Wow :(
06-14-2009, 06:27 PM
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Wow :( So I just spent all weekend installing the front...that's right, the front koni DAs and bmr springs. wow is all I can say. removing everything is easy. Except I snapped the damn sway bar links on both sides, and I could not remove the factory mounts. I bought new strut mounts and isolators because the stock ones were f-ed. When I tried tightening the bolts that came with the kit (not the ones that stick through) I couldn't get them tight on either side. both of the bolts spun freely on both sides of the car. I got everything back as best I could just like LS1howto, and took the car for a ride. Um, not cool. The thing feels very loose, and it is noisey. I wouldn't think that the strut mount bolts in the back would play that much of a role with noise while going slowly in a straight line over bumps. Could it be that I didn't tighten the endlinks enough? Or is the settings of the DAs? Could it possibly be the alignment is that bad? Any help would be appreciated. I guess I am gonna have to take it some place to have it done correctly.
06-14-2009, 07:11 PM
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So I just spent all weekend installing the front...that's right, the front koni DAs and bmr springs. wow is all I can say. removing everything is easy. Except I snapped the damn sway bar links on both sides, and I could not remove the factory mounts. I bought new strut mounts and isolators because the stock ones were f-ed. When I tried tightening the bolts that came with the kit (not the ones that stick through) I couldn't get them tight on either side. both of the bolts spun freely on both sides of the car. I got everything back as best I could just like LS1howto, and took the car for a ride. Um, not cool. The thing feels very loose, and it is noisey. I wouldn't think that the strut mount bolts in the back would play that much of a role with noise while going slowly in a straight line over bumps. Could it be that I didn't tighten the endlinks enough? Or is the settings of the DAs? Could it possibly be the alignment is that bad? Any help would be appreciated. I guess I am gonna have to take it some place to have it done correctly.
First the sway bar end links are not the problem. Even if you took them off completely, all you would have is a very loose sway and lots of body roll. Crank then down and until it compresses the rubber bushings and it's fine.
As far as the upper strut mounts and isolators, there should be no reason for those rear bolts to spin freely. They should be going into the threaded portion of the the upper strut mount, (the rear bolts on both sides) The studs that come up in the front through the upper control arm and of course tightened down with the nuts.
Two other things, did you get the upper mounts and isolators from the Dealer or an Autozone type of place? The upper mounts on our cars really require you to use the dealer parts for the isolator and mounts. (could be the reason for the bolt issue if you didn't buy from the dealer) The last thing would be did you compress the springs enough to tighten the upper shock mount nut on the Koni so you could tighten it all the way down? I made that mistake the first time i took it all apart and had to redo it. It's super important to get the spring compressed and the shock fully tightened before you take the compression off. I didn't at first and had a noisy front end until i redid it.
The thing I really don't understand is the rear bolts spinning... Doesn't make sense since they are threaded through and hold the upper control arm.
I'm going to see what others says too.
Last edited by Racin'Z28; 06-14-2009 at 07:15 PM. Reason: typos
06-14-2009, 07:24 PM
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So I just spent all weekend installing the front...that's right, the front koni DAs and bmr springs. wow is all I can say. removing everything is easy. Except I snapped the damn sway bar links on both sides, and I could not remove the factory mounts. I bought new strut mounts and isolators because the stock ones were f-ed. When I tried tightening the bolts that came with the kit (not the ones that stick through) I couldn't get them tight on either side. both of the bolts spun freely on both sides of the car. I got everything back as best I could just like LS1howto, and took the car for a ride. Um, not cool. The thing feels very loose, and it is noisey. I wouldn't think that the strut mount bolts in the back would play that much of a role with noise while going slowly in a straight line over bumps. Could it be that I didn't tighten the endlinks enough? Or is the settings of the DAs? Could it possibly be the alignment is that bad? Any help would be appreciated. I guess I am gonna have to take it some place to have it done correctly.
