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Rear Suspension Rebuild

44K views 83 replies 11 participants last post by  AlvinNJ 
#1 · (Edited)
Fun Stuff... Yesterday I ordered a pair of Radflo from PRG and a pair of non-Tow springs from NAPA. Someone on here said that NAPA discontinued the springs but the counter guy told me they show stocked in some central warehouses. If they don't come in for some reason, a dealership will sell me OEM springs for $20 more, so no big deal. It floors me that the stupid things are costing $180/pair after negotiating, springs just shouldn't be that expensive. Dealership full retail price was something like $140/ea, that's just stupid rediculous, IMHO.

After I get a good look at the springs, I will be looking at Air-Lift -vs- Firestone -vs- anything else for the helper springs. I am planning to powdercoat the coil springs anyway so there will be no rush.

The secondary pair of Radflo that I am wanting still have too much lead time to mess with right now so I'll just mess with them later. To prevent confusion for anyone who's new to the site reading this, I have 4-shocks in the rear for a total of 6-shocks on the vehicle.

Updated:
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Details: http://www.clubarmada.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23224&page=4


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Final Result:


Here's a couple videos of the ride. The background noise is my Dog panting:

http://s204.photobucket.com/user/Po...B87-164-0000000903EAD5EC_zps939ada07.mp4.html

http://s204.photobucket.com/user/PopsRacer/media/Lifted%20Armada/0E8FB470-391E-4D81-A626-3F8E43C49AE8-164-0000000BEDBFE8D0_zpsf7fea305.mp4.html


I added Timbren Bumpstops Part# NRARM then towed my trailer 30 miles to storage yesterday. I was skeptical when installing these but then pleasantly surprised when I towed with them. These were the secret ingredient. The AirLift 1000 bags are so weak even at their full PSI that I found I was actually still riding on full bumpstops when towing. These Timbren do very well at picking up the slack. Here's a link and pics, the rear squat when towing is at pretty much the same level as it was with the OEM Air-Shocks:

http://www.stengelbros.net/NRARM_p_1564.html

They look like this:




Unhitched:






Hitched up using the Timbrens:



 
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#35 ·
ProComp for the 2nd set, I just put red boots on them and left off the stickers. I just got finished with the other side and am getting cleaned up to take it to an alignment shop. I'll share details after I've tested it out for a little while, some of what I did is on the edge and I don't know if it's good.
 
#36 ·
The front two cam bolts on the rear are seized so I couldn't get it properly aligned... I have a new pair on order then will post feedback on the ride quality after it's properly aligned. I also currently have the rear sway bar disconnected to see if I can get away with removing it.
 
#37 ·
Thanks for the updates Bob. I am eagerly awaiting results. :D

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#38 ·
Okay Pops, what's the verdict?

Looking at the pics, it appears that the new coil is right at the same hight as the stock coil. It has one more turn in the coil so that should do a better job at holding that air bag in place. My question is, does that additional turn on the spring come as a result of it being a "non-tow" Mada, or is that as a result of it being after market?

That additional turn, does it make a noticable difference in ride quality or is it about the same. One last question, the diameter of the spring material itself. Is it the same, bigger or smaller in diameter?
 
#39 ·
Excellent questions turtle! What's the verdict Pops? :D

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#40 ·
The cam bolts are a nightmare. I began using a sawzall on one and I don't know if you guys have ever tried cutting a Grade 8 steel bolt but after 45 mins of cutting on one I called it a night then came down sick with a flu cold the next day and have been wrapped up running a fever since. I'll post an update when I can get it done.
 
#41 ·
That's rough... Sorry to hear that pops. Get better quick... Merry Christmas!

Tried grinding it off? Might be easier....


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#42 ·
Get well soon Bob. Try with blow torch :D


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#43 · (Edited)
What a day... I'm still burning with fever but there's ice and snow on the ground, going to work tomorrow is mandatory, and apparantly I broke the latch cable on the mini cooper driver door when I got into it this morning while it was covered in ice. I thought they made cars for cold in Germany, guess not.

So I decided to get the Armada driveable but waa only able to patch it enough to take to a shop tomorrow after work to let them do it, doing this with a sweaty fever and stupid cough is just wrong. Stores are all closed so picking up a torch was out of question. So the friggin ball joint is seized as well. I got the bolt out but broke it while putting it back in so the ball joint is only held together by corrosion now. As I was tightening the cam bolt the bolt head snapped off and went flying. I decided to crank more to see if I could get it to break loose but that's a no go. So I left as is, put the wheel back on and I'm going to drive it as is to a shop this week. Don't even ask about the Mini's door looks like I'm driving wife's car to work tomorrow and Bo Duking the Mini until I get the Armada driveable to start tearing into the Mini's door.

