79-85 E-Body Front Brake Dust Shields, Spindle, bearing-hub Tall Ball joint

[79 Eldorado]

Spindle/ wheel bearing/ dust shield:
I recently had to fix my left front caliper on my 79 E-Body. As I was working on it I was soon reminded that was the spindle which had the caliper bolt mating threads partially stripped.

I started to realize that these cars aren’t getting any easier to find parts for. The prior time I worked on the front suspension I discovered that the early S10 4WD front wheel bearing assembly (hub) was the same PN but mine were fine and so I didn’t change them. As I searched for the steering knuckle/spindle I found that the ’83 part does fit and is identical to the 1979 E-Body spindle. The same part is also listed from 1982-1995 for the S10 4WD.

In the process of getting a used spindle (1983 S10 4WD) I received a brake dust shield in near perfect condition. Owners of the 79-85 may realize while reading this that our cars never came with a dust shield. I immediately decided to see if I could get a mating right side shield. I phoned the dealer and the dust shields have been discontinued. However a friend found the later version which was introduced after vehicles moved to ABS brakes. The shield was used to mount the ABS sensor so it seems like a critical part like that will remain as a service part for longer. I even found aftermarket versions. The ABS version of the shields themselves are 2-piece assemblies. To retrofit the new PN on the older vehicles you need to remove/replace the rivets. I took the opportunity to better coat the parts prior to assembly. I will share some photos.

Upper Ball joint:
Since I was committed to changing the spindle and adding the dust shield I decided I should probably change the front hub assembly. That also led to the discovery that ProForged (PN 101-10020) makes a ½” taller upper ball joint for our cars! I changed my ZQ8 2003 Sonoma to these a couple of years ago and they were a noticeable improvement. They essentially have the same effect as using a taller spindle; improves the roll center of the car. This was first made popular by the article “Knuckle Sandwich” where Global West modified an older Chevelle to handle significantly better. Of all things they used Cadillac D-Body front spindles. It was years later when ProForged discovered the same could be done with a special taller ball joint. Basically after the normal taper is finished they add a ½” above the taper. ProForged parts are impressive. They even e-coat their parts for corrosion protection. The only surprise the first time I used the ½” taller uppers was that the extra ½” was not e-coated; unfortunate but I knew this so I coated the last ½” prior to assembly this time.

Part Numbers:
Upper Ball Joint (ProForged Left and Right Tall): 101-10020
Brake shield/Dust shield (Left Front 1991-1997 Bravada): GM PN 19211693
Brake shield/Dust shield (Right Front 1991-1997 Bravada): GM PN 19211694
Spindle (Front Left 1982-1995 4WD S10): GM PN 22522937
Spindle (Front Right 1982-1995 4WD S10): GM PN 22522938
Wheel Bearing Hub Assembly (Left/Right 1983-1990 GMC S10 4WD): Detroit Axle PN 513013-DA

Scott
PS: The coil over shocks were to supplement the torsion bars. I actually prefer KYB mono-tube gas shocks for the front.

[bcroe]

A very nice piece of documentation, possibly a lifesaver for some.  It belongs in
a permanent reference of some kind for 79-85 Eldo/Riv/Toro owners.

Given the handling problems I have had with my 79 E, those taller upper ball
joints are going in.  At low miles it still has the originals, though all rubber
bushings have been changed.  Bruce Roe

[79 Eldorado]

Bruce,
We also discussed what GM refers to as the “orbital steering” sensation (the feeling of riding a boat over waves). There are a few things which greatly improve the feel of these car to the point I believe they can feel better than they ever did new or at least as good as new.

If anyone has a complaint regarding how their front end feels there are a few things you can do to make the feel dramatically better:
Maintenance/ Adjustment:
-   Check your sway bar end links and make certain they are not broken and the bushings are still there.
-   Idler arm adjustment as compared to the pitman arm side. This is described in the Service Manual and specifically associated with “Orbital steering”. The specification compared to other body styles isn't that much different but on the 79-85 E-Body this adjustment is critical. I don’t know if GM included it in every manual. The capture I found happened to come from the 1985 Oldsmobile Service Manual.

