I am pretty sure manual steering was an option, at least in Europe, for the first year. Ricambi's website shows it only under the 2.7 file, so I am guessing it went away with the 5.2 update. It is not the same part as the 348 manual rack. I do not know the difference in the bushing kits from Superformance and why they would have manual and power steering kits. I ordered the power steering kit though, so this was not my error.
Some things happen for a reason. While searching the net for solutions I found these universal adjustable ball-joint end links. They have am M10 x 1.25 thread, and they are adjustable 90-115 mm (stock fronts are 90, rears are 100). So these should replace either pair of factory drop links but allow complete elimination of any preload in the bar. They only had one pair in stock so I ordered that for the front. If there is any preload in the non-adjustable rear I will order another set. It's an easy swap. http://www.whitelinesuspensionparts.com/proddetail.asp?prod=KLC140-090
I have reassembled much of the front suspension. I left the lower ball joint loose until I have the shocks. I put everything back exactly as it was. I marked all the a-arms as to side and direction, and I kept all the bearings and associated parts in original positions. I had no trouble cleaning and repacking the bearings and I am very pleased with the results - they should be good for another 15 years. I have the 355 manual which has torque specs on all bolts. Just in case, the important ones on the fronts so far are the tie rod ends (46 ft pounds) and the 4 bearing carrier mounting bolts (52 ft pounds). The stub axle nut is not tightened yet (203 foot pounds), I will do that after the brakes are refitted so someone can lock the hubs with the brake pedal. Also, I left all the bushings loose. I plan to corner balance it with everything loose, then measure the exact height of the center of the hub when it's all set. I will then put it back on the lift, jack the hubs up one by one to exact neutral ride height, and then torque the bushings. This should in theory eliminate all the bushing resistance in the suspension at neutral position. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Got the call from Rob and the shocks with new springs are in the hands of UPS with arrival on Monday. Hoping the rear bushings are done on Tuesday, but in any case I should have the car down on the ground by next weekend. Rears are reassembled and waiting. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi John, thanks again for your business! Here they are... Notice in the close up one of the cool features of our upper mount is the near frictionless pivot during suspension articulation; the OE set up forces the spring to bend while the suspension moves from bump to rebound. Thin helper springs are there for full droop only to guide the spring back on to the upper mount. Plus proper bump stops made from BASF Celasto vs. the OE harder rubber. Cellasto is very progressive and can be used as a tuning tool. Best, Rob Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Got the adjustable front drop links. You gotta love getting a better part at half the price of OEM. A little bling is fun too. Oh, and they happen to work better as well. Win, win, win. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Lovin this thread! J, once this is all done, we need to set up a run through the Blue Ridge Parkway so I can see this beast in action!
Yes, and they looked sweet... until I washed the wheels. And with white wheels, well, that happens a LOT. There is a guy here that can make stencils and eventually I will use them to do that and paint the graphics on.
Shocks are here, and they are total eye candy now. I bolted the tops in last night and reconnected the electronic adjusters. Still waiting on the rear bushings, hopefully today. I have noticed one downside to projects like this: when the car is on the lift and unavailable, I begin to mentally cheat... I need some top open Capristo luv!
The fronts are all back together! Still don't have the rear bushings finished, but it's snowing like mad so there's no rush. My best helper learned to use a torque wrench tonight. 38 ft/pounds on the smaller bolt that holds the ball joint to the lower a-arm and 30 ft/pounds (oddly) on the larger bolt securing the lower shock mount. Everything is shimmed exactly as it was so it should still be in alignment. Note the anti-seize on the face on the hub. I don't want any trouble removing the discs in the future! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Almost....those are my "official" coveralls, just like the factory guys wear. I am on my second set, wore the first one out (which I am quite proud of). Xmas present, courtesy my wife and Ricambi. I need a little set for Katie; she was pissed earlier this week when she got grease on her PJs helping install the shocks. I told her it was Ferrari grease! She didn't care.
DONE! (except the alignment). Got the rear bushings installed. Got the engine bay tidied back up, including some new stickers for the coil packs (thanks Daniel!) Don't reinstall the shock actuators until the shocks themselves are hooked up, because the top of the shock will not be in it's final position. Here's what I did: Left bushings loose. Left sways unattached. Put wheels on, drop car on scales, check weights and ride height. I then adjusted everything over 3 more cycles of raising, removing wheels to be adjusted, and then moving the spring perches (at first it was all four, after second go I could tweak the left front only). I used a rough estimate of 1/2 ratio in the rear (1/2 inch of spring perch motion roughly equals 1 inch wheel movement) and 3/4 in the front (move shock 3/4 inch for 1 inch wheel movement). That actually worked really well. My final weights were 1587 and 1596 - 9 pounds! Not bad for a road car! I also dropped the front about 1/2 inch, have the rear height about where it was, and ride height is within 1/8 inch side to side. I then put the car back on the lift fairly low and pulled the wheels again. At each corner, I jacked the individual hub (sway bars still disconnected) up until it was at ride height, then I torqued all the bushings to spec at that point. Final nut and bolt check, reinstalled the sway bars. The rear sway bar did not show any preload to speak of, so I didn't bother getting new adjustable drop links. Couple of notes: Be careful which way all bolts go. Sometimes it doesn't make sense until it is all together. For instance, the lower rear a-arm bolt must go in back-to-front, because the caliper will not clear the nut (OK, that's with my calipers, yours may differ, but you get the idea). Tomorrow I am going to finish with an oil change, and then she'll get an alignment as soon as the weather allows. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Bravo! Looking forward to hearing your impressions of how the new bushings, rebuilt shocks and the upgraded spring rates feel. This upgrade is on my future to-do list. Thanks for keeping the thread updated.
Finally got to take a spin. I went out for about an hour, drove some relatively rough roads to see what was what and to settle everything in. Nothing came loose (whew!). It does need to be aligned, as the steering wheel is now a little off, but this is to be expected. Impressions: FANTASTIC! This is the way the car probably felt new, if not better! So precise. The steering is noticeably more accurate and crisp. No difference in comfort, but the ride and cornering are more controlled. Difference between regular and sport is more pronounced, and I love the sport really tightens things up. I go the ride height perfect - it's a little lower but I still get in and out of driveways (carefully) without scraping. Highly recommended! Image Unavailable, Please Login
