Suspension

[sleepyalero]

Yeah these are supposed to pop into the bearing plate on the front and rear goes into that copper colored piece.

They are KYB boot kits.

[tw0123]

fair enough... cant wait to see them on the car... should make a world of difference for your love of the car!!

[sleepyalero]

Originally Posted by tw0123

fair enough... cant wait to see them on the car... should make a world of difference for your love of the car!!

i bet so!

im looking at it being installed/aligned by saturday. thats whats im shooting for... gotta juggle the car, work and sleep. should have off sat/sun so i can get it aligned sat hopefully.

[rustyballs_69]

Originally Posted by sleepyalero

i bet so!

im looking at it being installed/aligned by saturday. thats whats im shooting for... gotta juggle the car, work and sleep. should have off sat/sun so i can get it aligned sat hopefully.

I would give it a week before you get the alignment done. That will give the springs some time to settle. If you get it done right away the alignment will be off once the springs settle.

[03gxeco]

well??? lets see her lowered.

[sleepyalero]

Originally Posted by 03gxeco

well??? lets see her lowered.

refer to the thread titled "am i lowered yet"

[<woj99>]

I'm also assembling my struts and there's some good info in this thread. No luck getting a response on GAGT so trying here since responses are generally quicker and better.

For the front, the bump stops pop into the strut mount. For the rear, do you just pop them into the cup that comes with the strut mount and slide it onto the strut and it just stays loose? There's no way to secure it to the mount. Then slide the boots over the bump stops with the narrower opening on the boot going over the stop?

I also have aftermarket moog boots and bump stops and sleepy's pic shows it pretty well, just want to confirm for the rear bump stop and cup. Thanks.

Originally Posted by sleepyalero

Yeah these are supposed to pop into the bearing plate on the front and rear goes into that copper colored piece.

They are KYB boot kits.

[<woj99>]

One more question now that I'm looking closely at your pic. Isn't the bottom end of the rear spring supposed to sit flush against that slanted part of the spring seat on the strut (on the right side of the rear struts in your pic)? A bit hard to tell from your pic but it looks like your spring ends on the left side of the spring seat, past the slanted part. Thanks.

I guess I also have the same question for the fronts. Where is the spring supposed to sit on the bottom spring seat on the strut? There's a stop on the top mount and the mount rotates so there's no issue there, but I'm not sure where to place the bottom end of the spring since there's no spot for it like on the rears. Should I go off of how the stock springs are seated on the strut? Just not sure if it will be the same since the lowering springs are different length.

Originally Posted by sleepyalero

Got the suspension together today, now just to find the time to install it..

[sleepyalero]

my struts are put together correctly. as for front spring, i believe they just sit anywhere on the bottom as long as top lines up with isolator. you can copy front if you wish.

as you can see the metal "cup" for the rear the white bump stop slides in there, and the black boot slips onto bump stop. the front, the bump stop slides into the top of bearing plate, and same rules apply to the boot.

that help?

[<woj99>]

Thanks for the reply, that does help. Main question is though once you pop the rear bump stop into the metal cup and you pop the boot over the bump stop, the cup is not attached to the mount in anyway. It basically just sits there on top of the boot right?

Originally Posted by sleepyalero

my struts are put together correctly. as for front spring, i believe they just sit anywhere on the bottom as long as top lines up with isolator. you can copy front if you wish.

as you can see the metal "cup" for the rear the white bump stop slides in there, and the black boot slips onto bump stop. the front, the bump stop slides into the top of bearing plate, and same rules apply to the boot.

that help?

[sleepyalero]

Originally Posted by <woj99>

Thanks for the reply, that does help. Main question is though once you pop the rear bump stop into the metal cup and you pop the boot over the bump stop, the cup is not attached to the mount in anyway. It basically just sits there on top of the boot right?

correct, the metal cup holds the bump stop in place.

[<woj99>]

Ok awesome. That's what I figured, and the bump stop fits over the strut rod pretty snug so it can just float there at the top in the cup.

I will likely attempt to assemble them myself and rent the spring clamps from the store. I've watched a few videos on how to do it. Can't find a shop that will do it for a decent price, everyone is quoting 30 mins per strut which comes out to almost $250..when it's more like 10 mins per strut since all they have to do is tighten the top nut!

Originally Posted by sleepyalero

correct, the metal cup holds the bump stop in place.

[sleepyalero]

i took mine to a chevy dealer, they did all 4 for 167$ and 2 of em had to be takin apart and put back together because i apparently assembled them wrong. so im glad i had them do it.

[<woj99>]

For sure, that is a good idea. It's definitely not hard to put them together the wrong way, that's why I want to be certain even if it's small details like the bumpstop fitment.

Originally Posted by sleepyalero

i took mine to a chevy dealer, they did all 4 for 167$ and 2 of em had to be takin apart and put back together because i apparently assembled them wrong. so im glad i had them do it.

[sleepyalero]

yeah, if you know what your doing then do it, if not, id suggest getting them put together. me im anal about who does work on my car. for this id trust a dealership for it. thats where i take my car if i need something done i dont want to mess with, might be more money, but the care they give my car and the work they do right the FIRST time, its 100% worth the extra money to me. i hate going to random shops and watch them treat cars like crap. the dealership i go to knows me well, and knows how i like my car to be takin care of and i must say they do an outstanding job at being careful with her, along with doing the job right, and thats what i look for in a shop.

[02AleroGLS]

Hey this may be a stupid question but is there any difference between a grand am's struts n shocks and a Alero's?? What about springs?? Im lost. Im picking out springs n struts but most companies have different part numbers for grand am springs and struts then Alero's.

Struts and springs interchange.
Although, Delco dampers are available with 2 different valving options - for RPO FE2 (standard on all Aleros and the Grand Am SE) and RPO FE3 (slightly firmer for the Grand Am GT an an option on the Alero).

[02AleroGLS]

Well i was looking at the kanuck website at the springs and the specs n prices and i noticed the ones for the grand am have a different part number and are cheaper. Which ones should i get? Im gonna replace the mounts and everything cause mine creek and groan when i turn the steering wheel.

[sleepyalero]

i got the alero ones just to be safe

[02AleroGLS]

Ok i just didnt wanna make the wrong decision ya know lol