N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To - Page 4 - Suspension and Brake Forum

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Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Tuesday, July 04, 2006 9:32 PM
It all comes from different cars because it's the "best" combination of bolt on stuff we can find.
You could just take a N-Body spindle and brake a slap it on. Or W-Body spindle and brake.
The N-Body sprindle is made of aluminum, so it's light. The W-Body spindle fits just the same, but it's cast iron.
The W-Body brake is 12", N-Body is 10, so there's a large size difference. Also The W-Body Grand Prix has 11" rotors, Impala & MC have the 12".
The F-Body has dual piston calipers which will bolt onto the N-Body or W-Body Spindle and fit the 12" rotors from the W-Body.

So like I said, you can take the N-Body spindle + brake as is; or the W-Body as is.
Or mix and match for the lightest combo with the most braking power.

I didn't buy anything new for this swap (other than pads, but could have re-used old pads).




Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Sunday, July 30, 2006 11:44 PM
One correction to above...... the N-body uses the same rotor as the Grand Prix..... 11"......

I just finished my swap tonight...... F-body 2 piston calipers, Hawk Pads, PowerStop rotors......

CTS, at what point in pedal travel does your brakes in-gauge? Mine are almost on the floor (bled the brakes all the way around, stock rears), it kinda helps if I pump it once before pushing it all the way down........ and then the right front tries to lock up first. I'm going to start looking for a larger Master Cylinder that will work (I have a Grand Am one in my garage, the lines are on the opposite side as the J-body). I have a 00+ so my ABS is seperate from my Master, which makes it easier to swap.

Tom and I did notice that my CV Boots are slinging grease, so I'll clean that up in the morning and try to clamp them tighter (reused my old ones, Advance Auto didnt have large enough ones in stock).






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

Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Monday, July 31, 2006 4:54 PM
The pedal is more firm and engages now sooner than when I had stock brakes. They are also much more powerful. I haven't gotten the pedal more than half way to the floor yet, at half you need seat belts to keep you in the seats. It's just the stock MC too.

My CV bands were leaking grease at first too. Had to clamp them harder and they stoped.

Oops on the 10" rotors above, you're right, should say 11".



Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Monday, July 31, 2006 9:33 PM
Hmmm...... I wonder if its a difference between your Master and mine...... yours has the ABS built in (one unit) while mine is 2 units..... I dont see any other difference really. Mine ingauges at the last 1/4 of travel, and I can put it to the floor.

In the front, all I changed was the front calipers (brake hydrolic related)........ I bled the whole system, till only new clean fluid came out. I reused the stock Cavi rubber front lines w/ the F-body Banjo Bolt...... I dont see any leaks anywhere (I did fully compress the calipers prior to installing them). I'm tempted to either try this Grand Am Master I have, or to pick up another J-body one and try that.

It does stop fast though..... just takes some getting used to I guess.......




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

Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Tuesday, August 01, 2006 1:39 PM
Somethings definately not right. Could have air in the MC or ABS?



Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Friday, August 18, 2006 1:51 AM
idk, but it seems to work just fine now (or I'm used to it now, idk)

heres a pick of the rotor/calipers behind my rims....



Next on the list is picking up new struts, then I'll tackle the IRS.




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

Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Friday, August 18, 2006 9:19 AM



Cant see @!#$ in yours Brian so i posted one of mine LOL


Internet>SpeedRacerZ



Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Saturday, August 19, 2006 12:22 AM
wtf are you talking about? My pic is 100% better then yours.....




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

Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Saturday, August 19, 2006 2:40 PM
Would this work with the 2200 axles or are they all the same.
it's also an 4t40e. Where could I find the link for the IRS if it's been posted already?


Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Sunday, August 20, 2006 11:00 AM
SpeedRacerZ wrote:wtf are you talking about? My pic is 100% better then yours.....




What i meant is i could not see it because it WAS a red X .........

and not any more



Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Sunday, August 20, 2006 9:03 PM
EvictionArticle wrote:Would this work with the 2200 axles or are they all the same.
it's also an 4t40e. Where could I find the link for the IRS if it's been posted already?

It's all the same. IRS Link

Keep the chatter down guys. This is a sticky.




Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Saturday, September 09, 2006 6:58 PM
ok, here's something new to ponder about, and I'm wondering if any of you know the difference.

in 1999 GM changed the Nbody bolt pattern to 5x115 and 70.3 mm centerbore. 98-, the Nbody had a 5x100 with 57.1, just like the Jbody. The question is, did the brakes change too, but more importantly, did the knuckle change? Or only the hub? And if not, does this signify that the older Nbody knuckles are identical (therefore, useless as an upgrade) to the Jbody?



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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Sunday, September 10, 2006 9:06 AM
sigh, no the knuckles and wheel bearings are different and not swappable.



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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Monday, September 11, 2006 9:57 AM
The 98- N body knuckle is very similar to a 95-05 J knuckle. The main difference is that the steering link is on the strut for N and on the knuckle for J. The 98- N hub is the same as the J hub, the brakes are the same, as well as many other parts.

The 98- and 99+ N parts are very different, and almost nothing can be mixed and matched. Just like the swap above entails, you have to swap basically everything.

About the best suggestion I have found so far is to re-drill the new N hub with bolts for the 5x100 pattern and use aftermarkey rims that can fit over the much larger 70.3 mm hub.


For anyone who has done this swap I seem to be having problems with the stock tie rod ends. The boot seems to rip very easily. I have replaced one side with an aftermarket setup. The boot is designed quite differently and seems to be holding up well. Anybody else have problems?



Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Sunday, September 17, 2006 8:03 AM
on this swap do u use.. the N-body suspension? or can the j body suspension be used.. i Have air ride but need 5X115 bolt pattern to fit my discontinued KMC Units



Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Friday, September 22, 2006 5:47 PM
I think you need to read the first post.



Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Monday, October 02, 2006 7:38 PM
C.T.S wrote:yes 5x114.3 fits 5x115, it's tight, but it works.



dont do this you can break all of your studs... bad idea. i work at a tire shop and this is just asking for problems... but yes it is possible
Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Wednesday, October 04, 2006 2:16 PM
how would you guys rate this as difficulty? i'd love to attempt this, but will my reliability suffer?


1998 Chevrolet Cavalier
5-spd


Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Wednesday, October 04, 2006 7:45 PM
Mr. Duchaine: Find a caliper and take a look at 0.7mm once.
BlkCav: My setup was working great until I spun a rod bearing. Now I'm doing the 3800SC swap, so it's been down for a while.

The one stock steering tie end's boot tore, but the aftermarket ones seem to be holding up well. Different boot design.



Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Sunday, October 08, 2006 7:22 PM
dammit, i guess i'm still in a search of a bigger brake kit that will fit under the stock 16's....



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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Sunday, October 08, 2006 9:40 PM
Does anybody if there ia any performance calipers made for the stock sized F body rotor. GMPP lists some but they dont go into any detail at all. Just surious.

Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Tuesday, October 10, 2006 4:34 PM
there's a lot of 10,11,12 getting thrown around in here. i'd like to see if we can get some more specific numbers. also, does anybody know the bore sizes of the jbody, wbody, and fbody calipers?

Jbody - 10.2" rotor
Nbody -
Wbody -
Fbody -



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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Tuesday, October 10, 2006 8:00 PM
i <3 u



Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Thursday, October 12, 2006 6:53 AM
Viper98912 wrote:there's a lot of 10,11,12 getting thrown around in here. i'd like to see if we can get some more specific numbers. also, does anybody know the bore sizes of the jbody, wbody, and fbody calipers?

Jbody - 10.203" rotor
Nbody - 10.940"
Wbody - 10.940" Grand Prix & 11.920" Impala and Monte Carlo
Fbody - 11.920"
Ybody - 12.800" (No current easy way to get on a Jbody w/o aftermarket kit=expensive)
I can't find the piston bores right now, I'll have to dig more later. The F and Y have dual piston calipers, and the pistons are smaller because of that. The GAM and GP use the exact same brakes. The I/MC use the exact same rotor as the Fbody.



Re: N+W+F-Body Front Suspension Swap - How To
Thursday, October 12, 2006 4:34 PM
I think I found some bore sizes, but now i have a dilemma.

I *think* the bore of the jbody caliper is 57 mm (2.25"), and the bore of the fbody caliper is dual 38 mm (1.5"). Do the math, and you get 4 in^2 of area for the jbody caliper, and 3.5 in^2 of area for the fbody caliper. Soo ....... thats a slight problem, in terms of which caliper "technically" has more power area.



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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
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