G and W bodies use the same hub. It's very similar to the N body hub, not sure if they're interchangable.

I'll have the answer to that this weekend. I have both W and N spindles and hubs. I'm going to pull the hub off one of the N spindles and try it on the W spindle. It would be cool if this does work, because the G and W body use the heavy axle shafts. That would be another good upgrade for someone planning on making tons of power.

quick cav, what are you using for a tranny? it would be nice if the w/g body axles would be made to fit into the getrag 5 speed 00+

i bet the inner cv where it is splined is bigger thou, as this is meant to plug into the 4t465e or whatever tranny that is..


keep me updated please.


farmerz24

i dont understand....whats wrong with the rk sport tubular lower a-frames?
seems like a whole lot less work to just buy them to me.




White 98'Z-alive n kickn
Black 97'Z-down for the count

sure the lower a frame will work but it wont allow for the bigger axles for more HP, along with a bigger hub/wheel bearing.



farmerz24

Z YAAAA wrote:i dont understand....whats wrong with the rk sport tubular lower a-frames?
seems like a whole lot less work to just buy them to me.

they crack and fail...



Pete ***RIP John Lingenfelter***
2002 Flame Yellow Sunfire GT B+M shifted 5 Spd
Just looking for mods and prey

well im in the process right now of designing new control arms for my sunfire

Sunfire GT 2200DOHC wrote:

Z YAAAA wrote:i dont understand....whats wrong with the rk sport tubular lower a-frames?
seems like a whole lot less work to just buy them to me.

they crack and fail...

^ Exactly... everyone was looking for a control arm option that would work... and not fail causing horrific vehicle damage, as I've heard of a couple of times now.

The 99 N-body was the only year with the aluminum control arms... I knew that a long time ago, never thought about swapping them until recently

i really dont think rk sport would sell them if they were a danger like that. besides...in there notes for them they state that they have fixed them and they are no longer subject to cracking or something. although i do like the aluminum ones...but im sure the tubular ones weigh even less.

if they crack...ill have my father in law (a professional welder) fix them.




White 98'Z-alive n kickn
Black 97'Z-down for the count

Z YAAAA wrote:i really dont think rk sport would sell them if they were a danger like that. besides...in there notes for them they state that they have fixed them and they are no longer subject to cracking or something. although i do like the aluminum ones...but im sure the tubular ones weigh even less.

if they crack...ill have my father in law (a professional welder) fix them.

They crack and fail. That's why RK doesn't sell them anymore. In fact they'll take them back and provide you with stock arms if you call them.

If they fail you'll probably be moving. Meaning you'll have a wheel connected only by the strut and axle (which won't last long) and part of a control arm. That strut is mounted by rubber. It's unlikely, but possible, that the whole wheel could come off. It's more likely that it will just cause significan damage to the wheel and body, but also possibly the subframe and tranny.

RK had 3 different designs, all had cracking in half problems (not just a little crack, but broke in half).

I think Lenko is trying to copy me now! I'm doing the 3800SC right now too.
Maybe I should do these arms while it's all ripped apart.

right, i just called rk sport...they said they no longer sell them due to bad craftmanship issues.

so...with that being said. for the ppl that dont want to try and understand 3 letter abbreviations CONSTANTLY and dont want to read 15 frickin pages. how bout we get a full write up on exactly what is needed to be done to accomplish these 99 grand am aluminum control arms on any year j-body.

that would rule... please somebody do it!!!!




White 98'Z-alive n kickn
Black 97'Z-down for the count

Z YAAAA wrote:so...with that being said. for the ppl that dont want to try and understand 3 letter abbreviations CONSTANTLY and dont want to read 15 frickin pages. how bout we get a full write up on exactly what is needed to be done to accomplish these 99 grand am aluminum control arms on any year j-body.

that would rule... please somebody do it!!!!

There is no "complete" write-up necessary. You need to fill the holes where the ball joints mount, trim the arm by 1/2" and that point, and drill new holes for the ball joint to be mounted. Just look at the pics Gary (John317) put up. It's pretty much self explanetory.

And here are the answers for the W-body parts:

You can not use W-body spindles on the J-body (without major modification). They will push the wheels out farther by 1/2", and you can not mount the J-body struts on them without modifying those (the W-body spindle is taller and the strut mounting holes are considerable farther apart)

However, the W-body hub assembly will bolt right to the N-body spindle, so you can swap the N-body spindle onto the car, and use the W-body hubs, so that you can use the W-body heavy duty axles. Now if there is a way to use the W-body axles with a J-body tranny, this would be a very cool mod for anyone building a powerful motor. For anyone swapping a V-6 with the 4T65, it should be no problem, aside from shortening the axles.

farmerz24 wrote:quick cav, what are you using for a tranny? it would be nice if the w/g body axles would be made to fit into the getrag 5 speed 00+

I'm using my stock Isuzu right now. Depending on how much more power I end up making (working on my design for mounting an M-90 on the 3x00 engines and getting it under the hood), I may switch to a Getrag at some point, but it's not in my current plans. I originally started this swap with the intention of seeing how "bolt-in" I could do it, so I didn't bother changing the tranny. The W-body axles will not just mate up to the Getrag or Isuzu 5-speeds to my knowledge, but that has yet to be determined. I don't have the W-body axles to try it.

C.T.S wrote:I think Lenko is trying to copy me now! I'm doing the 3800SC right now too.

