[njsteve]

Today I tackled the front suspension. I pulled the upper and lower control arms out and the coil springs. Rather easy to remove everything. I did find some interesting stuff though. First, I was looking and looking for the passenger side shock absorber stud so I could remove the nut. All I found was the hole where it should have been. This is what I found when I unbolted it from the bottom of the control arm...

In examining the stud it appears that the dealer never bothered to install the upper bushings, washers, and nuts on it. The threads were untouched for the entire length of the threaded area. (other than the marks where it was banging around inside the coil spring). I never heard a thing while driving! Luckily, I have a new set of front shocks that were the ones that I got from Midas under the lifetime warranty for Gramma's Firebird several years back. It just so happens that they are the exact same part number for both cars! How's that for good Karma (Car-ma)?