1981 Fiat Spider 2000 - What am I doing!? LOL!!

[jimmycakes401]

[124JOE]

i see you found a screw

[jimmycakes401]

Yes. but I am worried that they might be a hair short.I put a lock washers on these and they ate up a little bit of the length. I also used blue loctite for good measure.

[jimmycakes401]

Alright, I've been gone for a while. Figured I'd put in an update. After the exploding dizzy, tire falling off, and knowing that I need new rear shocks (which should help with the tire falling off) I am going to work on a few things. The most recent thing I did to the car was filling the steering box up with fluid. It had gotten really loose and since I do not want to buy a new expensive box I looked into answers. #1 was fill it with fluid. I tried that out and have yet to go for a ride, but it seems a little tighter already. I'd like to pull it at some point and do the "rebuild" that is in one of these threads.

I've been reading through all the threads in regards to my suspension and it just makes my head spin while I try balancing budget with ride height with handling with spring cutting. I just want a nice ride on lovely country back roads. KYB should work fine but it seems that any spring I buy will need to be cut, in which case I should just cut my old springs. Unfortunately I don't feel like dealing with spring cutting. It's bad enough I'm going to try to replace the shocks myself.

That's about all for now. I'm sure I won't get working on anything for a little while here, but figured I would throw in an update.

[124JOE]

kyb shocks are good i put on a set in 2002
i also had lug nuts fall out after an alinment
after i put on a headder my idler"opisit the st box"boiled the grease hard and snaped
so it was a good thing i bought a parts car and had that part
i still have the ST box

also havnt been around as i lost internet signal
but i will be back soon



joe

[4uall]

KYB's work great

This might help a little

http://forum.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtop ... it=+shocks

[narfire]

KYB's are great The Koni yellows are more great and I did not have to cut the springs. (put a 1" front bar on as well )

[jimmycakes401]

Nice post 4uall. Wear gloves! I've learned the hard way too! Ha! I guess I'll go with the KYB route for now and leave it at stock height. I'm way to lazy to cut springs, unless I had a pal who had done it before and wanted to come over and cut them for me. I know it's not a big deal, but I also know I'd find a way to mess it up. I'll just save up for Koni's later (while I keep the car on the road) and not cut at that point. ; )

[jimmycakes401]

Narfire, from what I've read, the 1" bar stiffens things up a bit. Is that true? I don't think I'm going for a "sporty feel" so much as I'm going for a "lazy I live by the shore feel." Which 1" did you get? I've seen people talk about a few and some folks had issue with one in particular.

[seabeelt]

You don't need to cut the springs for kyb's. You can also get standard shocks from Munroe that are even cheaper but they will have a softer ride. I had Munroe on my old spider and they were sufficient. Got KYB's as a Christmas gift last year and have them on the 71. I like the feel. Can not really give a comparison on the 71 as the shocks were shot when I got it.

Welcome back
R/

[jimmycakes401]

Monroe has cheaper shocks than $30? That's wild. I'm okay with KYB. People seem to like them enough.

[wizard124]

Monroe has cheaper shocks than $30? That's wild. I'm okay with KYB. People seem to like them enough.

I picked up my KYBs from JCWhitney for about $25 each as I recall. I have the stock springs in my '80. I like the ride. Not harsh, I don't want to cut my springs either.

[124JOE]

all this talk about hight has me thinking.
as we all know they made these cars lower at first
for handling.and that feeling we never felt.
all and all its still a fun little car.

[jimmycakes401]

LOL, True Joe. I have barely felt my car yet. There's still a lot more to replace. I would say I've driven it about twenty miles so far with many issues.

My latest issue is with my cooling system. I went under my car today to investigate all the cracked rubber in my steering and suspension. Prepping to order parts and get the car more road worthy. Everything is still stock with 56,000 miles on it. While I was under there I looked up at my bottom radiator hoses and the thermostat. One of my new hoses is cracked. More than likely due tome over tightening it. But the oddest thing is that all my hoses look like they are all sucked in. There's also no sign of fluid leaks, although my reservoir is a little low. I'd expect it to be a lot low.



On a side note, my steering is still very sloppy and after my tire falling off, I of course am super self conscious about anything feeling odd. I need to get that under control. I have new sway bar bushings that I need to install, but I'm also thinking about installing new tire rods and center link. I can move the center link around quite freely with my hand. I'm not sure if that is normal. I also topped off my steering box, but I'm contemplating doing the disassemble and cleaning tutorial on here. Is the box terribly difficult to move. I'm also staring at my control arms and seeing all the cracked rubber. I don't really have the $280 to replace both sides. I know I can tear them apart and replace the ball joints and bushings, but everyone seems to recommend just replacing the whole control arm assembly. I'd also probably replace the absorbers while I was in there.

And of course, I'm still looking towards my back end. I was planning on replacing the absorbers and the trailing arms. Good times. I know that's a lot to take in. So! Chime in if you can. I'm deciding on what to do first and what may or may not be wrong with the car. But m back shock is seized so that will be bumped up to the top of the list with the radiator hose issues.

[jimmycakes401]

Wizard, the car looks great. That ride height is fine by me. I'm currently not too picky. Can't wait to get this thing ready to drive all the time. I'd like to zip around town in it picking up essentials or going to car shows. I keep thinking I'm close... then I need to work on something.