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Help with differences in 04-05 suspension vs 97-03 & 06+

industrialfish

industrialfish

New member
I'm hearing there is some difference in the front suspension for the 04 and 05 years compared to all the other years, but I can seem to pinpoint what that is. Something to do with the way the sway bar attaches to the struts?

My 05 is turning 100k soon so I'm gathering parts to redo the suspension and trying to figure what all to get.
 


Only applies for the front, the rears are the same

04-05
-Endlinks attach from the strut to the sway bar

97-03
06-08
-Endlinks attach from the control arm to the sway bar
-these year struts don't have a tab on the struts to attach the endlink to the strut so if you choose these kind of struts you'll need to switch to 97-03 style control arms and sway bar and you'll need the correct endlinks for whtever setup you decide to go with

Obviously verify what set up you have by taking a look
 
Bought the car stock with 60k on it, I assume the control arms and sway bar are stock.

So as long as I don't plan on changing those out (other than new bushings) I will just have to get 04/05 specific front shocks (Comp-G?) right? But everything else should be 04-08 compatible with no problems?

What about springs? See a whole lot more aftermarket springs for the 97-03, are they compatible like the headers were?
 
Springs will fit no matter the year

As long as your getting 04/05 struts for the front no need to worry about changing out the CA/Sway. Just make sure whatever struts your getting have the tabs for the endlinks to connect too..

As far as the rear... Any year will work.
 
If your going to change out the bushings or ball joints for the LCA buy the complete LCA.. trust me it will save you lots of time.. As getting the ball joints out is a PIA.. plus then you can switch over to the 03 style sway bar set up which there is alot more options to upgrade the sway bar for
 
Amazon advertises complete LCA's for the 2004 GP but they are for the 2003 and older ones as I found out. The 2004 sway bar mounts to the strut and the 2003 LCA has a bracket welded to the back end for the 2003 sway bar link and the bracket totally interferes with the 2004 sway bar link. Replacing the whole LCA gets you new bushings and ball joint and if you are going to replace the struts, spend the money for the entire strut(springs and all)as you will still have to get new parts for the top of the strut. With the right parts and spring compressors, it took me an hour and forty five minutes to install both front struts from start to finish-made a difference in ride quality. I had an alignment shop replace the LCA's. I also put on urethane bushings on the front and rear sway bars with no sweat. Further, if you plan on changing the front pads, the 2005 ones have about 30% more lining than the 2004 ones(see if the auto parts store will compare them side by side-much more pad on the 2005)so you gain extra braking force and they drop right in. Not sure about aftermarket pads...
 


I didn't realize how inexpensive LCAs are. I will get definitely just get new ones. Gonna stick with 2005 ones though, I don't need a new sway bar, and I'd like my F/R struts to match.

I am not going to get quick-struts because I've already bought parts such as the rear struts and all the strut top mounts and ordered springs this morning.

I am getting brakes too, but mine IS an 05 so I'd be getting those pads anyway. eBay zinc coated drilled and slotted rotors FTW.
 
industrialfish said:
eBay zinc coated drilled and slotted rotors FTW.
Click to expand...

Just to let you know, slots suck in snow driving and drilled holes tend to microfracture. They're purely looks only, zinc coating will be gone after a year.

Source: R1 slotted rotors.
 
FWIW whatever R1 coats their rotors with (eline) they did not rust up over 3.5 years and 60K miles of DD New England driving. I was impressed enough to buy a new set.
 


RA carries front sway bars.. I just bought my 33mm Dorman front sway from them

.. oh nvm i forgot you are using 05 LCA s lol nvm then

.. Also you might as well just change over to the older style setup now trust me it will be worth it in the long run... i wish i switched years ago when i redid my struts and stuff.. There is just more options for upgrading suspension for the 03 style
 
Alix0r said:
.. Also you might as well just change over to the older style setup now trust me it will be worth it in the long run... i wish i switched years ago when i redid my struts and stuff.. There is just more options for upgrading suspension for the 03 style
Click to expand...

This.

Also remember you can still run 04-05 style struts even with the 97-03 CA the difference is that you'll just have tabs on the strut that aren't being used.
 
REDCOMPG said:
This.

Also remember you can still run 04-05 style struts even with the 97-03 CA the difference is that you'll just have tabs on the strut that aren't being used.
Click to expand...

And 06-08 is same as 97-03 right? So all I need to do is buy the 06 LCAs, and a swaybar kit that has the end links and bushings and I'm all set.

Edit: Yeah I got the Dorman 2006 24mm LCAs and the 33mm Sway bar.
 
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I'd like to see some proof that 06-08 LCAs converted back to the old style control arms, because I've yet to see it myself. To my knowledge, all 04-08 Grand Prixs were link-to-strut up front, same as 05-09 Allure/Lacrosse, while 06+ Impala/Monte Carlo continued to be link-to-lca style.
 
From what I've seen not all the 06 had them. But many of them do. It could be early models got the left over LCA but who really knows GM does things in a way we will never understand. That's why I always advise guys to take the 2 mins to look at their set ups and see which style that they have before they go off and order something they may or may not need.
 
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