Quote:
Originally Posted by CatSkinner
|
No they won't. For the lower control arms only the OEM's will work due to shape, angle and clearance issues. However, lower control arm OEM bump stops are available for about $10 each. That's no problem. It is the upper control arm OEM bump stops which are an issue, since they are not sold separately from the OEM control arm. Aftermarket upper control arms may come with the bushings and ball joints, but not with the bump stop.
There are ways to have these bump stops remade by a shop that rebuilds rubber parts like press rollers and such. They can take the part, prepare the surface and vulcanize the rubber on it. I still have to find such a place as they are vanishing due to outsourcing overseas due to globalization.
One option I am considering is to take one of those energy suspesion 2" diameter (Energy Suspension 9-9102G) bump stops to adapt on the OEM metal base. One would have to remove the old rubber (no problem), drill a hole in the middle of the metal base plate, tap the proper thread, bolt the bump stop to the base plate after choping the bolt to remove the overshoot portion, secure with Locktite or similar, and then cut out the excess bump stop (since the base plate is 2" x 1" and the stop is circular 2" diameter, ie. cut off the circle to leave behind just the corresponding rectangular portion.
Now, the OEM rectangular bump stop rubber portion is about 22 mm tall while the ES circular stop above is about 18 mm tall. That is about 4 mm shorter. I see no reason why that should be a problem. Actually, in my case today I installed the Moog 80090 front coil springs. These springs raised the car by about 3 to 4". Car looks like a 4X4 now. This has been reported previously in the forums. I will see if they settle down after a while. However, because the car front is raised, the effect on the upper cross arm bump stop clearance is reduced significantly. That being so the shorter ES bump stop is convenient. That should throw a word of caution to others who replace the OEM springs with the Moog 80090, because the OEM bump stops could be destroyed now that the clearance is significantly reduced.
Anyways, after replacing the front suspension the car drives and feels much better now, except the Moogs 80090 springs are much stiffer than OEM's resulting in a harsher ride. With the OEM springs the car was trhe typical MGM smooth ride. We'll see if these Moogs give out or what. If they don't, they are coming out and will have to pay for the expensive OEM springs.
My next step is rebuilding the rear suspension. Back there I have aleady replaced the old air bags with limousine grad air bags and all I have left to do is all the bushings and sway bar end liks.