rear shocks, bar and bushings

i am planning a fix it day for my rear suspension and i am going to be replacing the rear shocks with the Monroe MA822's. i will remove all auto-level components (motor, fuses, wires, tubes, and sensor).
my apt complex has 13 speed bumps between the front gate and my parking spot. they are huge and spaces about every 2 car lengths apart .
needless to say they are wearing down my original suspension quickly, even tho i roll over them slowly.

anyways, i hear lots of noise coming from the rear when the tires come down from the bumps. i think it is just the shocks squeaking and rattling. the rear shock mounts are in great condition, nothing is rusted or looks broken. my exhaust bracket is also broken and i can hear it clanking sometimes, but thats another issue.
i am also going to replace the sway bar end links on both front and rear with these:
http://info.rockauto.com/Moog/Detail.html?K8989_TOP.jpg

they look pretty heavy duty so maybe they will improve cornering a little bit. hopefully they will not squeak either.
i would like to replace the rear sway bar while im down there, does anyone know a place to get one cheap? (the STS bar is the upgrade, right?)
will those end links work, and do i need to swap/modify any other sway bar component to upgrade?

also my front driver wheel area is making noise (sounds like a bearing or brakes) my question is, can i swap out the hub and lower knuckle from a 97 riv without modifications? or will i need to upgrade the calipers and rotors too? i would like to swap knuckles so i can eventually get f-body brakes. and while doing hub bearings would be an ideal time.
how can i check the bearing to see if its making noise? (i dont feel anything in the steering wheel when turning, and it makes most noise when backing up)

anything else i should look into replacing on the front or rear that doesnt cost too much, and would better cornering? already have a STB and front KYB GR2's.

thank you for any input, and sorry for all the questions at once
oh, and im also getting new rubber. (BFG traction TA's with either H or V rating)
Matthew

yes the STS bar will work. IDK how much you guys pay for one in the US but the cheapest I found here was 110 in a junkyard! So I went with the addco rear bar (02015) which is around 130$. The stock sts bar is hollow, whereas addco bar is solid and includes the bushings and poly endlinks.

I just bought the front and rear addco bars together from neverenoughauto.com for $265 shipped. But you'll need some bushings...

-Derek

call addco...IIRC they don't offer to give you the necessary mounting plate OR 22mm bushings. Don't deal with never enough, directly call John at addco.
I also have a set of spare 22mm bushings should things go really bad...

would replacing just the rear bar have adverse side effects on handling? i've heard i will have understeer if i just upgrade the rear.

normally you would get "oversteer" from going to a larger rear.

but with the FWD layout so biased towards understeer, I wouldn't worry about it. If you want you could always go scavenge a 30mm front from a G-body Lesabre, Seville, bonneville or park avenue (fe2 and fe3 suspensions). They might be really cheap at your local junkyard.[/u]

If you stiffen up the rear you will have oversteer if anything. Unless you know how (or are brave enough) to drive a fwd car that hard stiffining up the back will actually allow the rear to break loose in hard cornering faster than the front. Regardless, stiffining up the back should not have a bad effect for street vehicles.

dang, Jason, you beat me to it...

so will those sway bar end links be a worthy upgrade for $8/set or should i not worry about replacing those? (assuming i dont get a sway bar)

anyone know about the 97 knuckle?

If your endlinks have worn out or squished bushings, or a broken shaft it would be a worthy upgrade. If not, don't expect a noticeable difference. I cannot recall if the stockers are made of rubber or urethane.... I threw them out.

I have no idea about the 97 stuff.

mine look to be rubber and are pretty squished

It's $8. The whole setup would be better but why not upgrade the cheaper stuff first. Won't hurt anything. And if you do decide to go with a beefier sway bar the end links will work with them as well.

If you look back in the threads, somebody has done the '97+ steering knuckle. I think they had to machine out one of the ball joint holes but it shouldn't be that expensive at all. It's amazing what machine shops are equipped to do. Great (neccessary) upgrade if you want to do the F-body brakes. I love my F-body brakes!

ok i just got my stuff in the mail and the monroe MA822 shocks are black, not white like the picture online. those of you with the ma822 rear shocks what color are yours? and did they come with air fill lines or did you have to get them seperately?
TIA
Matthew

Mr.Riviera wrote:

ok i just got my stuff in the mail and the monroe MA822 shocks are black, not white like the picture online. those of you with the ma822 rear shocks what color are yours? and did they come with air fill lines or did you have to get them seperately?
TIA
Matthew

10$ at autozone............ install took about 2 hours cus i took my time routing the airlines....................

Mr.Riviera wrote:

ok i just got my stuff in the mail and the monroe MA822 shocks are black, not white like the picture online. those of you with the ma822 rear shocks what color are yours? and did they come with air fill lines or did you have to get them seperately?
TIA
Matthew

Mine monroes are white .

Mine were white. No airlines included with the shocks. I have one good used line for sale, or you can buy a new pair online for $15. Will need to splice into the existing lines near the air pump if you want to use ELC. Otherwise use the supplied air fitting to pump up or down to your preference.

IDK then, maybe they changed the design. they fit just fine and the part # on the shock says 822 MAX-AIR. i went to advance auto and got the AK29 adapter kit for $5.50. last one in the warehouse too. my only concern with the new shocks is they sit kind of high, even with 0psi in them :/ maybe they will settle some when i drive on them? i also pulled out all the old air ride stuff, so if anyone needs the motor, sensor, air line, anything...it all still works fine, tho the rubber lines on the motor are a little dry rotted.

i swapped out the front and rear sway bar end links too, but i have not test driven them b/c i need brake pads and stores are closed around here.
NEW tires tomorrow and front pads! like Christmas all over again.
the wheel bearing noise i have been hearing was my pads getting low. only 20k miles on them i initially ruled them out b/c they are so new and the last time i checked they had lots of life left. oh well, guess new pads are cheaper and easier then new hubs

Were those the Hawk ceramic pads? Mine wore pretty fast as well.

The shocks should be very low without air. Looks like you have 500 lb of bricks in the trunk. Takes about 40 lbs to get the rear end up to the correct height.

PM me a price on just the air pump.

The rears for my '98 were monroes, white, and I had no problems with the air lines. I unplugged them from the stockers and plugged them into the Monroes with no other fittings or adapters. Maybe they are doing something different with the part number for the '96s?

they would have connected right up to the stock fittings but the adapter was to remove the air pump

here is the shock installed:


MA822 on the box and the shock. i used AK29 adapter kit, and fed it into the trunk as seen here:


these are the sway bar links i used for the front: (advance auto has them in normal stock for $9 ea)



i dont really notice any difference w/new links. it seems to change direction quicker and with more precision/response, but the body lean in corners hasnt changed.

does anyone know where this line goes??? it runs from/to the air pump and i trace it back up over the gas tank, but i cant find where to unplug it from.

Maybe that last one is the pump's "intake"? Just a guess.

Those look WAY sweet........ my white ones are starting to get some "spot rust" i may tape it off and do a little painting sometime

could be the intake for the pump! i didnt think of that
i know this sounds funny, but if i blow into the tube i hear air escaping from either the trunk or under the rear seat.

also, the shocks havent settled much, it sits at almost the same height with 0psi as it does with 90psi. maybe 1.5" difference either way. but it holds air and rides nice so i cant complain

Hmmm....maybe it looks high because your old ones were a little too low?
And how do they ride/handle compared to the stockers?