Improvements:
-   Sway bar and Torsion bars: My car came with the Touring suspension option which drove the largest diameter front sway bar and highest rate torsion bars. I added polyurethane sway bar end-link bushings and sway bar mounts. Unfortunately there is no service replacement for the torsion bars so you essentially have what you have but if you make all of the changes available to you the car should still make you happy.
-   Front shocks: Replace you front shocks with KYB monotube gas. These make a huge difference in settling quickly any rebound. You need to get the KYB version which was originally white in color and not the original gray version which I think were called “gas adjust”. KYB made it more complicated by changing the white version to as well gray. I tried the original grey version once, thought they were the same as the mono-tube when I bought them, on another car and removed/replaced them after a week with the mono-tube gas; again huge difference on that car (1983 B/D car).
-   Front lower control arm bushings: Believe it or not Global West makes Del-Alum bushings which fit the lower control arms. I made an Engineering style drawing for them and I sent it to them about 20 years ago. They verified they did have an off-the-shelf PN but they never told me which car it interchanged with. I would say these are an expensive and minor improvement compared to other things like the shocks.
-   Upper ball joint: I already mentioned ProForged. So I won’t discuss them any more here only to say their suspension parts are incredible and have a 1,000,000 mile guarantee. Since I discovered their parts I always look to them first to see if they offer a part I am replacing. I was a little shocked to see they had them for the E-Body but I’m sure it’s an interchange thing. To be clear I've changed the part but I will not be able to compare the feel until the summer.

Rear:
-   I’ve done surprisingly little to the rear. You don’t really need to do much to the rear. The rear end “rolling” some actually seems to help get the car to move from under steer to over steer and the front seems to be the key to highway feel at speed.

-   Sway bar mounts: I did tool a polyurethane rear sway bar bushing but unfortunately I lost the mold.
-   Rear shocks: I use Gabriel Highjacker air shocks and before that Sears Heavy Duty air shocks. I was auto-crossing regularly and for that it was best to have a “T” to the shocks. In my first E-Body I had no choice because my load-leveler was broken
-   Rear Springs: Avoid anything progressive. I tried progressive for one auto-x and they were terrible. The problem is, as the rear “rolls”, the first part of the soft progression is taken-up fast and then the roll “slams” into the stiffer part of the progression. During autocross it feels almost like hitting a curb.

These cars naturally want to under steer. Once you learn how to steer it with left foot braking the car comes alive. The trick is when you want to turn tap the left foot on the brake, turn the wheel slightly, and keep you foot on the gas because if you do the first two parts correctly the rear will be coming around. It’s incredible what OMG moments the front end will pull you out of if your foot is on the gas when the rear starts to come around. If you left foot brake and put sticky tires on the front the rear will definitely come around.

Bonus:
-    Rims/Tires: The 1993-2002 Gen IV F-Body Rims fit our cars perfectly. Yes the F-Body was RWD but the offset was very unusual for a RWD and fits the 1979-1985 E-Body Perfectly with the only modification needed being longer wheel studs if you want to use wheels taken exactly off the F-Body. The wheel studs are M12x1.5 and the PN is PTC 97239-1 (application: 2010 HUMMER H3 5.3L V8)

Scott

[bcroe]

At least, I have a couple sets of front end parts in the shed, salvaged in the
previous century.  Quite a selection of Torsion bars as well.  Really good to know,
so many of the wearing parts can be replaced with those from later models.  I
have carried spare front and rear wheel bearings (JUST IS CASE) a long time,
with ignition and ECU parts. 

One part I have not figured out, is the T bar anchors.  I found the larger bars of
the 78 back cars will fit into the 79-85, and the anchors will as well if you grind
the forging marks off the surface.  But the big old bars sit the car too high, out of
adjustment range.  The anchors can only be put on the T bar at 60 deg increments.
I see pictures of the anchor hole rotated 30 deg, but have not been able to get my
hands on them.  The suppliers do not admit their height modifying anchors will
fit my vintage, but given my luck in fitting so far, I am pretty sure one of those
would work just fine.  Some day may just order all the ones available and return
the ones not applicable. 