I forgot to also say, Even if the Koni's were set all the way on stiff, or one was set differently than the other, that is not the reason. Also, unless you're were changing the TOE by messing with the Tie rod ends, or changing the Camber by moving the lower control arms, None of which you mentioned, the alignment would not be the issue. The Caster is the only thing left and all that would do is make it twitchy or bump steer, all if you changed a bunch of of stuff which you didn't.
So, it's either the upper shock mount bolts (very likely) or the upper shock nut (slightly less likely) or a combination of both (the most likely).
06-14-2009, 08:43 PM
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Thanks for the response. I think it is probably the strut mounts. One of them is gabriel, the other was like duralast or some ****. I know I should have gotten the dealer ones, esp. now. The only reason why I didn't is because I had only ever heard of them cracking, but not just spinning freely. It is just weird that two different brands did the same thing, of course, they are both crap brands. I am probably gonna just go to a dealer and have them use the old mounts that I couldn't get off. I am pretty sure that the top nut is tight. By the way, wtf is up with the master cylinder being right over that nut. Gayness.
06-14-2009, 10:39 PM
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Thanks for the response. I think it is probably the strut mounts. One of them is gabriel, the other was like duralast or some ****. I know I should have gotten the dealer ones, esp. now. The only reason why I didn't is because I had only ever heard of them cracking, but not just spinning freely. It is just weird that two different brands did the same thing, of course, they are both crap brands. I am probably gonna just go to a dealer and have them use the old mounts that I couldn't get off. I am pretty sure that the top nut is tight. By the way, wtf is up with the master cylinder being right over that nut. Gayness.
06-16-2009, 12:52 AM
#7
Yep, the moogs I got were no better than the Gabriel or MasterPro's I got.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspensio...ut-mounts.html
and another one... https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspensio...nt-issues.html
Aftermarket shock mounts all seem to suck. I bet the reason you can't tighten the bolts on the shock mount is because the whole threaded insert you're putting those bolts into is just spinning in the mount. You should be able to easily look under there and see it. All of these aftermarket pieces seem to be made similar, the way they put those threaded inserts in there doesn't work and half the time they don't even line up with all 4 tower holes. A pair of vice grips on the threaded insert from below let me easily take the bolts back out to unbolt the shock assembley from the car.
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06-16-2009, 07:14 AM
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I think the majority of people that aren't complete idiots figured out what I meant after the second sentence "apparently they are junk".
06-16-2009, 12:24 PM
#12
GM replacments are expensive. You're going to be looking at over $140 a piece with out a discount.
I have a GM discount and I paid $140 each. For some reason I think they are near $200 each. Parts taxi ( a sponsor here) will be fairly reasonable when compared to your local dealer.
~Jim~
I have a GM discount and I paid $140 each. For some reason I think they are near $200 each. Parts taxi ( a sponsor here) will be fairly reasonable when compared to your local dealer.
~Jim~
06-16-2009, 12:48 PM
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To contribute more to this thread, from personal experience I can also attest to the Federal-Mogul strut mounts being crap as well. Also I just bought another brand in hopes they work out well, I will post up later if they do/don't.
The Napa strut mounts are supposed to work well as an alternative to the AC Delco's but they are $103 a piece.
Yes, they are $118 a piece from gmpartsdirect. The only thing is apparently they don't come with hardware, you have to buy all that separate.
The Gm numbers for the upper shock mount hardware are: (not cheap at dealership over the counter retail..)
The upper shock mount part numbers are:
(1) LH 22146933
(1) RH 22146934
(2) LH bolts (with the torx head..) 15548771
(2) RH bolts 11515510
(4) nuts 11517996 (this number used to be 10255857 and was superceded)
The upper shock bolts (for the shock rod that comes up through the mount)
(2) 11517996 (this number used to be 11515604 and was superceded)
The Napa strut mounts are supposed to work well as an alternative to the AC Delco's but they are $103 a piece.
The Gm numbers for the upper shock mount hardware are: (not cheap at dealership over the counter retail..)
