Rebuilding suspension on 04 ???

**jaycenk** · 08-18-2013

Hello all I have some questions on rebuilding the suspension on my wife's 04 Grand Prix GTII. I looked at the RPO codes and have determined that it has FE2 suspension.

About me
I have been working on my own cars since I was a teenager. My father towed two cars into the garage and said if I could make it run and drive using only what was in the garage I could have it and drive it. I don't do all my own maintenance but most of it now days. I have a 97 Camaro Z28 I play with. Has built 383 LT1 with built trans. Unfortunately Some one else built the engine and someone else built the trans. The trans has blown up 3 times and the engine just let go after I spent 4500 on the bottom end. Long story but basically it biols down to trust. I trust other people way to much to know what they are doing because I am modest enough to know when I am in over my head. I want things done right. I dont like doing things alf ass but I aslo never have that much cash to play so I'm resourceful.

History of the car.

It's a 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix GTII. Currently it has 154k on the clock. Originally it was my fathers company car brand new. He used it for a year and then when the clock got to 69K they gave him the option to buy it and we did back in 2005. General maintenance was done all of it's life. It really has never had anything more then Brakes, tires and oil changes done. I did change the front hubs and rewired that ABS sensor. I know the struts are way over due as the ride has gone to crap and the suspension squeaks when it travels lol, the wife hates the squeaking more then anything lol .

The plan.
The plan is to keep the car for use as a daily driver and then pass it on to my daughter as a first car in 3 to 4 years. I hope to see this car in the family for another 6 to 8 years.
With that in mind I want to go ahead and rebuild the suspension. I want to change Bushings, Ball joints, Tie rod ends/ inner and outer, Struts, Brakes (it needs them bad), Brake lines(rubber ones), Pads, Rotors and hardware. Since I'm a hobbyist with cars and don't actually work on them everyday I wanted to discuses this plan with some people that play with them everyday and work on them everyday. Ok maybe not literally everyday.

Questions on the struts and springs
I see options to buy just the rear strut or to buy it with the spring and top mount all installed. I used to own a 99 GTP and heard rumblings about having to get new rear springs once you have so much wear and tear on the car. Is this true for my 04 too? Also what about the front springs? What strut is decent with out breaking the bank. Cant afford the Bilsteins. I did see that I can get the original struts from GM parts direct for a decent price.

Question on bushings and ball joint.
I see that the replacement ball joints are bolt in and that they seem to make some for steel and aluminum control arms. My control arms are aluminum up front and I was wondering if anyone has experience in changing bushings and ball joints on these aluminum control arms? I would only use Moog parts due to some past experiences with other brands.

Rear Suspension bushings???
Do I have to buy all the links or do they sell the bushings for these? Can they be changed with out bending or breaking the part with simple shop tools? (I have a press) I see the trailing arm bushings come in 2 sizes, Can someone explain why or what size I would need for the FE2 setup?

I'm sure I will come up with more questions but this is a start. I have a lot of tools in my garage. More then most and I have done suspension rebuild on the Camaro and other vehicles. If any of you can help me with this car it would be greatly appreciated.

**02NavyBlue** · 08-18-2013

Struts/springs:
You don't have to replace everything in the strut because what usually wears first is the shock in the strut. But going that route means you have to compress the spring with a special tool, or have it taken to a shop and they'll use theirs. The strut mount rusts on our cars, and there are bearings in it that wear out since they hold the weight of the vehicle. So buying a quick strut complete assembly is probably the best route. I'll go with Monroe when I do mine. They have two different levels, an economy level and their main line of struts. Obviously the economy will not have the quality that their main line of struts do.

I don't have experience in changing those bushings, but mine need to be done and I'll change them eventually. It's a rather simple process, I'm not sure of differences between 97-03 and 04+ if any at all. I know my ball joints are riveted in that must be chiseled out, or drilled. With mine (being steel), I'm going to buy a complete control arm assembly that comes with bushings and the ball joint.

There are two different sizes of trailing arm bushings because there are two per side, and the two are different. (front/rear) It will say on the auto parts website which is which.

**98ctd** · 08-31-2013

Go with quick struts. No sense in putting old worn out springs on new struts. Plus the top plates will be new. They're a common wear item. You won't need special tools to change just the strut if you go with a quick strut. As far as control arms usually its cheaper and easier to just change the whole arm than the ball joints and bushings. I'm not sure about the aluminum control arms. Mine have always been steel. Tie rod ends inner and outer are easy. As far as the trailing arms in the rear, upgrade to the DORMAN they're a solid tube compared to the u channel that rusts out. Lateral arms I would think bushings are available, might be cheaper and easier to just buy replacements. Check out rock auto. You can see what's available and get a part number for ur local parts store to cross reference. Suspension work is pretty easy and very rewarding. Good luck!

**jaycenk** · 09-01-2013

Had the car on stands for most of the week and went through everything. I was checking the ball joints, tie rods, bushings and brakes. Turns out the control arms are steel and unbelievably the ball joints, tierods and bushings are all still very tight. Zero slack at all. They are also original factor parts with 155k miles on them lol. I'm still going to replace them since all the rubber dust boot are cracked and open allowing dirt in. I'm gonna wait until February to do the rest but I am defiantly going to just change the control arms. Moog has rebuilt ones that I am going to use.
I replaced the brakes using rock auto and bought delco durastop rotors and pads. Got them for same price as local stores brand parts. Also had to replace left and right emergency brake cables. Rock auto had both delco parts for the price of one at dealership. Love that place!!
I think I will do the quick strut but, I just have not liked the monroe shocks I have had in the past. Think I may try and piece together a delco or maybe I can find a deal on a bilsten. I am going to replace everything associated with the struts and their mounts.
SO since the opinion is to replace the rear spring, What about the front??? I don't want to do drop springs, I want a stock ride height. Should I just go ahead and replace the front spring? I do have a spring compressor and have changed struts on my Camaro so that's not and issue. How much spring rate do the fronts loose over 150k miles? Worth the cost to replace?
Thanks for the info guys.

