Since the installation of the new struts on the Saturn SC2 coupe went well, I decided to tackle the wagon's suspension. I talked myself into lowering the wagon and decided on Eibach’s relatively soft Pro Kit lowering springs. As already mentioned the old struts from the SC2 seemed to be in decent shape, so I could have just transferred those to the wagon. However, since the front GR-2s are stiffer than the stock struts and fairly inexpensive, I decided to order another pair of those along with the Eibach Pro Kit springs from TireRack.
The day after placing this order I receive a call from a TireRack employee. They just wanted to let me know that installing the Eibach springs on the GR-2s would void the KYB warranty. I asserted that I was aware of this and let them now I was expecting those to arrive soon.
For installation I followed the same strategy that I used on the SC2 and began with the rear suspension. The Haynes manual wasn’t terribly enlightening about the proper way to remove the rear panels on the wagon cargo area. I now know the proper method is pry loose the two small side cushions on either side of the rear seat backs and then loosen two screws on the strut tower trim. After those are loose it is just a matter of gently prying loose the clips on the rest of the panel. Luckily, I got the off with only minor damage, and the strut mounts were visible under some loosely glued foam pieces.
The old struts were quickly removed and disassembled. The strut rod ends were ballooned with rust, and one of the bump stops fell apart. The strut bodies themselves were very crusty with rust. It only reaffirmed for me that some previous owner must have found this car submerged under sea. I ran a wire wheel over the SC2’s old rear struts and the wagon mounts and gave all of them a coat of rust converter paint before assembling them with the new springs. I drove the wagon back home with only the rear suspension changed over.
The wagon’s front struts were slightly less rusty, and the car did look better with all the lower springs installed. The ride quality was greatly improved. However almost immediately we noticed a bad vibration coming from the right front corner of the car that started around 50 mph. I jacked that corner up and removed the wheel. The ball joint was a little loose. The ball joint is integral to the control arm on the Saturn. I had already considered buying new arms for the SC2, so I went ahead and picked up two new control arms.
My plan was to replace both the control arms on the SC2 with the new arms mainly to gain the added control of fresh rubber bushings. Then the SC2 arms could be transferred to wagon. The only problem was that I had a business trip out to Boston in a few days, and I was planning on bringing my entire family along in the wagon so we could do a little sightseeing while we were there. At this point neither car was aligned, and I had just mounted some brand new Falken Azenis RT-615s on the coupe. Renting a car probably would have been a good idea....