86 rear suspension rebuild what to I need?

[Peer81]

Hello everybody,

My friend has a 86 convertible and want to rebuild the rear suspension and check the Dana36 diff.
We already made up a list with parts that we need but I think other people have done this before so I hope they can shime in.
This is what we have so far.

- 2 rear wheel bearing ass. (US build)
- 2 drive shaft u-joints
- 4 half shaft u-joints
- 2 rear Outer Tie rod ends & dust covers
- Polyurethane total kit
- Bushing for leafspring (included in total kit or not?)
- 2 x Polyurethane sway bar bushing with brackets. (19 or 22mm for OEM 86 convertible?)
- 2 yoke caps with 4 yoke cap bolts as backup
- Polyurethane differential bushings

Are there also some things I need to look out for or can be tricky? I already rebuild my C3 suspension but never took apart a C4.

Greetings Peter

 

[seabee 86]

Inspect all your suspension components for cracks or signs of fatigue. I had the rear passengers side knuckle on my 86 go on me. If its a high mileage car like mine was, I would go so far as to say buy all new ones. Generally I do not support buying what you don't need, but given whats riding on these particular parts, and safety is a stake, theres no price on peace of mind.

 

[Hib Halverson]

Don't use polyurethane in C4 trailing arms or strut rods.

Those suspension parts need to rotate as well as pivot. Because urethane is so stiff, it resists the necessary rotation and that tends to bind the suspension. Use either OE replacement rubber or heim joints.

Use of polyurethane for the stabilizer bar mounts and links is a good choice.

Use nothing but Spicer u-joints and avoid the joints with zerk fittings.

 

[John Robinson]

Be very careful of the leaf spring that you don't let it get marked in any way. You will have to support it to keep it from springing down and doing damage.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/55806931@N00/

I think you can see from these how I supported the spring when I did the half shaft u joints

Please ignore the picture of the a/c don't know how to get it deleted from this post.

 

[Peer81]

Thanks for all the replies.

We'll check all the parts on crack's not a very big problem. This 86 has less then 40k on it so it shouldn't be a problem.
I've read some things about using or not using joints with zerk fittings but with a almost standard 350 the torque isn't that high so a slightly weaker u-joint that can be lubed on time isn't a big problem I think. On a stroker I would also go for non zerk's but now...

Greetings Peter