springs you have to leave one of those little holes uncovered in the lower control arm? Does it matter which one? 3. The steering knuckles, which one goes on the right/left? 4 Should I get a bigger front sway bar or keep the stock one & add a rear sway bar? Any tips or tricks you guys know to make this install easier would be great!!!!!! Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1972mc Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 so lately Ive been shopping for suspension parts to rebuild the front end on the Monte! I got poly bushings for the control arms.. new front springs new KYB shocks(front & back) new steering linkage kit (included everything but the pitman arm) undecided on weather or not to get a bigger front sway bar????(yes/no??) so since i have all this on the garage floor a few questions have came to mind..... 1. Are the spindles left and right specific? mine are stock! yes they are and it will become apparent how they go back together. 2. I remember in some post it was said that when installing front springs you have to leave one of those little holes uncovered in the lower control arm? Does it matter which one? don't know what holes your talking about. I think there is a weep hole in the bottom spring pocket. Rotate the spring so that the end of the spring lines up with the pocket and make sure they are right side up. 3. The steering knuckles, which one goes on the right/left? not sure what you mean as the knuckle is the same as the spindle. 4 Should I get a bigger front sway bar or keep the stock one & add a rear sway bar? Yes! I have stock front bar and rear bar with solid lower rear control arms and still get roll in curves. Did not know how bad until getting a Grand National with big sway bars and it's like driving a porsche. Get the pitman arm and the idler arm, they are cheap and the only remaining jointed parts your not replacing. Any tips or tricks you guys know to make this install easier would be great!!!!!! Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCfan Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Hey, Scott, In regard to your question #2, there are two weep holes in your lower control arm at the bottom of the spring seat (see photo below). As Carl has already advised, positioning the end of the coil spring in the obvious "pocket" in the spring seat will give you plenty of exposure of the weep holes. In the photo below, you can see the backside of the "pocket" (the shiny spot) for the end of the spring just to the right (counterclockwise) from the two weep holes. Here's another photo showing the other side of the control arm but the light from the flash makes the "pocket" appear as a dark spot to the right (clockwise) of the two weep holes. The only other "advice" I can think of is probably something you already know: While the force of the coil spring is helpful to break the ball joints loose, I suggest that you at least partially restrain the spring with a coil spring compressor prior to removing either ball joint from the spindle and dropping the lower control arm completely down. If not restrained, those front coils are tall enough and strong enough to still exert dangerous force when the lower control arm is fully lowered as shown below. However, if you restrain it with a spring compressor first, its shorter extended length will allow it to safely fall out when you drop the lower control arm all the way down. Lesson learned the hard way ... Unless you've already done it, this is a good time to replace your front wheel bearings, also. Good luck with your suspension rebuild project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigscaht Posted November 8, 2012 Author Share Posted November 8, 2012 thanks guys.. i got the spring compressor ready to go..dont want any springs flying at me! I was told by someone that the spindles arent side specific and mine look as if they would work on either side but the steering arm, the part that the tie rod connects to are side specific. yes im gonna replace the wheel bearings and rotors and maybe the calipers too..maybe!!!! ok I will order a bigger front sway bar..what size is the stock one?????? imma try and get most of this done tomarrow..i got all the parts except a new sway bar and the brake rotors but everything else is ready to go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGD72Monte Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Sounds like you have a good plan in place. I did basically the same kind of complete overhaul a few years back. I bought a 1 1/8" front sway bar. I believe the original one is 1". I also added a 1" bar for the rear. I believe the original one is 7/8". Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigscaht Posted November 9, 2012 Author Share Posted November 9, 2012 Well i won the fight with the spring compressor and this is where im at so far wit the front suspension..all PST parts! and KYB shocks front & back..not installed yet!!..im slowly but surely gettin there! progress is good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCfan Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Congratulation, Scott, it's lookin' real good! I like your caliper supports, too. I learned the hard way that a single internal spring compressor was much more useful for spring installation than a pair of external compressors. Of course, disassembling the compressor and getting the individual pieces out of the coil when you're finished isn't so easy or fun, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70mcarlo Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Looking good, Scott! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigscaht Posted November 10, 2012 Author Share Posted November 10, 2012 yeah thats where my fight was...gettin the compressor out..urgh!!! but i figured out to use my jack to hold the control arm..lower it slowly and pull the compressor out then I found out that the other part wouldnt jus slide out the bottom of the arm cuz the hole was us a lil to small so out came the small die grinder.. yeah those custom caliper suppports work great!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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