I'm sure for some of you this may seem elementary, infact it migt even seem a little noobish, but I'm not 100% sure on them so I'm asking....

I'm going to be installing a Skunk2 camber kit this week (time willing), I already have the old control arms out, and just need to re-install the skunk's... This is on a 96 Del Sol, which has the same upper control arm as the 92-95 civic and 94-2001 integra, so many people have already done this install.

1. Should I apply grease between the bushings and where they contact the upper control arm, it seems this part would need to move. With the pivot bolts tightened it's hard to move the control arm (I torqued 'em to 22 ftlb, according to the generic manual I'm using). Is there a better kind of grease to use?
2. How tight should I crank the allen bolts on the camber kit? does anyone know a proper torque spec?
3. The next time I drive it I'll be taking it for an alignment, should I start with ball joint in the center, or guestimate an adjustment?
4. Am I taking this a little too serious? Should I stop thinking and bolt the damn thing to the car?

I think that's all my concerns/questions... thanks for any input

 

I e-mailed Skunk2, and they got me an answer to #2,
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Skunk2 tech &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">don't go gorilla style or you'll rip the head off the bolt. Tighten to approx. 8-10 ft. lbs.</TD></TR></TABLE>

so that might help someone in the future, good to know

anyone got any help or input for the rest?

 

lol... gorilla style..

 

1. Honda only recomends sylicon grease on the rubber part of the bushing. This is meant to keep the bushings from drying out. The bushing itself isn't meant to rotate around the bolt. Instead the rubber part actually twists. Grab your finger as hard as you can & twist it back & forth. Notice the skin on your hand twists as you do this. This is how bushings operate. It makes them pretty difficult to move by hand. It is also why it is VERY important not to torque any bolts that go through the center of a bushing UNITL you have full loaded the suspension. This way when the car is on the ground, all your bushings are at rest (un-twisted). I do it like this:

With the car on jack stands, Install all bolts so they are loose
Jack up underneath the LCA until the vehicle barely lifts off the jackstand
Now torque all bolts on that corner of the suspension to spec
Repeate process on all 4 corners (esspecially if you've lowered the car).
Now you've zeroed out all your bushings...

3. I would just guess. It doesn't matter what camber is set at if your going for an alignment right away...

4. I take suspension VERY seriously. It's good to be worried, cause then you ask questions and learn very quickly...

 

Thanks!

that's the very thorough kinda information I was looking for...

I'm going to pick up some sylicon grease this afternoon...
hopefully I can squeze the time in tonight...

 

As far as the Silicon Grease goes, I haven't been able to find that **** at ANY autoparts stores. I always call, they always say "we have that"! Then when I get there, nobody knows what I'm talking about...

They didn't have it at Lowes either...

 

good to know I'll def. call first the one mom and pop part store I've supported for almost 12 years now knows me by name, they are usually super helpfull...