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Weather has not allowed top down. So can’t say anything about cowl shake. We all know it shakes with top down with the not so stiff chassis.
not really noticing any harsh vibrations in steering wheel over normal road imperfections like repairs and worn wallows. It was not very nice with coilovers at max stiffness, by once dialed to just dampening enough but no further the ride absorbs most road stuff. Not a glassy ride, but solidly on rails sensation. It’s a heck of a lot less work to drive than before the upgrade. Ride home feels shorter because driving takes so much less effort.
Getting a 225k mile old car to feel like an Aston is a big win in my book. Previously there was a huge transition going from Aston to Lexus. Now it’s no longer a huge change from weeble wobble to railed car. The SC430 has been transformed to my liking and given a new life.
Since passing the 222K mark, I've performed a some well deserved maintenance and upgrades. Basically, before this point she asked very little upkeep.
Brake rotors and pads replaced
Brake fluid flush
Spark plugs replaced
Oil and filter change
Idler body cleaned
MAF sensor cleaned
Steering rack bushings replaced
Front Sway bar and bushings replaced
Rear sway bar and bushings replaced
Front suspension rebuild
Struts replaced with coilovers x 4
Replaced transmission fluid
Replace power steering fluid
4 wheel alignment x 2
Ready for 250K and more hopefully.
Last edited by Seattle SCone; 12-01-20 at 08:58 AM.
This plus the my swaybar upgrades continue to please. Alignment has held and my daily drive is SO MUCH more fun and easy. Drive home feels a lot shorter now that she handles and tracks so well. If you are on the fence about whether the stock suspension can be massively improved, no question any more. It can be transformed into a nice riding, well handling daily driver that is fun and doesn't wear you out. Car glides down road and takes curves without effort. I don't find the ride at all harsh, but it's a sporty feel keeping me in contact with how the wheels are interacting with the road.
When she does break free, it's the rears, but in a nicely controlled manner. Definitely pleased with the results and I learned a lot doing the install and wheel alignments.
I dare say, I'm happier with the car now than even when I first bought it in 2002. She's behaving just like I want on the road, and with upgraded electronics, she rivals a new car's connectivity. Old enough to be easy to work on, but new enough to accept upgrades. It's a definite sweet spot.
This plus the my swaybar upgrades continue to please. Alignment has held and my daily drive is SO MUCH more fun and easy. Drive home feels a lot shorter now that she handles and tracks so well. If you are on the fence about whether the stock suspension can be massively improved, no question any more. It can be transformed into a nice riding, well handling daily driver that is fun and doesn't wear you out. Car glides down road and takes curves without effort. I don't find the ride at all harsh, but it's a sporty feel keeping me in contact with how the wheels are interacting with the road.
When she does break free, it's the rears, but in a nicely controlled manner. Definitely pleased with the results and I learned a lot doing the install and wheel alignments.
I dare say, I'm happier with the car now than even when I first bought it in 2002. She's behaving just like I want on the road, and with upgraded electronics, she rivals a new car's connectivity. Old enough to be easy to work on, but new enough to accept upgrades. It's a definite sweet spot.
You hit the nail on the head with that last comment! That's one of the things I love most about this car... extremely easy to work on while still remaining new enough to satisfy (most) of my wants. My only wish is they came from the factory with an LSD. That one tire fire when the rear breaks loose is quite comical.
I still have my swaybars sitting in boxes and was planning on installing them once my coilovers I ordered before Christmas arrive, but they have been delayed another ~4 weeks. So, I'll probably tackle that job this week or weekend, because I'm dying to eliminate this body roll.
Was your inner tie rod showing slop, or did you just replace it as preventative maintenance since you were already in there? I'm about to order some more parts and figure for as cheap as they are I might as well replace them.
Thanks again for documenting your install.It will certainly come in handy!
.....Was your inner tie rod showing slop, or did you just replace it as preventative maintenance since you were already in there? I'm about to order some more parts and figure for as cheap as they are I might as well replace them.!
No slop that I could detect, but was already in there and not much more cost to do it all.
Read every bit of this thread and am very happy for you. After seeing your garage, tools and familiarity with them, I'm questioning what you do :-) You have quite a selection of good quality tools! Great work, superb documentation and write-up. Thank you for going to all the trouble for those of us you have not even met. Much appreciated. BTW, what model Aston does your wife have?
Cheers,
Richard
Maple Valley, WA
2006 SC Matador Red Mica/Beige
As promised, reporting on cowl shake with top down. Weather was finally nice enough to drop the top.
