Problem with rear end suspension 93 Pontiac Grand Prix LE

[tnturtle]

Hi, I was referred to you all from a member at 60 DegreeV6.com., and was told you all may be able to give me a hand. I have a mechanical problem and hope someone can give me some expert advice. I bought a 93 Grand Prix LE (3100) 2 yrs ago, in good condition except for 1 minor detail, it had been hit in the rear, but the guy who sold it was a body man and you couldn't tell it had any damage at all. Until I started driving it after awhile. If I had anything in the trunk, after I unloaded it, a strange noise would come from rear end. A grinding sort of noise, but eventually would go away, and finally it has stopped, but now a new problem. It now looks as though I am hauling around a ton of bricks in the back of my car, as it is sitting really low. The tires aren't rubbing and it is drivable, but every bump in the road is felt. It is low on both sides. I had a friend look at it and he said there was a spring going across from the left wheel to the right wheel, and he had never seen a set up like this before, and he thought it was broken but it was wrapped in plastic?????? Also, is it safe to drive it until I can get it fixed?

Does anyone have any input in this? I would love to get it fixed, without costing an arm and a leg, the car only has 130,000 miles on it, and is a joy to drive. Any suggestions would help, my friend said he would fix it if I could find out what to do, if the spring is the problem or what.

 

The member from V6 said "Yup, fiberglass monoleaf like the corvette had. Get a new one and make sure the ends are good (rubber). If not, you can get some white plastic type pieces that go on the rear struts to protect the monoleaf. If yours is wrapped in plastic now, id say something is wrong. There are like 14 different monoleafs based on a 3 letter code, stiff to weak. There are a couple aftermarket lowering springs as well. w-body.com is a good site for you to check out. There have been plenty of discussions regarding the monoleaf, and coil overs. Not sure how you wanna go about fixing it but you have options:)"

 

Would this be enough info for my friend to fix this problem? It kind of sounds greek to me, but my friend works on cars (on a part time basis) so iis mechanically inclined.

 

Thanking you in advance for your time,

tnturtle

 

 

[Intlcutlass]

Grinding might mean the hubs, but it also sounds like your monoleaf has either snapped completely or is suffering from serious sag.....

 

Also check your struts.... if they are completely blown, that could also cause some of what you have described.

 

Not really all that expensive....as long as you do the work yourself.

$65-$75 per side in strut parts

A junk yard monoleaf would probably cost $10

Pick up your hubs there too (if yours are bad)

 

 

I would say right now... your biggest task should be to pinpoint whats wrong, and everything you will want to replace.

 

 

[tnturtle]

Thanks so much, that will help, I appreciate your response and time. Is it okay to drive? The grinding has ceased, say for the past 6 months, and I really didn't notice the car starting to be so low until I just looked at it one day. It is rough riding, and no "spring" in the back, say when you push down on the trunk, there is no give at all. My friend thought it may be the one spring that is broken. but not sure.

again thanks for your response

tnturtle

[tnturtle]

One more question in case anyone views this, Would purchasing a Chilton for the car help?

Thanks,

tnturtle

[Intlcutlass]

One more question in case anyone views this, Would purchasing a Chilton for the car help?

Thanks,

tnturtle

 

I would say a Chiltons would be needed...yes...

[tnturtle]

thanks, will do

tnturtle

[White93z34]

i'd sat that you should check out your struts, when mine were gone the car rode extremely harsh.

 

but since you say the back end is sitting really low, i'd be inclined to believe that the fiberglass monoleaf is cracked or broken, a quick visual inspection should be able to confirm that.

 

as far as what leaf your car usues... since your car is a LE it most likely had the base suspension (FE1), now would be the time to install a FE3 leaf from a higher end car, there is a spring code decoder for FE3 springs on the mainpage of the site that should help you determine what spring that you may get from a junkyard car. also early w-body springs seem to be the best (so i'm told) like 88-90 springs.

 

also check out the trailing arms and lateral arms if any of those are bent or broken, that could mess up things

 

one more thing, are your tires wearing unevenly?

[tnturtle]

Thanks so much for the response, will any of the springs from the spring code decoder for FE3 work? I am trying to find out as much as I can for my friend. I copied some instructions for taking struts off from one of your members. Will this also help in changing the monoleaf as well? or possibly instructions for this elsewhere that I couldn't find? You all have been the greatest in helping me out, and I would like to add, everyones cars look so awesome.

There is no uneven wear on the tires that I can tell. They are fairly new and don't look worn at all. He did say the monoleaf looked broken, I am going to search the site some more to see if I can find out anymore info.

