for those retrofitting a gen 1 with gen 2 suspension goodies....

just FYI
if you have new gen 1 shocks as i do, and are not in a mood to buy gen 2 shocks when you change out your control arms... you can modify the gen 1's to fit.
the base shock attachemnt of a gen 1 is a hollow tube squished and stamped for a nothch on each end. simply cut off the squished part and open up that tube to accept a bolt, and attach the shock to the gen two shock mount....
may require some fiddling but not much.
 
And....
as i discovered today . take a grinder to the back of your lca where it is pinned to the body mounted bushing.
the back side of the arm behind the mounting hole for the torsion rod socket, is a bit long and rubs on the differential case when the LCA is swinging through its arc.
doing this b4 hoisting it into place is so much easier than fonding out after you have done so.
 
And , And

there are other oddities

when getting your lower control arms in good shape, be sure you do not get seperated from the gen 2 torsion rod sockets as i carelessly did.

The gen 1 socket is different and not in a good way.

Second, the Gen 2 Lower control arm might need some "care as the back side of the rear connecting point rubs the differential housing. this made necessary the removal of metal on both the arm and the forged socket near the bolt hole.
this may be due to my rear differential maybe collapsing, and the clearance originally between the two been swallowed up by the housing sitting lower to the ground.
It might also be the control arms.

Someone said i cannot use the Gen 1 lower control Arm. I would be more comfortable doing so but made the modifications to the gen 2 arm....we see how it goes.

bottom shock mounts are a one way affair make sure you have them properly oriented.
 
further
addin more notes.
You will want to clean up the threads on your adjusting bolt for the torsion spring.
its a 12x1.25 and it likely will be fouled by road grime. Clean it off carefully b4 removing. put a bottle jack on the rod key to relieve pressure on the bolt.

When reinstalling b sure you do not set the nut at a final adjustment where you have chased the threads with a die. get the nut down to fresh threads at the bottom of the rod.
The chased threads are weak and may give way. chasing the threads is only for ease of installation. use a tap on the nut.

last when fully installed and adjusted to final ride height, take a good piece of shrink tubing ( i reccomend hi-line) fill one end with silicone . just the end. slip it over the exposed threads that you have carefully oiled. now hit it with a heat gun. just enough to get it to wrap. not too much. you may want to get it off easily in the future. but when you do you will have clean threads to work with.

i say all of this because i could not find new bolts easily. though they may be available from the dealer.
and i forgot to check carquest for a dorman bolt. must remember to do that tomorrow.
 
Again.
this time the right hand axle.
the axle cup with the 4 bolt holes to attach to the inner axle. on my gen2 axle they did not line up.

they were about 2mm off at each hole. center cup was right on.

here is a tip:
in my case i was exasperated and just overbore the holes in the axle cup

A BIG NO NO such activity gives the axle , under torque load the opportunity to slip.
unlikely but possible. best method is to remove the inner axle and bore the hoes together with the axle cup to the next largest size.

i did not wnat to do this im irritated with this job start to finish and what should have taken a day has consumed 3 weeks part time.

so i wallered the holes in the axle cup.
this is a maddening exercise
a. because it is not the right way to do it, and
B. because the effort required

when you try to remount the axle cup to the face of the inner axle the loose captured protruding bolts "recede" and you have the time getting them to poke through the holes in the axle cup.
i learned a trick.
two actually.
the hind most two bolts , those toward the rear of the car should be orientaed to sit right over the bolt heads that secure the axle support to the axle tube (differential tube). which lie behind the inner axle flange. this way the pesky bolts cannot recede too far b4 hitting the bolt head behind it. thus you have enough protruding bolt to get through the axle cup hole.
thread these. moving to the front its easy enough to get a pry tool under the receding bolt head and force it back out to get a nut onto it.

B. next time im this deep into this ridiculous job, im going to stud that damm inner axle flange
 
further.

when testing your steering arc, the travel of the steering components through their "arc", there is a chance the driver side tierod will contact the differential support arm. the steel , black arm that mounts below the radiator and then to the side of the differential housing.
i used theMitsubishi brand of tie rod. they made contact with this arm. causing obstruction, obviously.
so i had to do a very unprofessional job of grinding clearance , laying on my back with grinder above my head. At best, a poor fix. If you use the gen 2 pitman and idler you to, may have this problem.
they are a flatter angle and thus raise the steering assembly into harms way
 
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