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Burned's Broken Blue Build Thread

7K views 38 replies 8 participants last post by  Burned 
#1 ·
Going to start posting all the projects I've been doing to my car. Hopefully some of the mistakes I've made can help other people not do the same.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Installing Coilovers, tierods, ball joints, and new control arm bushings.

Sway Bar endlink off

Calipers coming off

Hung the caliper out of the way so it wasnt hanging by the brake line with a coat hanger.

I actually had to cut my old tierod off, since it was siezed on, Didnt get a pic of it coming off but had no problems with the new one going on.

That upper strut bolt was TIGHT.

The nut that is welded to the inside of the subframe to hold the control arm on broke, so i had to cut a hole in it and hold onto the nut with vice grips to take teh conrtol arm off.


Once i got the control arm off time to start taking out the old bushings and pushing the new ones in.







So clean and new. Love that feeling.
 
#3 ·
Subframe
I ordered a used subframe since i had to cut a hole in mine when i did suspension work. Got it off ebay for a steal. Decided to grind off all the rust and spray it wit ha rubbereized coating.


I got busy and forgot to take any more pics, but i eventually put 3-4 layers of rubberized undercoating on it and installed it.
 
#7 ·
Well right now I'm in the process of taking out all the interior plastic pieces. Going to sand them all down and paint them and see what that looks like.

If I can keep the car running and in good shape I want to put some hp in it and get it repainted, but I'm spending so much in basic repairs right now I don't know if I will reach that point.
 
#8 ·
Ignition Housing
I was at a gas station in the middle of a microburst when my car decided it wasnt going anywhere. The ignition actually broke on the on position so i had to disconnect the battery in the middle of the storm.


The dreaded security bolts.




There is the culprit.

Got to jimmy a paper clip (or your girlfriends bobby pin) to get the tumbler out.

New housing and switch-note hex bolts were prolly not the best idea, I had a little bit of a clearance problem with them.
 
#9 · (Edited)
(Another) New axle
So this is where I'm at right now.
Started out as a bad axle, has evolved into bad bushings, heli-coiling control arms, and stripping out hex bolts in coilovers.

Axle coming out

I would say it is busted.


The coilover was being a pain going in/out so I cleaned out the knuckle.


Had it almost back together and BAM. Should of used new stretch bolts.

Bought some extractors, then got it stuck in there as well.

By the time i got a tap and die, it was too late, the damage was done.
The bolt goes back in, but it doesnt tighten down.


Got a new bolt ordered and then found another problem.
Wheel shake outside.
Wheel shake inside.
Dont be fooled into thinking its the wheel bearing, here is the cause of the problem.
Upper strut bushing loose.
Also my dust boots for my coilovers are destroyed.

Raceland sent me new replacement boots for free. They came in yesterday.


Now waiting on new strut bearings and bushing to come in. They will be here tomorrow.

A day late but finally came in.

Guess you don't realize how bad they are until you get new ones.

Fully assembled. You can see the bit I hammered in to hold it tight to tighten everything down.

And FINALLY installed.

 
#11 ·
So my tires are destroyed and I'm still having suspension issues after replacing the strut bearing, upper strut bushing, axle, and just finished hele-coiling the control arm to sway bar endlink.



3 rims are bent, 1 is cracked from driving all over the country so I bought new tires and rims. Running on a budget after all these repairs so they werent exactly what i wanted, but for $750 for rims and tires, cant really complain.



215/45/17 BARELY fit on. i probably have less than an 8th of an inch between my tire and coilover after using the old spacers I have. Not too fond of the lugs either, was hoping they would come with a security key but owell.
Here is the final product.

I'm going to miss my old rims.
 
#16 ·
interesting idea.
I don't like dumping money into repairs but its the only car I got with little money to spare..plus I've prolly spent $4000+ on repairs and will never get the money back out of the car so figured I will just upgrade every time something breaks.
 
#19 · (Edited)
So I ordered my spindle yesterday, and wake up today with the fedex guy at my door. that was FAST. Funny though, when I paid for 2 day shipping on a bolt it took 3 days to get it. (guess that's ecs for you) Anyways, I got straight to work which means I ran straight into problems.

Anyone been able to pull out the abs sensor off the spindle successfully? I have a feeling I'm going to break it. I've hit it with a wd40 like substance then beat on the metal right above the sensor thinking it might vibrate it loose. Then got a screw driver and started prying where i can, but it hasnt really budged much.

Had one of the screws strip to take the dust shroud off as well, so waiting to borrow a dremel before I proceed with that.
 
#21 · (Edited)
yeah it broke. My abs light has been on for awile so not that big of deal..they look to be pretty expensive to replace though..

pics coming soon.

New and shiny.


It came with what i believe is a new axle nut..but I didnt have the right impact socket for it..so i just used the old one.


Great day to work on the car. 15 minutes in and it starts storming and haling.






Oh yeah, just take out the hex bolt and it should slide right out right?

Yeah right..

Anyways, now this side has been completely replaced. Every single part of the suspension is less than 1.5 years old.


I test drove it and noticed a few things.

First, now my brake light comes on and beeps when I take off..its the emergency brake alert thing..not sure what thats about..but whatever, another problem for another day.

I hit a corner hard and noticed the other side is shaking, although not as bad, so probably going to get a spindle for the side as well when i get the money.

A few pointers:
Get new abs when replacing the spindle..
ALWAYS replace stretch bolts.
Make sure your dust shroud isnt touching the rotor before you put the wheel back on.
 
#24 ·
So today I got the new hybrid oil pan on, abs sensors, front grill, outer tie rod, and axle installed.

My horrid vibration is finally gone. Turned out to be the axle, although it is only 6-8 months old. Finally that's out of the way.

Still need to get back shocks and springs replaced, if anyone knows where I can find only the back end let me know, I don't feel like replacing the entire coilover set.
 
#26 ·
Im skeptical of buying used suspension parts, it's seems pretty scary to do. Probably just going to have to fork up the money for new set of 4. Any recommendations for sub $1000 coilovers?

I only have one working speaker right now, so I think next weekends project will be rewiring the speakers and to see what kind of mess is behind the radio. Some cables fell beneath my glove box and it looks to be power and rca cords for a system, So I'll probably pull those out as well. Always something, haha.
 
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