V1 Mahkoi's #299. Ext Track. SS Turbo.

[Mahkoi]

Did you measure the stud to confirm that it is 20.5mm?

Thanks for the measurement number. I'll pull it apart tomorrow and double check it.

 

[Gtstorey]

When I tried the separate moog ball joints they were just slightly over 20mm (close enough to just say 20mm) and could not the knuckle to close up on them. I don’t see any way that a wreck could cause the hole to get bigger without visibly distorting the hole.

 

[Brett]

I bought tons of control arms that were labeled as for an ss 2009. Non were right except for the ac Delco ones.

 

[Mahkoi]

Yeah digging through cobalt forums there a bunch of people having the same problem with the exact moog parts that I bought even though moog labels them as for the fe5 suspension. I'll measure tonight to double check but I have a hunch @Gtstorey is right on this one and i trusted thay moog knew what they were talking about. Anyone know of a bolt in ball joint option for the large diameter ss ball joints? I'd prefer not to buy control arms. I already replaced the front bushings on mine and upgraded them to the solid rear bushings. TRW had one that listed for a 08 ss, not sure if I'll be hitting the same problem. Detroit axle had nothing listed for the ss. Haven't checked XRF yet.

 

[Gtstorey]

FE5 doesn't differentiate between the model years and I don't think GM includes the knuckles in the "suspension" option code.

I don't think there are any sources for the right LNF ball joints or entire control arms. This has been discussed several times and I think Brett got the last ones found and only after a lot of looking. There is a chance that you can buy the left control arm on Rockauto and transfer the ball joint to the right side
More Information for GM GENUINE 25930725 (rockauto.com)

OTTP has a listing for both sides control arms and will let you add it to the cart, but I don't know how accurate their stock status is.

I wouldn't trust that you are getting the right arm unless it is Genuine GM parts 5930724 and 5930725.

This is why I suggested swapping the knuckles out with the older ones.

 

[Mahkoi]

I greatly appreciate the help.

 

[Mahkoi]

Yup I have 19.5ish mm on my ball joint diameter. I'll start shopping for those 724 & 725 part #s you listed earlier. Thanks again for the help everyone.

 

[Mahkoi]

Well I was able to find new control arms that are gm genuine parts ( we'll see when they show up) hopefully they have the right diameter ball joints on them. I was able to press out my new solid bushings out of my control arms and I'll transfer those over when the new control arms show up. I've been slacking a bit on the build log so here's what's been goin on. Found out I had goofy stuff happening in my PDC (fuse block at the engine or whatever name it goes by on cobalts)so I had to run a separate relay in order to get that to function. That little light from Morimoto is super bright. Got my hood wrap done. I like the concept but being my first time wrapping there's more than a few spots I messed up but I'll run it for now . I also got the new df shifter installed and adjusted as best I can tell along with the parking brake. Other than this ball joint clustercuss I'm just about complete other than a couple of parts on backorder from DF and buying seats .

 

[Mahkoi]

Got the new control arms and they took care of the play in the rear end. Went through and redid my garage alignment since I was aligning it to sloppy rear ball joints. It took its first trip under its own power today. All of about 20ft just to see how the brakes and clutch felt. Brakes seem OK, clutch probably needs another bleed. It's not the most comfortable thing to drive with no seats in it but I couldn't resist. Now I've gotta make up my mind on seats.

 

[Ghostknife]

love the wheels on it!

 

[Mahkoi]

love the wheels on it!

Thanks! I'm really happy with how they look on the car.

 

[Mahkoi]

Well... I'm out of parts to put on the car. I haven't been good with updating my build log this summer but I've made some minor additions since i last made a post. I've made a front grill, my own version of a button panel, replaced the sloppy cv axle, added a bolt in harness bar so the 5 point belts attach at the correct height, changed the exhaust and made some rubber floor mats. Just waiting on the MCO to show up in the mail so I can get the registration process going. Hopefully it goes well so I can get it on the road a few times before it gets cold to figure out what I can tinker with this winter on it.

 

[escapepilot]

I had the exact same idea for a bolt in seat belt harness bar. I haven't gotten that far yet, so it's good to see it actually fits and doesn't interfere with anything.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Yep, it fits just fine as a bolt in.

Desert Sasqwatch #155 Track (mods) - 08 SS/TC crate LNF F40

Just a note from the Engineer in me: the Goblin suspension has effectively no anti-dive and minimal anti-squat geometry built into the stock frame and donor subframe. This is one of the latest items that I have been reviewing and contemplating how to design/modify to gain these aspects into my...

dfkitcar.com

 

[Mahkoi]

Yup. The previous owners of my house left a huge piece of 1/8th inch wall pipe in my garage so I cut it at an angle that matched the upper belt holes in the frame and used the welder to stick some 1/4in thick plates I had laying around the garage on the end. Funny thing is as I was making it I thought @Desert Sasqwatch would not like how heavy this is but I didn’t want to figure out how to put speed holes in it.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Speedholes Rule #1 - no holes in any critical or safety structures.
Speedholes Rule #2 - if you violate Rule #1, make certain it was made from material with 200% more structural strength than needed and don't let Racer X have the drill for very long.

 

[Mahkoi]

I might have accidentally stumbled on something and I hope someone here can confirm. My car runs terrible on startup and last weekend I decided to test the operation of the lsd on the front lawn and got a cloud of super rich exhaust. (Lsd works great by the way). So I know I'm having a problem with running way too rich. I know some people swap in the opel injectors on these cars for the higher flow rate (135# vs 120# I believe) and the pcm has to be tuned for it.I checked and my injectors have a p/n 12614735. I can't find gm listing that part # for an 08 ss. A quick search of Google pops that p/n up as an opel injector rail. My donor didn't come with a pcm so I'm running one from a solstice. My theory is the previous owner had the opel injectors installed and tuned for them but now I need to tune my pcm for them. Can anyone confirm that 12614735 part number is the higher flow opel injectors? I'm not getting any dtc's other than the normal emissions stuff. I also haven't had it on the road so it may have not been run enough to set more codes.

 

[Gtstorey]

My quick research says that part number may have been used on at least some turbo cobalts. It looks like the fuel rails for the 2.0 turbo is pretty much interchangeable for a lot of years and models. I’m not sure that part number is definite on whether the injectors are changed.

 

[Mahkoi]

Thanks. The injector p/n is probably more important. I have the 261500055 injectors. I'll do some checking and see if those are the high flow ones or not. I should probably start with trying to get the pcm to a factory tune for an 08 ss since I have no idea what's in my lkq pcm other than it had the right part # for the pcm.

 

[Gtstorey]

It’s common for tuned lnf’s to not idle well at startup. Mine does it. I’ve dug all through HP Tuners forum without finding a real fix, although locking down the things that vary in the idle range can help. Since mine smooths out after a couple of minutes, I haven’t tried real hard to fix it.