Finally did the suspension on the Touring

[BlackSpeed66]

Have to take the entire godforsaken interior out of the rear to get to six stupid nuts for the rear shocks...

But, it was worth it! Rides so much better now. Bilstein HDs all around (no self leveling) The lower spring pads on the rears turned to goo and the springs are stuck on to them now

Pile o' parts from the front end work




Giant mess




Ew.




Much better!

[straight6pwr]

nice. i am doing this for the touring in may. i've read the write ups, but any pointers you'd like to share?

2nd - what is that spare tire storage tray? looks awesome, would love to shove some stuff inside there instead of the side storage compartments.

[BlackSpeed66]

Tips? Buy/use this for tie rods and ball joints - especially if you're doing the center link for the steering. Trying to get it off of the pitman arm was impossible but this thing made quick work of it in a few minutes. I feel like an ass now... using a pickle fork for everything else

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-4-quarter-inch-forged-ball-joint-separator-99849.html

The front control arms/thrust arms and the rear shock bolts must be torqued with the car in the "loaded" position. If you do it with the wheels hanging and no weight, you risk damaging the bushings and doing it all again in a few weeks/months.


The tire storage thing is from an e46 i believe. I was able to dig around on realoem to find the part number - it is pretty handy!

[straight6pwr]

thanks! i found the tray on ebay, indeed its from an e46.

yea, i have already done all the control arms/steering linkage/bushings, etc but am tackling the struts and springs next. my current rear shocks are also those red ones, which i assume are old enough to be original from the 90s.