**02NavyBlue** · 09-01-2013

Originally Posted by jaycenk

I think I will do the quick strut but, I just have not liked the monroe shocks I have had in the past. Think I may try and piece together a delco or maybe I can find a deal on a bilsten. I am going to replace everything associated with the struts and their mounts.
SO since the opinion is to replace the rear spring, What about the front??? I don't want to do drop springs, I want a stock ride height. Should I just go ahead and replace the front spring? I do have a spring compressor and have changed struts on my Camaro so that's not and issue. How much spring rate do the fronts loose over 150k miles? Worth the cost to replace?
Thanks for the info guys.

If you don't like monroe, go with KYB. They're an OE replacement and may be better quality than Monroe.
You can reuse the springs since they don't usually sag, it's the shock that goes. KYB does not offer a quick strut at advance auto for some reason(for 04+), but they do sell the inner strut and mount, which is all you really need to replace. You could always just search rockauto for the struts, but here are the parts for reference.

Strut: Buy KYB Front Gas Strut 339089 at Advance Auto Parts $63.89 at rockauto
Mount: Buy KYB Front Strut Mount Kit SM5143 at Advance Auto Parts $23.79 at rockauto

**matt5112** · 09-01-2013

Go to a parts store and rent a bushing/ball joint press kit for the job.

I've never heard of rear bushing failure. Not to say it doesn't happen, but typically new struts/mounts and front lower control arms takes care of most people's issues.

The only other bushings are the sway bar bushings and the power steering rack bushing.

**98ctd** · 09-02-2013

Put all new springs on it. It'll really piss you off when you do all that work and one breaks 5k or 10k miles afterwards. Buy once cry once. X2 on the KYBs

**nik12937** · 09-02-2013

I'd avoid Monroe anything suspension wise. I heard one or two good stories about them, but many more about the bad quality of their shocks and especially strut top mounts.

I'll vouch for KYB, I used their full quick assemblies last year with a few other suspension mods, and they're still just as good as day one. They're just a tad stiffer than stock from what I can tell, the bumps are absorbed well like OEM's but they don't seem to allow as much body roll on corners.

Not to mention the rear ones actually come with variable rate springs (at least for 04+), you can see two coils spaced much closer, so as they compress they get much stiffer at the bottom. Helped my issue with the extra weight of my subs and second battery causing the back to "bottom out" over large bumps.

As far as ball joints, I'd personally just buy new control arms off Rock Auto. If the ball joints are getting bad, the bushings are probably all pretty worn too and need replacing. I went with the Dorman ones a few years ago, and they're still holding up nicely with no rust. Surprising considering I live in PA.

Edit: I forgot to add, your front springs are likely sagging too if your rear ones are. The thing with these cars is that at stock ride height, the front will always look higher than the back by a bit. It's due to the shape of the wheel arches.

**02NavyBlue** · 09-02-2013

Originally Posted by nik12937

I'd avoid Monroe anything suspension wise. I heard one or two good stories about them, but many more about the bad quality of their shocks and especially strut top mounts.

I'll vouch for KYB, I used their full quick assemblies last year with a few other suspension mods, and they're still just as good as day one. They're just a tad stiffer than stock from what I can tell, the bumps are absorbed well like OEM's but they don't seem to allow as much body roll on corners.

Not to mention the rear ones actually come with variable rate springs (at least for 04+), you can see two coils spaced much closer, so as they compress they get much stiffer at the bottom. Helped my issue with the extra weight of my subs and second battery causing the back to "bottom out" over large bumps.

As far as ball joints, I'd personally just buy new control arms off Rock Auto. If the ball joints are getting bad, the bushings are probably all pretty worn too and need replacing. I went with the Dorman ones a few years ago, and they're still holding up nicely with no rust. Surprising considering I live in PA.

Edit: I forgot to add, your front springs are likely sagging too if your rear ones are. The thing with these cars is that at stock ride height, the front will always look higher than the back by a bit. It's due to the shape of the wheel arches.

Who sells stock replacement kyb quick struts for 04+? I see the strut cartridge and mounts, no springs on roakauto.

**nik12937** · 09-03-2013

On Rock Auto they sell the rear under strut/coil spring/mount assembly for down, under the suspension section for the 04+.

The front assemblies you can find in the same drop down, but for the 97-03 Grand Prix's, the only difference being that unlike the stock front assemblies for 04-05, they don't have a bracket for the sway bar end links to attach to. This can be remedied by using the 97-03 control arms, with the 97-03 sway bar and end links. The older bars mount to the control arms instead of the struts, and in 06 they actually changed it back to that design as well. The 04-05's are the odd balls with the sway bar attached to the strut.

I prefer the control arm mount much more personally, it lets you go with aftermarket bars on the front that are larger, and help control torque steer a tad more.

**98ctd** · 09-04-2013

DORMAN makes a heavy bar and its pretty cheap on rock auto.

Thread: Rebuilding suspension on 04 ???

Thread Tools

Display

Similar Threads

Rebuilding a 3800

Rebuilding Cars!

rebuilding supercharger

Rebuilding my 4T65

Rebuilding L67 motor

Bookmarks