Front Suspension Questions

[Swami]

I am the original owner of a 2000 CSVT with 50K miles and am planning on keeping it for perhaps another decade. I pulled the wheels off the front and noticed that the control arm bushings and end link bushings are shot - no surprise there, but no poor handling symptoms or clunks either. The car has factory wheels, springs and struts though I may lower it 1-1.5" in the future and go to a wider wheel.

I have a few questions:

1. Should I replace the tie rods or other components at the same time?

2. Level of difficulty for the occasional driveway mechanic with basic tools?

3. Any particular brands recommended for a strictly street car (though driven and cornered hard) or just any warranteed OEM part good enough? Once upon a time I saw some development for tubular control arms - too expensive and for track only?

4. I do have the pdf for replacing the front suspension components put up by a member here, but any other tips, thoughts suggestions? This will be a first time for me.

5. Amazingly, the brake pads appear to have many tens of thousands of miles of life left!

 

[BrApple]

Here are my thoughts. I have a 2k SVTC with 67k. Only thing at the moment that I would want to replace are the strut mounts and I have to think about brakes. Already have ST200 struts and H&R Springs on the car.

1. Check the condition and replace as needed unless you would like peace of mind that everything is new.

2. The control arm is going to be the most difficult part on the drivers side. The bolt will not come out unless the engine is lifted up or the subframe is dropped. There is the option to cut and install a new OEM bolt, but this is not my preference. I would expect to have normal difficultly getting things apart. Going to assume with 50k miles the car has been in a garage most of its life so rust shouldn't be to bad.

3. I would go OEM if you can find the parts. Otherwise Moog or any other major brand name should be acceptable. I know others have said Dorman control arms fails very quickly. Tubular control arms I would say are overkill for a street/DD car.

4. I think I recall the pdf .... it should be pretty straight forward with that. Otherwise get a shop manual and check out its steps to compare.

5. if they are not worn out and the rotors are straight then let them be. Unless again you would like piece of mind that they are new.

 

[Swami]

Thanks for your input.

What am I looking for when inspecting the inner and outer tie rods? Slop? Worn parts?

If I have to drop the sub-frame or lift the engine, then I might as well have it done at a repair shop which is what I am trying to avoid as I am semi-retired with minimal income.

What would it take to cut out the bolt and why do you recommend against it? I would like to replace the control arms before they go bad and prefer to do it myself.

I will take your advice and let the brakes go for another few years as they are working just fine.

 

[satya_svt98]

two things you can do w inner/outer tie rods. 1, shake the wheel back and forth at 9pm and 3pm if it shakes then the inner and outers are bad. the other thign you can do is unhook the tie rod end from the knuckle and see if it holds it self up if it falls right away then its bad. remember taht SVT's had special sized inner tie rods fyi. cutting bolts is just not a great idea.. you want the bolt coming down thru the top so even if a nut somehow falls off you have something there holding it on. if a bolt put in upside down falls out.. your wrecking pretty hard if your LCA comes off.

 

[hourang]

my car has its second set of upside down bolts now. install some locking washers and nylon locking nuts, maybe some loctite, re-tighten after first heat cycle and you should be fine. My hardware store had grade 10 bolts that fit perfect upside down. Where are you located? If your near me i would love to help

 

[Swami]

Thanks for the generous offer. I live in Las Vegas.

How did you cut the bolts out? Please be as detailed as you can.

 

[BrApple]

My hardware store had grade 10 bolts that fit perfect upside down.

Never use hardware store bolts, imho. OEM is the only way to go in this case. I am not sure what the specification is on the factory bolt, it maybe equivalent to grade 10, but it might be higher. The OEM bolt also has a coating on it that you will not find in a hardware store. Also iirc the OEM bolt has a tapered middle section, pretty sure hardware store bolts do not either.

IMHO, one should never compromise on parts that are related to the suspension and brakes. This is what keeps the vehicle in contact with the road and gives it the ability to stop.

 

[hourang]

10.9 metric is about as hard as it gets. Equivalent to grade 8 SAE (not to be confused with 8.8 metric). My dad worked in a nut/bolt factory most his life, they made bolts for the big three, learned a lot from him, and really miss having his endless drawer of every bolt imaginable.

but i dont disagree that the proper way to do it is factory, drop the subframe, reuse factory bolts. Just giving options. My car was already done that way so i kept it but bought brand new bolts with locking washers and nylon nuts. They are coated as well and have a neck on them that was a tight fit in the sleeve. I buy from a real hardware store, none of that ACE/ACO crap. Why the last person didnt put locking washers is beyond me. I also put the rear bolt in with the head on top since there is plenty of room on that one. So only the front one is upside down since it is right under the trans.


Also i am in Michigan, so i guess i cant help, lol. as for cutting, i didnt have to cut mine so i cant recommend the best way. i would probably just grind the head down with a die grinder though i am not sure how much room there is with the trans right there.