The upper shock mount part numbers are:
(1) LH 22146933
(1) RH 22146934
(2) LH bolts (with the torx head..) 15548771
(2) RH bolts 11515510
(4) nuts 11517996 (this number used to be 10255857 and was superceded)
The upper shock bolts (for the shock rod that comes up through the mount)
(2) 11517996 (this number used to be 11515604 and was superceded)
06-16-2009, 02:44 PM
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Thanks for the help guys. I think I am gonna take it to a dealer, I know a guy that works there. He said he could help so hopefully it wouldn't be full price. I could reuse the stock mounts if they can take them apart. At this point, I am just not sure of the install at all. I am assuming the loose feeling is the strut mounts, but I want them to check everything. I need an alignment anyway. I feel like a ***** for not fixing it myself, but I don't want to take any chances. I have done susp. work on numerous cars, but never on the camaro. Just pisses me off. If they reuse the factory mounts, I will take my new ones back.
06-16-2009, 03:59 PM
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Thanks for the help guys. I think I am gonna take it to a dealer, I know a guy that works there. He said he could help so hopefully it wouldn't be full price. I could reuse the stock mounts if they can take them apart. At this point, I am just not sure of the install at all. I am assuming the loose feeling is the strut mounts, but I want them to check everything. I need an alignment anyway. I feel like a ***** for not fixing it myself, but I don't want to take any chances. I have done susp. work on numerous cars, but never on the camaro. Just pisses me off. If they reuse the factory mounts, I will take my new ones back.
For whatever reason I know I personally don't want to ruin the stock decarbon's so I just went ahead and bought new strut mounts.
06-16-2009, 08:57 PM
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the last set of moogs I got recently were junky, made overseas and right and left were made in different countries too...... The gabriels picked up from auto zone and other places are junky, and the masterpro's from oreileys are junk too. I don't think anyone makes a good one anymore that will bolt right in with all the studs and threaded inserts lining up with the towers, and doesn't have issues with spinning the threaded inserts where you can't tighten it up.
I ended up using the moogs but resorted to just knocking out the studs and threaded inserts and used grade8 nuts and bolts because of the inadequately fastened threaded inserts spinning over while tightening the bolts. That and the studs and hardware didn't match side to side... the studs were different colors, different heights, had different threads, and different looking nuts as well. Obviously a result of being made in different countries.. hopefully the mounts themselves will hold up.
I'd say a GM set of the mounts is probably the way to go, hopefully they are still a good part. Who knows these days... good replacement parts are harder and harder to find anymore. If you end up with some GM pieces please report back how they work out for you.
I ended up using the moogs but resorted to just knocking out the studs and threaded inserts and used grade8 nuts and bolts because of the inadequately fastened threaded inserts spinning over while tightening the bolts. That and the studs and hardware didn't match side to side... the studs were different colors, different heights, had different threads, and different looking nuts as well. Obviously a result of being made in different countries.. hopefully the mounts themselves will hold up.
I'd say a GM set of the mounts is probably the way to go, hopefully they are still a good part. Who knows these days... good replacement parts are harder and harder to find anymore. If you end up with some GM pieces please report back how they work out for you.
06-19-2009, 12:38 AM
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Just an update, got the car fixed what a difference. It was the shitty mounts, so new hardware was used. Car rides and handles much better. Rides better than stock even lowered with the new BMR springs. I love them. Almost done with rammating the car too. I haven't done the doors yet and it takes the shittiest road in the world to make the car squeak at all. I can't wait til this is done. Thanks for the help guys
06-19-2009, 11:15 AM
#20
Glad to see you got it fixed.
When I bought my first set of Upper mounts (after market) they wouldn't even line up with the stock holes. Of course I didn't find that out until I had the whole front cradle back in the car.
''
How much did you end up getting the mounts for?
~Jim~
When I bought my first set of Upper mounts (after market) they wouldn't even line up with the stock holes. Of course I didn't find that out until I had the whole front cradle back in the car.
''How much did you end up getting the mounts for?
~Jim~