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 Never prepared it seems... 
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Post Never prepared it seems...
It always seems like there's no such thing as a true "bolt on" mod...

I want to install replacement del-sphere pivot joints on my LCA's the replacements are 1 inch too long, at full tighten, it's at least 0.5 inch longer than stock.

I wanted to install my watt's link. The sway bar interferes, 19 mm it'll fit fine, but anything bigger requires a spacer.

Now I cut the bolt and got the joints on.

I got the swaybar spacer kit but damn, the end links are rusted to hell and won't come off the sway bar. Back to cutting and grinding.

Go to install kit... the bolts are too big for the stock brackets... grind again, elongate the holes...

Just when everything is about to come together... I realize the bolts are 17 mm and require a deep socket. I can think of only 1 bolt on the car that is 17mm and that's on my transmission mount. Why spohn oh why 17.... why not 16 or 18....

Anyways... off to buy a deep socket, pics of parts and install coming.

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Sat Jul 07, 2012 2:30 pm
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Post Re: Never prepared it seems...
eek :shock: :ohno


Sat Jul 07, 2012 3:52 pm
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Post Re: Never prepared it seems...
hah... another note... swaybars aren't symmetrical up and down... ie FML I tried installing it upside down. +30 mins to take it apart again...
ughhh

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Sat Jul 07, 2012 4:17 pm
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Post Re: Never prepared it seems...
I'v hed them days, cant win for try'n :?


Sat Jul 07, 2012 4:58 pm
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Post Re: Never prepared it seems...
Got it on the road.... feels... not like an f-body.

The panhard bar along with the live axle and the power is gives our cars a distinct feel. Lose the panhard to a different design and the car feel changes drastically.

Traction wise, it's about the same. I made some traction gain from the LCA swap to poly/roto joint + sub frame connectors despite balding tires.

I learned that upgrades in the suspension are worthless if they bind, ie poly/poly lca's are not an upgrade. They get rid of wheel hop and change it for spinning tires, shitty 60/ft etc.

The Watt's link alters how the back end behaves. Not sure how to describe it really, but it does handle road imperfections significantly better.

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Sat Jul 07, 2012 7:32 pm
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Post Re: Never prepared it seems...
I think I had the first Watts up here, and I would say it makes the car handle pretty much the same both directions. When I auto crossed the car you got used to the car turning better right than left, and could see the panhard rod jacking the rear up going left. It did seem to step out a little less over expansion joints, but did not totally get rid of it. I hope my new one works as well as the Fayes 2. It is not as rock solid or sound as the IRS of my Magnum. I know why the ZL1 does better than the Shebly in the corners.

You made a good choice with that upgrade.

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Sat Jul 07, 2012 10:45 pm
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Post Re: Never prepared it seems...
But thats what makes modding our cars so much fun :lol:

The Macgivering to get a part to work makes it more rewarding 8)

So is that Watts link going to help more at the strip or road course?

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Sun Jul 08, 2012 6:37 am
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Post Re: Never prepared it seems...
I'd imagine it'd help for both as prior to all this suspension stuff this year, I couldn't come out of a dig without spinning if my life depended on it.

There was a slight improvement in traction after the watt's link, I noticed on launch the rear squatted more than my panhard setup.

This is my progression.
Stock
Front and rear sway bar 35/25
Lower control arms (Boxed -poly/poly)
LCA Relocation brackets, bilstein shocks, torque arm
Double adjustable panhard (poly/poly), panhard relocation
Torque arm relocation
35/22 sway bar
strut tower brace/sub frame connectors/ LCA poly/roto joint
Watt's link

Sway bars and shocks made the biggest "ride" improvement. Sway bar = less roll. LCA's helped wheel hop but binded the rear making it not absorb bumps as well at the back. It kept it tight though so it was "f-body" predictable.

The adjustable panhard let me recenter the rear. Did not affect feel whatsoever. Torque arm relocation transmitted more rear noise (good for when the rear decides on going, you can HEAR shit break before becoming catastrophic).

Despite all that, my 60 ft never got better than a 2.01 with a fluke 1.9 on a let's glue up the first 60ft for me at Cayuga day.

The strut tower brace makes the inner tire grip better on turns. 14 year f-body has got to flex by now. Still tighter than my 3rd gen new. The sub frame connects affects weight transfer much better. Less squat feel, more traction. The LCA's with poly/rod increased rear roll a bit, but made the rear articulate better so it a)absorbs bumps and is more comfortable b)added a bit more traction for launch.

Finally the watt's link while still in an "adjusting" state has balanced out the concept of left and right turns, allows a bit more articulation of the rear (can go over larger bumps and not feel like I'm hitting potholes and makes highway driving feel like the car is gliding more than pushing. Noise wise, it's not any different and I think I saved on some overall weight.

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Sun Jul 08, 2012 11:22 am
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Post Re: Never prepared it seems...
The bracket is hitting my dual exhaust over the axle. I had a bar welded up there to link the 2 pipes, gotta cut it and make small modifications to the bracket to increase the clearances.

Luckilly only bangs off large bumps, the ride is smooth.

The rod ends are also "clacking" around due to the vibration. Going to put some thin foam to absorb the vibration but its only loud because I'm focused on it. Girlfriend says I'm too sensitive... lol

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Wed Jul 11, 2012 12:37 pm
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Post Re: Never prepared it seems...
If it is the rod ends on the Watts Clanking. Did you buy the Watts new? Mine had O Rings to stop the rod ends from rotating and have metal to metal contact. I thought it was a nice simple idea.

Here is a picture of my old one, you can just see the O Ring in the lower right corner. You can also see the yellow hi temp silicon wrap I used to stop my exhaust from bumping.

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Wed Jul 11, 2012 9:39 pm
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Post Re: Never prepared it seems...
I've got the MWC watt's link above. I bought it brand new. I will try the orings on the bolts, thx.

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Thu Jul 12, 2012 12:11 am
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Post Re: Never prepared it seems...
Slade wrote:
I've got the MWC watt's link above. I bought it brand new. I will try the orings on the bolts, thx.


Ok, I thought you had the Fayes 2, I did not even know MWC was doing retro fit ones for anything but their own diffs. The one on the top is for my MWC diff. I have not tried the o rings on the MWC one. It will require a couple washers to retain the o rings.

I have not used my MWC yet, not till I get on the road again.

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Thu Jul 12, 2012 7:27 am
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Post Re: Never prepared it seems...
Victory! Piece grinded, plenty of room for bracket with axle to move up.

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Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:48 pm
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Post Re: Never prepared it seems...
I should mention the rod ends supplied with the MWC Watts are trash. They have half the strength of quality rod end. I spent $70 and got all new QA1 3 pc rod ends for mine. It will help that rattle you are hearing. The supplied ones, you can feel the play in them. They are like $5 dollar units. I spent $6k on my diff and was pissed, at least the rest appeared to be quality parts.

It sounds like you have it sorted out now.

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Fri Jul 13, 2012 8:31 pm
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Post Re: Never prepared it seems...
Got the part numbers for the parts?

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Fri Jul 13, 2012 10:57 pm
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