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01-19-2007, 12:31 PM
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Lookin' good so far Bryan. I'm not following you on the cheap part. 
Is that the Magnaflow exhaust system on your car?
Also, is a front suspension rebuild practical for a DIY'er? I'm brand new to Alfa's and my tools are limited to basic hand tools. I hear a pronounced click when my wheels are turned fully and I go over a bump, at slow speed. I'm thinking ball joints are past their time. Did you buy a front suspension kit from somewhere?
Thanks. What are you doing to your car now? |
01-19-2007, 03:15 PM
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Location: santa clarita, ca
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 Quote:
Originally Posted by GTV Ham
Lookin' good so far Bryan. I'm not following you on the cheap part.
Is that the Magnaflow exhaust system on your car?
Also, is a front suspension rebuild practical for a DIY'er? I'm brand new to Alfa's and my tools are limited to basic hand tools. I hear a pronounced click when my wheels are turned fully and I go over a bump, at slow speed. I'm thinking ball joints are past their time. Did you buy a front suspension kit from somewhere?
Thanks. What are you doing to your car now? |
Hello, welcome to the Alfa scene!
Yes, that is the Magnaflow system. I love it!
I believe rebuilding the front suspension one's self is quite practical and a great education at the same time. You can do it with hand tools and an occasional trip to the local auto shop to have a bushing pressed off or on (you'll only need to make one trip if you plan it right). It is also a great opportunity to improve the handling of the car (which is quite good from the get-go). You can install poly urethane in a couple key places and adjustable upper arms which allow you to dial in some camber.
I didn't buy a kit, but only because I didn't know about the kits. In the front suspension, there are 6 ball joints as part of the steering, 4 lower A-arm bushings (which, despite the name "bushing", are large metal objects), 2 Lower ball joints, inner and outer wheel bearings, caster arm mounts, and ball joints attached to the upper arms (but are included if you buy new adjustable arms). Any or all of these may need to be replaced. Rust can make it difficult to remove some of these things, using a penetrating lubricant will help though.
I am currently rebuilding and refinishing the trunion and front wheel hubs.
I would definitely encourage you to rebuild the front yourself for the experience. It will probably take a couple weekends though, so keep that in mind.
Good luck and feel free to contact me with any questions. There are a lot of guys here who will help answer any questions.
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Last edited by bryan; 01-29-2007 at 08:58 AM.
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01-19-2007, 08:25 PM
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There is a small baffle in the diff to help keep oil from surging into the tubes. The wheel bearings are sealed and do not require any additional lubrication. The axle seals are INSIDE of where the bearings are, blocking any oil getting to the bearings. If you see oil leaking on the rear backing plates via the weep hole, you can be sure you need a new axle seal and most of the time a new bearing as well. The worn bearing allows too much axle movement, which ruins the seal...or the oil leaking out (the bad seal) can ruin a bearing by washing some or all of the grease out. If you are concerned about oil spilling out of the breather, attach a hose to it and vent it higher up (just up or into the trunk).
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01-21-2007, 09:36 PM
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Got the rearend in the car, minus the shock, springs, and trunion. Had to put the wheels on to get an idea of what it would look like. It was tough to get a good pic in such a small garage.
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01-21-2007, 09:45 PM
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Ohhhh man thats looking gooooooooooooooooooooodddddd!!!!!!
Cant wait to see the final product.
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01-21-2007, 09:55 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by smestas
Ohhhh man thats looking gooooooooooooooooooooodddddd!!!!!!
Cant wait to see the final product.
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Fabrizio
65 Giulia Sprint GTA
67 Giulia Super (Racecar)
67 Giulia Sprint GT Veloce
88 Milano Verde
Last edited by super-racer; 01-21-2007 at 09:57 PM.
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01-21-2007, 10:57 PM
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the dark panasports looks wicked... slammed too!
its gonna be one nice ride...
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01-22-2007, 07:14 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by super-racer
Simon, I say Bryan let's you test drive it. Its the least he can do. |
Si, the first drive is all yours!
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01-22-2007, 07:18 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by davbert
the dark panasports looks wicked... slammed too!
its gonna be one nice ride...
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 I'm also pretty sure that I'll need to roll the wheel arches. Has anybody run 14x7 panasports with 17mm offset? Did they fit alright?
Does anybody have any advice on the proper procedure for repacking the front hub assemblies? There was an awful lot of grease, almost like wax, in there when I took them apart. What kind of lube to use, how much, should I put a bunch of extra in the area in between the two bearings, etc??
