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My G55k Adventure

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inkblotz
Posts: 8202

Re: My G55k Adventure

Post#161 » Tue Oct 26, 2021 1:41 am

You know you can pull the entire hub assembly without messing with the bearings right? But if you are not going to go that route I would forgo the RTV and just bolt it together. Make sure both surfaces are free of old paper gasket material. The only thing that would come out of the hub is the thick grease you are putting in for the wipe seal to run on.

G Nome
Posts: 7766

Re: My G55k Adventure

Post#162 » Tue Oct 26, 2021 7:52 am

I'll have to recheck the steering box bolts, as well as find time to replace the radius arm thrust bushings, caster correction eccentric bushings, and the new sway bar bushings.

What castor correction bushings did you use? Were they poly or rubber with metal that you press in?
Kent
If you need help...I usually have extra zip ties and duct tape.

shiann
Posts: 1092

Re: My G55k Adventure

Post#163 » Tue Oct 26, 2021 8:04 am

inkblotz wrote:You know you can pull the entire hub assembly without messing with the bearings right? But if you are not going to go that route I would forgo the RTV and just bolt it together. Make sure both surfaces are free of old paper gasket material. The only thing that would come out of the hub is the thick grease you are putting in for the wipe seal to run on.


Hey inkblotz,

Yes, I was planning on removing the entire hub assembly but don't think I'll have the time to do that before the winter/cold starts. Also my other car right now is down for a new clutch so I want to keep any maintenance items for the G as straight forward as possible to avoid a 2 broken car situation. The only situation that I would remove the entire hub assembly is if I actually have a differential fluid leak into the hub, which I should be able to notice when I replace the diff fluid later this week.

Thanks for the note on forgoing the RTV. That makes sense that there's nothing else to leak out of there except the grease.

G Nome wrote:I'll have to recheck the steering box bolts, as well as find time to replace the radius arm thrust bushings, caster correction eccentric bushings, and the new sway bar bushings.

What castor correction bushings did you use? Were they poly or rubber with metal that you press in?


I purchased the Eurowise CC Eccentric bushings from Jackwagon. They are the orange ploy eccentric bushings with the metal rod. I chose these over the yellow poly one piece design and the rubber ones from Hardrace as they will be easier to install and adjust if I miss the exact mark needed to install. In a perfect world I would have gone with the rubber ones from Hardrace since I have a 12ton press, but decided to go with ease of install over the ideal since I won't be really off roading this thing (don't need the last few degrees of articulation) and don't have much time to do the install before the cold weather sets in.

I haven't installed them yet so can't comment on how the process is, but I do have a press and the extractor/installation tool with cups and screw.
2005 G55k – Mildly Modded/Restored Family Hauler
2005 Volvo S60 T5 M66 – IPD DP, exhaust, sways, R-brembos, FC04A, KW V2
2007 FSAE Auto-X Racecar
IG: shiann_builds

G Nome
Posts: 7766

Re: My G55k Adventure

Post#164 » Tue Oct 26, 2021 8:16 am

If they have not been installed yet then my thinking is not on point except that the castor or lack of could make the steering twitchy or cause vibrations in the steering wheel.

Good luck.

Kent
Kent
If you need help...I usually have extra zip ties and duct tape.

shiann
Posts: 1092

Re: My G55k Adventure

Post#165 » Tue Oct 26, 2021 8:23 am

G Nome wrote:If they have not been installed yet then my thinking is not on point except that the castor or lack of could make the steering twitchy or cause vibrations in the steering wheel.

Good luck.

Kent


Hey Kent,

Yes, my ultimate goal was to install the CC bushings to increase caster over the OE setup to get a better on-road driving response, but I do want to isolate that wobbling/vibration first as I don't want to simply mask the issue by increasing the caster. I have a few ideas I'll try before throwing them on though, like replacing the front sway bar bushings and mounts, along with the rear panhard bar bushings. After that, I may just set up a gopro under the car to watch how the suspension moves when driving over rough roads.
2005 G55k – Mildly Modded/Restored Family Hauler
2005 Volvo S60 T5 M66 – IPD DP, exhaust, sways, R-brembos, FC04A, KW V2
2007 FSAE Auto-X Racecar
IG: shiann_builds

autonovice
Posts: 2560

Re: My G55k Adventure

Post#166 » Wed Oct 27, 2021 8:56 am

shiann wrote:I haven't installed them yet so can't comment on how the process is, but I do have a press and the extractor/installation tool with cups and screw.