My 79 E has ADDCO sway bars, heavier than any factory.  They are coupled to
poly parts I bought and fitted.  Stock end links are consumables, I make mine out
of larger bolts with poly, and extra nuts covering end threads assure I can take
them apart and re assemble for service.  I managed to cobble some rubber and
poly parts together for the rear sway bar, should rework. 

This is the first time I am aware of the need to adjust the front idler arm, do not
think I have ever touched it.  That and recommended parts I have ordered, will
give me another round of suspension maintenance/upgrade, thanks. 

My 79 had little engine compartment bracing, I noted a lot more in later years. 
It seem to help when I added more, above the engine and below too. 

KYB KG4531 shocks on the front were the final part of the fix, I did find that
KG5573 were a perfect mechanical fit in the rear, but the springs need boost to
make up for loss of the auto leveling.  Bruce Roe

[79 Eldorado]

Bruce,
The hardness of the torsion bar anchors will be a great indication of tensile strength and it's a non destructive test. It would be great if you can figure out the part number which works to adjust the index but if not I still think it would be possible to make something which works; less work if it's a ready existing PN.

In the late 90's I tried to find a set of aftermarket torsion bars and none were long enough. Your suggestion of using the prior generation is a good suggestion if we can correct the index and, in my case, I can find some still in existence. With all of the new 4WD stuff is anything out there getting close again? Does ADDCO still sell bars? The place I spoke to in the late 90's, cannot recall the name, stopped making custom orders. It was too expensive for me at the time but they had a service where you could send your old bars in and tell them how much adjustment you wanted. They would then measure and make a set for you.

The mono-tube gas version is the version we want and when I looked at the information on the PN you supplied they do seem to be in fact mono-tube gas. They are referred to as "gas adjust" though and I thought that was the name I was trying to avoid; I likely remembered the name incorrectly. I have my verified KYB's in the garage so I can verify what we are discussing is exactly the same number. One reason I think we have the same number of KYB is because when I looked up your PN on Amazon they show the old and updated color. I think however my label is different than even the white version shows. I'm attaching a capture and will verify my PN later if it's on the shock label.

Scott

[bcroe]

I used to order sway bars from J. C. Whitney in Chicago, they were economical
apparently as a factory drop shipment.  More recently called ADDCO and got a
salesman who apparently wanted to triple the price for his commission.  I went
to JCW again and got the price I expected. 

Today JCW has moved west, changed names, and apparently has changed the
sort of stuff they sell.  I have not ordered in a while (been driving the same cars
for a long time), had to find new sources for some things.  good luck, Bruce Roe

[79 Eldorado]

Bruce,
I thought you meant ADDCO had torsion bars. I just searched and realized you were talking about the sway bar. i think I was too loose with using the term "bar"

I remembered it was Sway-A-way that I spoke to years ago regarding torsion bars. When I phoned again a few years ago they no longer offered the service I described.

Scott

[bcroe]

No, I grabbed quite a few T bar sets when the 70s cars hit the yards. 
The T bars in my 79 E came from my last 79 Toro with Olds version of
touring suspension.  Bruce

[79 Eldorado]

I took a picture of the KYB shocks I am recommending to confirm the name. The mono-tube gas, old version which was painted white, are indeed called Gas-a-just and those are the ones I'm recommending and the same ones which Bruce is also happy with.

I guess I don't know what the old gray version which I didn't like were called and as I mentioned KYB changed the Gas-a-just color to gray. I'm posting the photo here and I will add a comment to the original post clarifying the name.

As well the shocks shown on the car are coil over and not KYB. I do not recommend the coil over shocks. I developed an issue with the right side torsion bar and the coil-over was an attempt to supplement the torsion bars.

Scott