Guest Recian Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Well today I finally got the bolts and finished my install of my 89s engine cradle mounts. My thanks to the guys here for getting me the required P/Ns from GM for what I needed because those insulators arent listed in the catalog. Here's my old ones. Had to take a torch to 2 of them. One the nut spun so I heated the nut til it was glowing red hot and clamped on some vice grips and hit the bolt with an impact gun and it came right out and the nut was saved. Still waiting on those rear shock bushings tho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike_s Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Well,,, That looked like a lot of fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDirk Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Recian,Been there, done that (and didn't even get a lousy t-shirt). I can honestly say, of all the work/repairs I have done on all the vehicles I have owned thus far, the cradle mounts on my 91 was probably the most unpleasant, infuriating, cuss-out project I have ever done [yet]. Did you do this at the shop where you work? I only ask, because I did not have the benefit of a lift (other than a 3 ton Walker floor jack which got the front end up about 20" of the ground, but still not easy to work on) and was wondering if you did. I hope it is a good long time yet before I have to do the mounts on the 88. Definitely not looking forward to doing this again.KDirk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waltmail Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Will you id those parts? By the title of the thread , I expected something to look different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Vega Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Good job. I only see four of them in your picture. When I did mine it wasn't hard at all. I dropped the car off and handed them the parts. They called me later that day to say they were done. The hardest part was writing the check........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie1 Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 This is a real safety issue that all older GM E body owners need to take care especially if they are daily drivers in the rust belt area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gotitright Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 This thread is where I firmly believe in Padgett's credo. The whole key is underneath on the parts that you can't see. Glad I followed his advice before I bought my 91. How did the cradle itself look by the way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Recian Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 (edited) The pic actually shows 5. One had no rubber left. the 6th was the first one I did which was done a week ago and was thrown away then. The car has been at my job in the shop on the lift for a couple weeks and i piddle with it at the end of the day for 30 mins to an hour a day. I originally was going to push it in to put the engine back in until the front wheels fell off the car. So it now has new wheel bearings lol. This job was quite the pain but the torch and having a lift made it alot easier. The rear shocks were actually harder than these. I had to torch the top half of one shock off and heat the other to get the nut loose then run it off 1/8 turn at a time with a wrench. After that was removing the brakes and stabalizer bar to get enough bend from the suspension to get the 15mm bolt at the bottom of the shock. From there I had to use a chizel and spread the spindle apart to the shock would slide out. They were the original shocks from 89 and had no gas or liquid left inside. That's why I was safe t torch off the nut. Note #1 I do NOT recommend using a torch on shocks or struts since they used pressurized gas and overheating that shaft could cause the contents to explode and cause personal harm. Note #2 working with the rear suspension on this car so much has given me ideas on how to lower the rear end of the car while effectively keeping ride quality and not modifying the leaf spring. I'll try them in the future and see if I can lower the car. I think i can get 1" maybe 1.5" and not have camber issues Edited November 19, 2011 by Recian (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Squire Tom Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 anyone ever replace the rear cross leaf spring rubber mounts ? last time on the rack i found the cause of the cold weather squeak. rubber mounts were as hard as my wife's pancakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RIVIERA1991 Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 Heah Recian,Im glad you got that taken care of. And yes, it can be very dangerous if not taken care of. With that said, Im am a 1991 Riviera owner and am wanting to replace the subframe/cradle bushing on my vehicle. I cant find the part number. It was suggested that I visited this area because I was told that the Reatta and Riviera are basically the same vehicle. If so, will this part number work on my vehicle too. Ive called the dealership and they have the lower, just not the upper. Plus, we all know how expensive the dealer can be. I would much rather buy the complete set; bolts, bushings, and spacers all at the same time. Any help would be greatly appreciated, plus, you will probably be saving my life in since this is my only vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Recian Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 (edited) Here's a link to all the info about these bushings. I take no credit since I got my info from here and all 4 pages of this post gives you info on wht could happen and the part numbers are listed in there you just have to look. Theyre the same numbers I used. 6 bolts, 6 insulators and 6 washers. Only parts you can reuse are the washers. The bolts and insulators are a must. The bolts wont be reusable. of 6 i managed to save 1 bolt. Check page3 of this near the middle of the page for part numbers if you wana find em quick unless you want to read all the posts then you'll find it eventually. http://forums.aaca.org/f116/safety-issue-many-gm-v6-front-228595.html Edited November 23, 2011 by Recian (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RIVIERA1991 Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 i really appreciate the help and the point in the right direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Recian Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 in response to tom's questin i dont think the leaf spring bushings are even still available. You have to disassemble the shocks or control arms to get tension off the spring then you can rep the bushings and on my car the bushings are rusted into the subframe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Squire Tom Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 guess that squeak isn't really all that bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Recian Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 i dont know about your car but if it were mine i'd end up breaking more things trying to get to that part lol that's kinda why I didnt touch them while I had my shocks out. It seems you'd have to redo the whole suspension if you were to try and take those out unless you have new shocks then they may come back out fairly easy. If you wan do them wait until you do shocks becuse it's easier to take the sway bar out then the shocks and the arms will flop down away from the leaf. Also if it's causing a squeak maybe you could use something with a tight nozzle and squeeze some grease between them. Most rubber "squeaks are caused by the rubber getting dry and that would be a cheaper easier temporary fix until youre ready to redo the rear end Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Leroy Cook Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Where are the part numbers for these bushing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Click on the blue line stating "Safety issue for many front wheel drive vehicles!!!!!!" on post 11 of this very series of post. You will find your answer there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Leroy Cook Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Thanks I found the part numbers and where to obtain them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Recian Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 my post #11 had the link to the forum that discussed the p/n for these Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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