What I have done is use a spare front trailing arm ( to save downtime ), make all the measurements, use the old trailing arm bolts or similar, and tack weld on a steel plate with some ref. markings. Once done, press the bushings on the arm using this custom-made tool. Of course, this works well for pressed-on bushings. I dont like the insert bushing as I think they will move over time. I use the Stock un Stein bushings.

I am moving away from this and will use dropped trailing arm brackets, raised spring seats. Longer panhard rods are solved w/ G seller offerings. For 463, to solve bump steering issue, you can use the canadian army drag link ( S curve and not straight like yours .. about 900$ ).

Another approach to solve the bump steering issue: I tried to use a 460 RHD lower L steering arm and flip to use in place of upper R kingpin for my 460. It hits the frame on hard L turn and will need an 1in to clear. The 460 RHD lower L steering arm may work better on 463, cheaper solution but you will have to re-shim, a PITA job w/ minimum tools and knowledge. I think the 463 steering arm curves in more than 460 due to axle track width. With this setup. I can use all stock springs, no need for spring spacers, and those spring protection tubes will fit!

shiann
Posts: 1092

Re: My G55k Adventure

Post#167 » Thu Nov 11, 2021 8:14 pm

autonovice wrote:
shiann wrote:I haven't installed them yet so can't comment on how the process is, but I do have a press and the extractor/installation tool with cups and screw.


What I have done is use a spare front trailing arm ( to save downtime ), make all the measurements, use the old trailing arm bolts or similar, and tack weld on a steel plate with some ref. markings. Once done, press the bushings on the arm using this custom-made tool. Of course, this works well for pressed-on bushings. I dont like the insert bushing as I think they will move over time. I use the Stock un Stein bushings.

I am moving away from this and will use dropped trailing arm brackets, raised spring seats. Longer panhard rods are solved w/ G seller offerings. For 463, to solve bump steering issue, you can use the canadian army drag link ( S curve and not straight like yours .. about 900$ ).

Another approach to solve the bump steering issue: I tried to use a 460 RHD lower L steering arm and flip to use in place of upper R kingpin for my 460. It hits the frame on hard L turn and will need an 1in to clear. The 460 RHD lower L steering arm may work better on 463, cheaper solution but you will have to re-shim, a PITA job w/ minimum tools and knowledge. I think the 463 steering arm curves in more than 460 due to axle track width. With this setup. I can use all stock springs, no need for spring spacers, and those spring protection tubes will fit!


Thanks for all the info and suggestions Minh!

Since my other car has basically been out of commission being repaired slowly for the past 4 months, the G has served as the daily driver for commuting to work in NYC. Talk about a lot of gas. The G currently has ~112000 miles on it, still averaging right around 12mpg.

I'll finally get to tear into the G this weekend and will start with the rear end, replacing the panhard bushings, making sure all bolts/nuts are tight, inspecting all the rubber bushings, and also adding some centering washers to the Fox shocks bottom eyelet. Then I'll go ahead and replace the front/rear diff fluid, along with the transfer case fluid with Amsoil in the correct weights and formulas. Both rear doors are acting funny so I'll have to take them apart to find out why the interior handles don't work anymore. I'll take the door handles and lock assemblies apart to clean and lubricate, as well as add some more sound deadening material in there as the last time I was in there I didn't take that step.

The front end will be a longer task, but I'll be replacing all the rubber bushings at once, including adding in the caster correction bushings. I'll make a template out of plywood and a 3D printed dowel to make sure the orientation of the bushings is correct, but this should be relatively straight forward.

After that I also purchased a new steering column rubber boot and the split-type swivel ball seals from fourbyfourclub and will be tackling that soon after the front end is addressed (or probably at the same time). I still do have a steering clunk so may just purchase a new steering tie rod linkage from FCP and do an oil change before the holidays start.