Thanks
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Last edited by bryan; 01-22-2007 at 08:03 AM.
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01-22-2007, 07:34 AM
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You have probably seen pics of my stepnose with the dark GTA wheels elsewhere on the board... I was running the Alfaholics kit and I played with the ride height quite a bit. The rear is not a problem and their kit has it sitting nice and low. The front is where all the issues lie, the main two being the oil pan and the exhaust. I had the Magnaflow kit on it and had to raise the front in order to keep the down pipe from hitting everything. In the end, I was running shallow spring pans on both sides with 4 spacers on the left and 2 on the right (Alfaholics provides 5mm spacers with their 2 1/4 spring kit.) It was still low, but at least I could get in and out of driveways. I can not say enough on how good their kit rides compared to others out their on the market. |
01-22-2007, 10:07 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wctouring#7
You have probably seen pics of my stepnose with the dark GTA wheels elsewhere on the board... I was running the Alfaholics kit and I played with the ride height quite a bit. The rear is not a problem and their kit has it sitting nice and low. The front is where all the issues lie, the main two being the oil pan and the exhaust. I had the Magnaflow kit on it and had to raise the front in order to keep the down pipe from hitting everything. In the end, I was running shallow spring pans on both sides with 4 spacers on the left and 2 on the right (Alfaholics provides 5mm spacers with their 2 1/4 spring kit.) It was still low, but at least I could get in and out of driveways. I can not say enough on how good their kit rides compared to others out their on the market. |
thanks
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01-22-2007, 11:03 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bryan
since there are no springs yet, I jacked the diff up quite a bit. I love the look, but I'm pretty sure it won't be quite that slammed in the end. I'm also pretty sure that I'll need to roll the wheel arches. Has anybody run 14x7 panasports with 17mm offset? Did they fit alright? |
yea i kind of figure that but it still looks bitchin. i took a picture slamed 69 gtv back in the 80's up in seattle that used to be owned buy the guy that runs Rally Round. its riding on panasports with 225/14s it may have had its fender lips massaged little. to this date i've never seen a lower street gtv. whether its practical or not is another matter. sure looked nice. if i can find the pic i'll scan an post
i've seen lots of alfas running with pana 17mm offests. i think it'll all depends on suspension stiffness, ride height, tire sizes, people in back seat, how hard u drive... etc your stepnose looks like it has the later higher arches which should help. I tend to think moderately lowered cars handle sweeter than slamed ones for road use. it may have less grip and be slower out on the track but less knifey front end and bumpsteer from the rc change. then the question of running with sump gaurd or not. I dont like the looks, extra weight and reduced clearence, so i just keep buying pans.
keep them pics coming
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01-22-2007, 08:42 PM
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I really don't remember what offset the rims are, (they are the 14x7's that Alfaholics sells) and I can't look because I sold the car a week ago 
In that picture, the car had the shallow pans and 3 spacers on the left and one on the right, I just recently added one 5mm spacer on each side. I had no tire rubbing issues at all... from full lock turning or the fast twisty roads around here. |
01-26-2007, 09:38 AM
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I'm sorry... I lied. This will probably be a minor disapointment in the life of any purist who is watching this thread (although I expect they may already have been disapointed by the wheel color, addition of the rollbar, the removal of bumpers, etc), but I have been overcome by the pressures and overwhelming lack of consensus regarding suspension options. Therefore, I opted for the set up that will get me closest to achieving the goals I have for the car (street car, track car, gta-ish wannabe, stock looking with skinny tires, slammed with panasports, etc).
COIL-OVERS!!!... well, at least in the back. The front will have adjustable perches though. I know, I know... I strayed from the original plan. But, you can't tell from just looking at the car, and they allow me to better accomplish the nearly imossible task of making a good street/track car. AND they were a great deal!
The springs will be Eibach ERS race springs (that way I can choose any length rate combination I please). I'm still trying to figure out rates. Feel free to post your thoughts, especially if you have advice on spring rates.
Later dudes 
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Last edited by bryan; 01-26-2007 at 09:45 AM.
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01-26-2007, 11:11 AM
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Bryan,
You must know your opening a big can O worms here!
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I was wrong once before,
Paul Van Der Linden
Currently: 70 Giulia Ti 2.0L
Formerly:
(1) 58 spider 
(2) 67 duetto's
(4) 67 super's | | |