Thank you so much again,

tnturtle

[White93z34]

to easially remove the monoleaf i know there is a special spring compressor that is supposed to make the job quite easy, i believe that you can rent it most autoparts stores. and as for what spring code works, they all do. its just different rates at which a spring works at is the only difference. so what i'm saying is any FE1 or FE3 spring would work fine.

[tnturtle]

Thanks so much, I appreciate your help and time.

I have been searching the site and gleaned alot of good sounding information. I have printed off about 50 pages of stuff, so hopefully my friend can do it.

Thanks so much again

[94CutlassSLCoupe]

It still sounds to me like the leaf is weak/broken. If you get a leaf from an '88-'90 FE3 car, make SURE you have the aux springs installed or the car will sit like a 4x4 truck in the back for that great '70's look

[tnturtle]

okay, will keep that in mind, guess I need to find one in a junkyard, Thanks soooo much to all. If I go to a junkyard to get one, will I have to take it off the junk car, or like has someone already done that, hate to sound ignorant, but when it comes to mechanicing I am.

Thanks for the advice and input,

tnturtle

[joey b]

How much easier/more expensive is it to get a new monoleaf. Where would I go about getting one?

[Pabz]

How much easier/more expensive is it to get a new monoleaf. Where would I go about getting one?

 

check out the flex-a-form spring, or the birchmount spring using the search.

[tnturtle]

How much easier/more expensive is it to get a new monoleaf. Where would I go about getting one?

 

check out the flex-a-form spring, or the birchmount spring using the search.

 

 

I did a google search and came to flex a form site, looks like they run around $200 plus ship and hand,

the truck on the home page sits like mine does. Thanks for letting me in on this. I need all the help I can get.

[tnturtle]

So what are coil overs? is that the old fashioned spring coils that are over each wheel? Is it fathomable to put these kind on the rear instead of the monoleaf, or is this absurd? Thanks for any response

[Pabz]

How much easier/more expensive is it to get a new monoleaf. Where would I go about getting one?

 

check out the flex-a-form spring, or the birchmount spring using the search.

 

 

I did a google search and came to flex a form site, looks like they run around $200 plus ship and hand,

the truck on the home page sits like mine does. Thanks for letting me in on this. I need all the help I can get.

 

You might want to search around to see what people have to say about the flex-a-form

[tnturtle]

Hey, one more question, and I promise I will leave you alone, you all have given me such great info, but I have about come to the conclusion to take it to a mechanic and let him do it. Does anyone have any idea what I can estimate to pay if it is the monoleaf and replacing the struts. Also, would a regular mechanic be able to do it? we live in such a rural area we really don't have specialty mechanics up here and I know taking it to a dealer would run lots more that I would want to pay. I am just curious, so I can figure on what it will cost me.

Thanks so much for any ideas or estimates.

indebted

tnturtle

[tdaye]

My garage charged me one hour labour for the leaf and one hour labour for each strut the first time I had my leaf changed. It's very easy to remove the stock spring if they are doing the struts at the same time...not that it matters if your spring is broke

[tnturtle]

My garage charged me one hour labour for the leaf and one hour labour for each strut the first time I had my leaf changed. It's very easy to remove the stock spring if they are doing the struts at the same time...not that it matters if your spring is broke

 

Thanks so much, I appreciate it, sounds better and easier too. Thanks

tnturtle

[tnturtle]

Just an update, I put an add in the classifieds, yup looking for a leaf spring. I may have found one. When I took it to the mechanic, he said the spring was crushed, no pads at the end, which maybe why it was crushed and the struts needed replacing. We tried to find one at the local junkyards, which we may have, but it has been too muddy as of today for him to really get down to it to take a look to see if it is a good one. If it's not any good I will still be looking for one, it is not supposed to rain for the next couple of days, maybe it will dry out enough. The mechanic called GM, they wanted $500 + for one. Yikes.

Anyway, wanted to update and let you all know how much I appreciated all your input.

 

Thanks so much

tnturtle

[Pontiac6KSTEAWD]

Because of the history that this spings have, I personally would steer away from used and just go with the birchmont or the other brand (cant think of the name right now). The new spring should come with the rubber/plastic ends that are needed on the ends of the mono-leaf. and for 200 bucks for peace of mind, I think its worth it...

[tnturtle]

Because of the history that this spings have, I personally would steer away from used and just go with the birchmont or the other brand (cant think of the name right now). The new spring should come with the rubber/plastic ends that are needed on the ends of the mono-leaf. and for 200 bucks for peace of mind, I think its worth it...

 

Thanks for the kindly advice : ) Will consider checking into it.

tnturtle

[GutlessSupreme]

These are the coilover's available for the rear of our cars:

 

http://www.fastfwdperformance.com/coilovers.html