I've dreamed of swapping the L67 since my first J-body... back when "Turboman" was the only guy who'd actually done the swap.. when I blew my motor, I knew it was the only thing to consider swapping in

When did you blow your engine?? I missed that...

Quik: I'm sure with some custom made/machined axle shafts you could use the W hub/CV with the getrag tripod CV.
Lenko: End of July. Have been workiing on her since. Times's been so damn limited recently, work's picking up, school, etc...
I've had the L67 plan since before I got my J two years ago. Was really into Grand AMs before I saw Raven's car. That changed my mind. And now that this engine needs to be pulled to repair it, might as well put something better back in it's place. Am I right?

I wonder what the N axles are good for... The 3400 pushes 175hp/205tq stock, and there are quite a few GAMs with superchargers putting them up in the mid/upper 200s. They don't seem to have any problems.

I'm planning on putting a stock 3800SC in for now, 240hp. But in the future I've got plans for around 375. So I'm open to ideas about the strength of the axles, CVs, etc. Broken axle flying around isn't pretty.

Sounds like we started around the same time then I blew piston #4 at the end of July... figured then it was easier to just start with more hp and tq and build up If you haven't already, check out 3800pro and L67swap

Ok... so I stand corrected... I picked up my 99 N-body aluminum control arms today... along with the N-body knuckles.. and G-body hubs... so I can use the full Park Avenue axle, after I shorten it somewhat... somehow... and the G-body brakes... holy cow, they're heavy!! 11.9 inches too... still contemplating the dual-piston F-body caliper tho!

Did anyone ever do this:

Karo (Car Customs) wrote:18025875 and 18025876

Looks those up, it might help you out even more with other things.......

?? I'm curious what those are.

...j

John Lenko wrote:...and the G-body brakes... holy cow, they're heavy!! 11.9 inches too... still contemplating the dual-piston F-body caliper tho!

Yep, they're heavy alright!
I'm using the W-body calipers for now, but I'll probably upgrade at a later date to the F-Body.
I just got a good deal on the entire setup from the W, so I went with it. Also, I'm going to have to get a new set of rims for the 5x115 pattern. I've picked out a set of aftermarkets, but I also came accross some factory rims I like. Anyone seen the 17x7 Chrome 5 spokes from the Chevy Equinox? I think they'd probably look pretty good on a Cav.

Quote:

Karo (Car Customs) wrote:18025875 and 18025876

Looks those up, it might help you out even more with other things.......

?? I'm curious what those are.

...j

What the hell was that in reference to? Are those GM part numbers?

can anoyone post some pics comparing the n / w body wheel bearing and the axles/cv's?

im also intersted to see the difference between the wheel bearings of a supercharged and non supercharged W body.

thanks guys.


farmerz24

I dont have any pics right now, for some reason didnt take any pics during my swap.......... I'll get some pics soon though....

I believe all W bodies use the same wheel bearing, other then *maybe* the Police Impala package...... check with GM Parts to be sure.

and RK arms = CRAP.......... although our drag car might have the last pair out there...... still on the car......




SPD RCR Z - '02 Z24 420whp
SLO GOAT - '04 GTO 305whp
W41 BOI - '78 Buick Opel Isuzu W41 Swap

farmerz24 wrote:...im also intersted to see the difference between the wheel bearings of a supercharged and non supercharged W body.

thanks guys...

I'm almost 100% sure that there is no difference. In my searching for different parts, I never came accross different hub part numbers, or the option for which engine the vehicle had. The only difference I found was older years being different (pre 99 I believe)

W-body hub part numbers are 97-00 #7470017 and 01-03 #12429203. Both around $390 each.

I don't know the number for the G-body hub.. but I know the splined part of the axle is WAY bigger than the N-body... the N-body axle I found laying on the ground in the wrecker wouldn't even touch the sides of the hub when I tried it. Fortunately, the G-body hub I used (from the Buick Park Avenue) did bolt right up to the N-body knuckle. The brake bracket, though... I have to drill out a big to fit the larger bolts.

Is the G-body axle larger than the W-body? I don't know.. I didn't compare.

John Lenko wrote:...The brake bracket, though... I have to drill out a big to fit the larger bolts...

That's strange. I've had my brakes on both the N-body spindle and the W-body spindle, and neither of them had a fitment problem.
What bolts didn't fit? I was pretty sure that all of the brackets bolted to the spindles with the same bolts.

G-body bracket and caliper... onto the N-body knuckle. The N-body had 13mm bolts on the bracket, the G-body had 15mm.

^When I did the N/F front swap I read somewhere about drilling out the holes on the knuckle. I didn't have to when I did mine. I wonder if there are different sizes in different years. When I did mine I specified year 2000 for everything.

The W and G bodies should have the same hubs for all their cars, and the axle's CVs should be the same as well.
The Center shaft of the axles should be different lengths, but only a small difference.
The Police Impala's don't have much different on them. Mostly just stole from the GP GTP.

interesting... so one last thing to confirm. is there a difference between the supercharged and non-supercharged CV's? i mean, maybe the splines on the outer CV are the same, but maybe the CV assembly itself is bigger, even if the outer splines are the same.

This would explain why there is only one set of hubs for sc and non sc cars, yet apparetnly the cv themselves are different, minus the spline count and diameter.

can someone please clarify. I CANT believe the G body hub is $380.!!!!!!!!!


farmerz24