Once the holidays start, there will be lots of road trips to see friends and family all over the east coast, so lots of motoring miles to be had. Plan is to build a plywood shelf/floor for the rear and maybe some pull out drawers if I have time and I'll be sure to document the process.

Lots to do and not much time to do it, like always.

Cheers!
2005 G55k – Mildly Modded/Restored Family Hauler
2005 Volvo S60 T5 M66 – IPD DP, exhaust, sways, R-brembos, FC04A, KW V2
2007 FSAE Auto-X Racecar
IG: shiann_builds

shiann
Posts: 1092

Re: My G55k Adventure

Post#168 » Mon Nov 22, 2021 7:54 pm

Got some time to start tackling some of the suspension reconditioning I wanted to finish before the snow and freezing temperatures hit the Northeast.

First decided to tackle the rear suspension since it's simpler by far and I also only had a few hours to work on everything.

Truck back end up on jack stands and the tires removed with the remaining foliage looking pretty grand:
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First problem I wanted to tackle was adding washers/shims to both ends of the Fox shock eyelet mounts (bottom) that I noticed started slipping to the sides and not staying centered. This was causing a weird clunk noise and I don't understand why it was designed like this.
Passenger side slipped all the way to one side. Driver side started to slip but not as bad. Also disappointed to see some oil/grease on the shock shaft, probably a slow leak out of the bottom seals.
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Took some measurements and went to my local hardware store and found a combination of washers and bearing shims that worked pretty perfectly to center the shock eyelet. FYI it's a 0.75" diameter and the space on both sides is roughly 11mm, so 44mm in washers/spacers needed in total. FYI for anyone with Fox shocks and notices the same issue. These washers are only Grade 5 and plated, so I'll order some stainless steel replacements from McMaster with my next order and replace at some point down the road.
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Next up was replacing the bushings on the rear Panhard bar. The bolts weren't that difficult to remove with a large 1/2" breaker bar to crack the bolts loose, then the 1/2" air impact to drive them out.
Access to the passenger side bolt was annoying, but pretty easy after the suspension is allowed to drop.
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Pressing the bushings out in a similar fashion to the front bar worked like a charm, took maybe 15 minutes total to press out the old ones and the new ones in.
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Next up is tackling the front suspension and swivel ball seals, all of which will be a serious pain I'm sure. I'll also need to change the oil, rotate the tires, and swap out all the other fluids.

And yes, there is still a good amount of surface rust on the metal parts under the G. I'll address that in the spring with a wire wheel and rust converter. Just didn't have time to get it done this summer with everything going on, and will need to have the G up on jack stands for a few days while the paint cures. Everything is just at the surface, and some of the current undercoating starting to peel, but nothing major under there.

I finally ended up fixing the other car (Volvo S60 T5M66) and getting it back on the road (clutch + flywheel +pp failure and complete suspension + steering overhaul) so the G will now see a lot less commuting miles, which is a great thing given the price of gas these days. Will be taking the G on at least 1 long road trip at the end of the year so looking forward to getting everything sorted with the suspension so I can start working on some interior things and more permanent rear storage.

Cheers!
2005 G55k – Mildly Modded/Restored Family Hauler
2005 Volvo S60 T5 M66 – IPD DP, exhaust, sways, R-brembos, FC04A, KW V2
2007 FSAE Auto-X Racecar
IG: shiann_builds

shiann
Posts: 1092

Re: My G55k Adventure

Post#169 » Thu Nov 25, 2021 11:21 pm

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. We're doing the family thing tomorrow and friends thing Saturday, so I got a free day to work on the G. Weather turned out to be great, right around 50 which is uncharacteristic for the Northeast at this time of year.

Dug everything out and laid it out for inspiration.
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Front and Rear Diff Fluid, Transfer Case Fluid, Fox Shock rebuild kit, Fox Shock extended reservoir lines, Bronze bushings for the Fox Shock top eyelet mount, Steering Shaft Boot, Radius Arm Eccentric Bushings (caster correction), Sway bar updated mounts, sway bar endlink bushings, Radius arm to frame bushings, and split Swivel Ball Seals.