My assessment is cowl shake is perhaps a bit more with the stiffer suspension, but it's hard to parse out because not all of the cowl shake can be attributed to the suspension. For instance, with top down I can feel the engine shake the car stopped in idle. That's purely the effect of the top being down. Our hard top provides a lot of stiffening for the chassis when it is up.
On the road, cowl shake is not more pronounced to about 65 MPH. Beyond 75 MPH, there is a pick up in vibration. I can't recall if that was also true before suspension change because I rarely got that fast with the top down. Overall I remain very pleased with the suspension upgrade.
Brilliant thread, awful lot of work - posting this, and also a bit of work replacing the suspension.
What should an SC suspension replacement cost? Just got my '03 SC430 suspension replaced,
plus radiator replaced, and a double oil change. Replaced most all the many replaceable arms
and slapped in MeisterR coilovers front and rear. I bought all the parts/oil from Amazon, MyLparts,
ebay (radiator $120), or mostly RockAuto. Cost $1000 for the Meisters and another $1000 for
the all rest.
Replaced the entire control arms and not just the bushings as that's too hard (would cost more).
Mechanic said the regular bushing are best anyway since the polys squeak after a year.
My mechanic charged $1500 for labor - is that reasonable?? Searching online it looks rather
steep but suspension is hard to judge as a comparable, are they only talking front or rear or
both or what. Mechanic said 3 hours per side, but he may have meant per wheel. Not sure.
Have to save up $$$ to pull it out of his shop and head off for an alignment.
it's all about how much you value your time & whether you have the passion, patience, tools and skill to fix the car up? If I have to pay 1500 for someone to do that, I'd done it myself, but if I was do all that for you, I'd have charged $3k. And I'm not a mechanic or my profession is any where close to a true mechanic.
Since he's done all the work, just pay him, get an alignment and enjoy your "new" car.
Well, that's what I'll be doing, paying him - but did I get ripped?
What would other real mechanics charge? Should I use him
for whatever comes up next?
To me, it's pretty good, consider all the parts that he has to R/R, However, I live in the Bay Area, CA where labor is a little bit more expensive than else where.
11,000 miles later, the suspension rebuild continues to keep me happy. It's a completely different car with the new suspension. Comfortable as a daily driver, but loads more fun and confidence going around curves. Straight line freedom from drift and lack of MPH related vibration of steering wheel are also still true. She's been loads more stable going around curves.
Wife came home after borrowing it for a shopping run. She was all smiles as she declared she had the best drive home. No traffic around her. So, she took my SC430 through some small roundabouts at 40 MPH. I was a bit surprised to hear what she did, but then again she is used to handling her Vantage.
I take it as a complement to the new suspension that she ventured to do it in what she previously considered a "weebly wobbly boat that always felt like it was going to tip over." Even better, that she did it with delight and felt in full control through the roundabouts.
FIGS refresh, FIGS front antisway, + ISF rear antisway = vastly superior car.
I've always considered a sport suspension upgrade as the best money spent on a car,
such that I am happy to spend less on a used car with a shot suspension just so I can
replace it.
Mark brake disc and one stud so you can put the disc back in same clock position. Hopefully, your brake tech took the time to actually clock them to attain lowest runout. By marking the disc and one stud you can match during reassembly.
Brake caliper is held by 14 mm (25 ft lb) bolts x 2
Brake bracket is held by 17 mm (87 fl lb) bolts x 2
You may need to apply counter torque on the slide pin using a THIN 17 mm wrench. I had to grind one of my 17 mm wrenches down to be thin enough.
BTW, don't be distressed by the apparent rust on my disc. It's actually a very fine amount formed after my pre-wash of components. Wears off immediately with first brake use.
Once caliper is removed, brake pads, springs and shims may fly apart from bracket. Be ready.
Hang caliper safely without overstraining or twisting hose. Your hanging position will move during the rebuild process.
(One tip during reassembly, be sure brake caliper and hose are on correct side of strut before pushing strut into position. Don't ask how I know.)
Put brake bracket, pads, springs, shims, and bolts safely aside.
Dear Seattle SCone, thank you very much for such an impressive richly illustrated beginning. It is a hell of a job, sir. I have one comment though: I didn't take apart caliper. Just unscrewed two bolts connecting lower ball joint to knuckle and moved aside knuckle with all brake assembly aside. Thank you.
12-01-20, 04:42 AM