Merry Christmas y'all!!! :D
 
#44 ·
Dang pops.... That's a patch of rough luck. Sorry to heat about it. Hope your new years goes better.

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#45 · (Edited)
Yea, and to top it off, I showed up for work this morning and I'm the Lone Ranger today with a stack of work waiting. Yee Haw! -lol....

I went ahead and ordered a new LCA because I'm thinking this one has too much corrsion going on inside the bushing collar and ball joint. Not that it couldn't be unseized, I'm just concerned about the remaining corrosion after unseizing it. They said it'll be late next week before the new LCA comes in because it's not in close stock. I'm going to schedule a service appointment for late next week in case I can't get the balljoint broken free before then. If I can get the balljoint to pop free this will be easy cheesy because I'll just cutoff the other side of the cam bolt to drop out the LCA.
 
#46 ·
Hey Bob,

Me chiming in here.., boy, when it rains it poors doesn't it! It makes me just a little glad to live in the climate out here in So Cal. Corosion is almost non existant on our vehicles, no salted roads for the snow. Hope you're feeling at least a little better, stinks you had to go to work sick.

Anyhow, try a die grinder with a part off wheel on that. It'll make small work of it, like a hot knife through soft butter. If you can get a saws all on it, then that little grinder should fit fine.
 
#47 · (Edited)
Just an update... I drove it about 25 miles across town today to the dealership so they can use a cutting torch on it. The ride is fantastic. My cam bolt is half missing so the rear TOE is completely out of whack and it still rode smooth as warm butter.

The part I haven't mentioned yet is I used silicone to glue the Air-Lift airbag nozzle protectors onto the bags then installed them upside down with the hose on top. I ran the hose up through the hole and through the framing then clamped it to the OEM shock Hose, it was a perfect fit no extra hardware was needed. I also removed the Rear Sway Bar so it now has no sway bars on at all. Then I adjusted the rear height sensor to the lowest possible setting so the bags aren't used unless it's under very heavy squat and at that point the coil springs would be in full use as well so the theory is that the bags shouldn't get too much weight on them.. I'm not yet sure if I like this setup or not but there will be no going back and I hope it holds up better than the OEM shocks did. The ride was very smooth though, I think that alone should make this all worth while.
 
#49 ·
Let us know how everything feels once its all put back together and settled. :)

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#52 · (Edited)
As posted above, the ride is smooth as butter, it rides better than my wife's Lexus. These shocks are a little shorter than I wanted, I don't know if it's due to the lift kit or what but I'm going to ask if there's some a few inches longer that I could use instead.

Also, I haven't towed yet either so I'm not yet sure how well these air bags will hold up being connected to the OEM height sensor. I changed the sensor to its lowest setting so it won't kick on unless really sagging alot and I'll likely adjust it up a little bit once hitched up but I think setting it to maintain the original height might be asking for trouble, I would think there has to be some sag when 820-lbs is put on the hitch.
 
#55 ·
I think I'm gonna follow your lead on this Pops minus the powder coat, down the road a little ways. I can see that my Mada is resting on the factory air shocks vs. the springs. If I were to let it settle down on the springs it would sag for sure, no doubt.

That extra turn in the coil apparently makes a bit of a difference, it'll definately hold that air bag in place a little better too. Thanks for the update!

How you feel'n BTW?
 
#56 ·
Feeling MUCH better!! If you get the NAPA Springs, I would strongly suggest powdercoating even if it's Black. The paint on them is not very good, there was alot of bare metal spots, and the last thing you want is rust on your springs because it tends to be very contagious for some reason and might start spreading underneath the paint.. If I knew the paint was weak before getting them and if I was going to leave them Black, I would've spent the little extra for OEM.
 
#61 ·
Coils springs and rear alignment

I also replaced the rear auto leveling system for the Rancho 9000XL and rear coil springs from a SE Non-tow Armada. The springs seem to be very similar to the NAPA springs with a thicker gauge wire as well as a extra coil that adds stiffness and height.
I also have the 2" spacer leveling kit and just sent it to the shop for a alignment and the tech can't get it into specs. He said that front and rear are out of spec. Are there aftermarket cam bolt kits that i gave use to get the alignment right? Any advise would be appreciated....
 
#62 ·
I also replaced the rear auto leveling system for the Rancho 9000XL and rear coil springs from a SE Non-tow Armada. The springs seem to be very similar to the NAPA springs with a thicker gauge wire as well as a extra coil that adds stiffness and height.
I also have the 2" spacer leveling kit and just sent it to the shop for a alignment and the tech can't get it into specs. He said that front and rear are out of spec. Are there aftermarket cam bolt kits that i gave use to get the alignment right? Any advise would be appreciated....
You mean like these? http://www.prgproducts.com/shop/product/prg_cams/
 
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