Another great day to work outside on the G. This time the front end.
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Radius arms took maybe 3 hours to get out. I was taking my time and learning as I went along. The process was pretty straight forward. I had to drop the sway bar mounting brackets first and let it hang down while removing the radius arms. The sway bar to endlink bolts can't be removed with the radius arms in place, and the endlinks are impossible to remove without removing the radius arm first. I also did a lot of cleaning while I was down there as my swivel balls have been leaking pretty badly. Lots of grease everywhere.
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Also had to remove the steering tie rod, steering damper, sway bar, sway bar endlinks, and shields around the radius arm to frame mounting points. I'm happy to note that it looks like the steering tie rod is relatively new. I still had a weird intermittent clunk every now and then that I have been trying to figure out, but it's probably not the steering tie rod. I"ll check the steering box and shaft joints now.
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My radius arms were in pretty rough cosmetic shape. Lots of rust that was more than just surface. I decided to get out the grinder with a flap disk and the wire wheel to clean it up. I did the same to the sway bar and the sway bar endlinks also.
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Radius arm bushings pressed out easily, but the outer steel sleeve doesn't come with it (I didn't have a 70mm OD socket to press the sleeve out, so I had to cut a slit with a hack saw and pry it out. The process wasn't terrible and took about 1 hour to remove all 4. I marked the vertical position on the arms before I removed them from the G, and used a punch to mark the location next to the front bushing cutout on both L and R radius arms. I don't expect alignment to be too difficult.
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Pressed the endlink bushings out along with the sway bar end bushings. Both were easy to press out and took little force.
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All bushings removed next to the new parts that will be going in.
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A few closeups of the old vs new. These are the sway bar endlink bushings. They look pretty good overall, but since it would be impossible to replace them without later removing the radius arms again, I ended up chaging them anyway. It also looks like the style has been updated slightly.
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The radius arm to frame bushings, on the other hand, were pretty beat up. You can see how squished they are compared to the new ones. I have a good feeling that these bushings are the reason for the steering shake/vibration I was feeling over large bumps. It felt like the axle was shaking and moving in ways it wasn't supposed to. These bushings, along with the nuts holding the radius arms on being relatively loose were probably the reason I was getting all that undesired motion in the axle and subsequently into the steering.
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Radius arm bushings overall weren't that bad. The inner rubber was starting to separate from the metal sleeves and there were some cracks from dry rot, but overall not bad for 15 year old rubber bushings.
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After cleaning up all the parts, I decided to paint everything using Steel-it Black. This won't be perfect, but it'll be better than what it was before. I didn't use the grinder and flap disk heavily on the sway bar and endlinks, but did go to town on the radius arms. I may add a second coat tomorrow but have not decided as I would have to wait for it to dry before reinstalling, but we will see.

My temp painting rack and how everything will be drying tonight.
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Looking to have everything back together by latest Sunday if I need the extra time. It will also be nice to change all the fluids as they were last changed by the previous owner 30k miles ago, and finally fixing those swivel ball seals. The split seals are for ease of service and I plan to replace them down the road if and when the axles need to come out. There's just too much grease getting past the seals and I need the truck to be reliable for the big road trip down south at the end of this year.

Thanks for reading. Happy Turkey day, and hope every one is enjoying and relaxing.

Cheers!
2005 G55k – Mildly Modded/Restored Family Hauler
2005 Volvo S60 T5 M66 – IPD DP, exhaust, sways, R-brembos, FC04A, KW V2
2007 FSAE Auto-X Racecar
IG: shiann_builds

shiann
Posts: 1092

Re: My G55k Adventure

Post#170 » Sun Nov 28, 2021 10:46 pm

The weekend is now over and it was time to finish putting the G back together. I spent about 12 hours today getting the truck back on the road and it was definitely not a fun day. Temperatures dipped over the past week and today was a balmy 38 degrees. A far cry from the 55 degrees the other day when I took everything apart.

