Front suspension rebuild

[basarabam]

Got another issue I need help with.

I fought the A-arms and springs into place, I am scared but I dont really have a choice in the matter now.

So putting the shocks in I ran into this...



Did I do something wrong here? That bracket mounts on the bottom of the A-Arm. Maybe the wrong shocks? I guess I assumed that if I order the A-arms and shocks together that the shocks were going to fit the $200 A-Arms....

[4uall]

not able to wrap my head around your photo. (I am by no means an expert) but I am a visual learner

mine fit like this, yours seems a little long at the end

New Monroe Sensatrac front shock and bolt by itzebtze, on Flickr


New front shock lower bolt by itzebtze, on Flickr

[basarabam]

I don't have the stock A-arms though. That is why mine isn't working...

[4uall]

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh gotcha I had installed my shocks before getting my A arms on sale Oh well I like to practice & learn. This topic will certainly help me. I too will add photos along the way(probably next week)

[djape1977]

Got another issue I need help with.

I fought the A-arms and springs into place, I am scared but I dont really have a choice in the matter now.

So putting the shocks in I ran into this...



Did I do something wrong here? That bracket mounts on the bottom of the A-Arm. Maybe the wrong shocks? I guess I assumed that if I order the A-arms and shocks together that the shocks were going to fit the $200 A-Arms....

what you have here is a case of lower chock mount for LADA! therefore, whole A-arm assembly you got is made in russia

you need to have one for 124 spider/sport, otherwise, even it you cut down to size the insert in lower shock mount, it will be positioned about 1,5 inches too high and your shocks will bottom out on bumps which will destroy them in no time.

again, if i were you i'd send those a-arms back and have my money back and ask for compensation. you got ripped off. those A-arms are about 25$ each and that's retail price.

basic geometry of those A-arms is ok for 124 spider and if you want to make them work on a spider it can be done but you need to be handy with a MIG welder and angle grinder. if you want to go down that route i can help you with instructions since i've done it before

[basarabam]

Well I called and got straightened out, I am getting a set of PRIMA 2 from Vick's. These should be STOCK replacements. Looking at the shock mounts and sway mounts it looks more like what I have.

I suggest anyone doing this to their car to spring for the extra $75 and avoid all the hassle, it just isnt worth it in my opinion...

[caferacer]

I've got a set of the prima 1's from Vic's, is that what you have basarba? They look the same as mine from the pictures.

In their defense (and mine, I guess ), I'm pretty happy with the ones I got, and didn't have the trouble you did with the ball joint. Maybe you got an odd one? I even compared them side by side when I was at the store with the other ones they sell (for $275). Whether one was from Italy or Russia or whatever, the cheaper ones looked every bit as good as the more expensive ones, and the welds actually looked better! So much for elitism... Plus, you can't unbolt the ball joints from the more expensive arms, so tough noogies if you need to replace them down the road...

They told me up front that I'd have to trim the shock sleeve, but for $75 I decided putting on my big boy breeches and spending a little time with the air tool was worth it. I really like the way the shock mounts, too, made it very easy to assemble everything in the end.

Anyway, why is anybody upset about origins? As long as it's not China, I'm okay. I've noticed that AutoRicambi sells a lot of stuff with Russian (or some similar language, Greek or Arabic, pardon my ignorance) lettering on it. I guess there's no problem with these parts? They seem decent.

[basarabam]

My biggest complaint was not being told these things needed to be done. When you get something that is to replace an OEM part and you get something that doesn't fit that doesn't sit well. The bushings that were "pressed" in fell out. The top arm wouldn't fit around the shock tower. Mount for the sway bar is twisted. This is stuff besides the ball joints not fitting and the shock not fitting.

[caferacer]

Sounds like you just got an odd one? Sorry to hear about that, but glad you got straightened out, sounds like.

Cheers

[dmwhiteoak]

You Probley could have avoided all this with going through csaba and Ramzi. They are a little
More personal and make sure of what you need before it is shipped. I have no affiliation with them other than buying parts. I have delt with Vick's in the past and was not impressed.

[RRoller123]

autoricambi is just downright excellent.

[caferacer]

You fellows are a gas! To each his own, then.

Cheers

[basarabam]

Back on topic of replacing the A-Arms, I forgot to mention the Lower A-Arm mounting bolts that come through the frame. When I took these nuts off the threads were completely gone so I needed to replace them. For anyone that has tried to replace these the one that goes into the cross member can be a real pain!

The original bolts have do not have any kind of hex head on them but 3 tack welds. I used a vice grip to wiggle back and forth while carefully hitting the thread side to pop these loose. I didnt do this on the first one on the drivers front side and it pulled the material of the cross member and cracked it a little. After getting it off I welded it up but was very careful with the rest.

I used a high grade allen head bolt. I ground down the top so that it was shorter, about half of the thickness. I then cut an allen wrench down so that it would fit in the small opening in the cross member. There is a small gap on the firewall side of the cross member, slide a washer into this opening. After getting the long bolt into the cross member with patience get it through the washer, hole and spacer coming out.

I noticed behind the original A-Arms there was a large amount of washers between the body and the A-Arm. Is this something the PO did or is that how it came from the factory?

[dmwhiteoak]

I believe those washers were for aligning the front end. I was told Fiat used these instead of shims and it made realigning that much harder.

[djape1977]

parts you get with some strange letters on them are all made in russia and those are cyrilic letters.

problem with russian parts is that about 50% are same quality as chinese. they look ok but are made of pure crap and are not even worth their weight in scrap iron (rubber, plastic...). other 50% are just fine and are as good as original fiat parts.
problem is telling them apart, or which ones to use and which ones not.

don't get me wrong, lada is an excellent source for parts for old fiats but selling lada A-arms as fiat 124 A-arms is just plain stupid.