Started the day by draining the front diff fluid. This was mostly a sanity check to make sure that there wasn't any swivel ball grease getting into the diff fluid. The chances of this were low, and this is still not a 100% check that the inner axle seal isn't leaking, but it's something at least. Fluid was about 30k miles old and looked pretty good and clean. I replaced it with Amsoil Severe Gear 75W-90.
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Next up was to tackle replacing the swivel ball gaskets with the split type.
Took off the seal cover plate and found a pretty tell-tale sign of why my swivel balls were leaking. the gasket was trash, hard, brittle, and cracked in a bunch of places. Definitely no chance of any grease being held in there with what was left of this seal. I took everything apart, cleaned everything as well as I could, then cleaned it all again. I took out the inner ring also and cleaned that until all that was left was the blue marine grease I have been using in the swivel balls. The paper gasket was torn in a bunch of places also, so I scraped it off with a razer blade and cleaned all the mating surfaces.
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I had a really tough time stretching the new swivel ball split type seal, but then remembered to heat it in boiling water in order to soften it. It also didn't help that it was close to freezing temperatures today. Soaked it in some boiled water for ~5 minutes.
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I positioned the staple at the top of the swivel ball, and started at the top wedging the seal into position while stretching the rest of it around the ball and seating it with the cover plate. This process was pretty tedious but after figuring out a method, it went pretty quickly.
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One side down, the second to go. I cleaned and cleaned as much as I could. I'm hoping that it all stays clean-ish over time. The first side took maybe 1 hour with lots of trial and error. The second side took maybe 20 minutes after figuring out a process to correctly seat the seal while stretching it.
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I refilled both swivel balls with marine grease.
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PSA: If your swivel balls are leaking and they have not been replaced, it's probably time. My G is 16 years old and the seals have most likely never been changed. As you can see, they were completely trashed and severely discolored also. Package on the left is the P/N for the split type seal. I purchased from Vlad @ fourbyfourclub as the prices were all about the same.
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Next up was installing the bushings in the sway bar links. I used a hydraulic press for this and it worked ok. Not sure if there is another way to do this.
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Installed the same bushings in the sway bar ends in the same method. Note: I forgot to install the sway bar mounting bushings at this stage, that I discovered later when I went to bolt up the sway bar to the radius arms. Don't make my mistake!!
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Next up was the Caster Correction Eccentric Bushings for the Radius Arms. I drew up a template and it worked ok, but in hindsight, I would have made a template out of wood with long bolts to ensure perfect fitment.
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Radius arm bushings installed and ready to go onto the G.
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What a pain in the rear end. Installation took around an hour of reach side. The poly caster correction bushings are wider than OEM, so getting the arms into position was difficult. Also, the rear radius arm to frame bushings were the most difficult to align correctly and install. Doing this outside, on the ground, in the cold, at night is definitely not something that is a good time.
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And I had to remove the sway bar links to slide on the sway bar mounting bushings. In the OE setup, the sway bar bolts can't be removed from the link without removing links from the frame, or removing the radius arms. Very poor design here. I reversed the bolts when installing, but the reason for the OE bolt direction is most likely due to the clearance between the arm and the radius arm. With the bolt head, there is roughly 1/4" clearance. With the bolt/nut reversed, the clearance is more like 1/8". We'll see if this ends up being an issue.
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Finally finished around 11pm.
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Went for a test drive on some local roads that are pretty bad with ruts, cracks, potholes, etc. I am glad to say that the steering vibration/body vibration when going over bad road surfaces is GONE. After changing everything, I'm positive the culprit for my issues were the Radius Arm to Frame bushings. They were pretty deformed and cracking. Since the attachment here is a nut that bottoms out on shoulder, the stability of the radius arm, and thus the axle, is completely dependent on these bushings being the proper elasticity and the correct side (to compress as expected).

I wouldn't want to do this job again, but I could most likely do it again in half the time. Just how it goes.

Anyway, cheers everyone, and if there are any questions or comments on everything I've done to my G, feel free to ask away.

Cheers!
2005 G55k – Mildly Modded/Restored Family Hauler
2005 Volvo S60 T5 M66 – IPD DP, exhaust, sways, R-brembos, FC04A, KW V2
2007 FSAE Auto-X Racecar
IG: shiann_builds

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