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Suspension Swapping/Repair - Spindle Replacement

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  • Suspension Swapping/Repair - Spindle Replacement

    Well I have been on several forums and on this one as well and I can not seem to find "HOW TO" write ups on modifications, there are plenty of people saying they have done this swap or that mod but no real THIS is how to do it posts

    Here is the issue, my sone had a grat little white Festiva, 1988. Had an accident and runied the front end. We found a replacement 1988 that was running and in decent shape but had lots of work to be done. He finally got it put back together and still have some things to do but had a slight problem the other day ... seems he had the right rear wheel bearing seize. The outer bearing has welded itself to the spindle so it's a loss. Went ot the local wrecking yard and the only 1988/89 had both of the spindles stripped already. We found an Aspire but the hubs will not match up with the holes in the Festiva suspension. We thought about drilling out the upper holes of the Festiva rear suspension to accept the Aspire spindle but I am concerned that we won't be able to get the mounting nuts on.

    Next possible candiate was a 1991 Festiva which has been a donor car of sorts with doors, fender and hatch. Only problem I ran into was the spindles have changed from a 14mm mount/nut to a 17mm mount/nut so no way it will fit in the 88 suspension.

    So here are some quesitons related to swaps/repair. From what I can find, the Aspire rear suspension will not be a direct swap into the 88 Festiva as the mounts are not the same size. What about the rear suspension from the 91? Will it directly bolt up to the 88 frame? Has anyone done this?

    I know this may seem like an extreme but trying to swap the Aspire hubs won't work as the stud spacing is different then the Festiva and requires getting new wheels, remounting tires rebalancing and all I can see is $$$ which neither my son nor I have right now. Locating a replacement spindle for his 88/89 has not been very sucessful as there just are not any in the wrecking yards.

    Something to remember on these forums is that most people may know what they can or can't do and sometimes assume everyone else who has one of these vehicles knows how to do these same things. There are problems that are encountered or issues that are not understood by the novice. Alot of us don't have ready access to welding, cutting, special tools etc and getting information on how to do some of these is difficult to try to sort through all the posts trying to find what you really are looking for. So any help or direction to links that have been posted would be huge. I have tried the search engine but I just can not find the information I need to quickly get his little car back on the road. Thanks

  • #2
    Suggestion one:

    Put a "[WTB] RR wheel spindle" in the buy/sell forum. Someone will probably have one to sell you.

    Suggestion two:

    Put a whole Aspire rear axle assembly on your car (including the trailing arm mounts, which bolt right on) and reap the benefits of larger rear brakes, better e brake function, rear stabilizer bar for flatter cornering, and more selection of wheels. You'll also need a pair of Aspire or other 4 X 100mm wheels for this, though, and you are short of money now. The good part is you won't need to swap the front suspension right away if you can afford to do the rear.

    Use the Aspire hoses for the rear swap. (I'd suggest new ones.)

    Karl
    '93GL "Prettystiva" ticking B3 and 5 speed, backup DD; full swaps in spring!
    '91L "AquaMutt" my '91L; B6 swap/5 speed & Aspire brakes, DD/work car
    '92L "Twinstiva" 5sp, salvage titled, waiting for repairs...
    '93GL "Luxstiva," '94 B6 engine & ATX; needs overhauled
    '89L "Muttstiva," now a storage bin, future trailer project

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    • #3
      So what exactly would i need from the aspire to do this? Are the mounts for the rear suspension direct bolt on from the Aspire to the Festiva? The two frame mounts are the same? This may be a way to go and like you said it does have some upside, I just need to understand EXACTLY the parts I will need to get from the Aspire. I could have my son deal with two sets of wheels until he can get some funding. so if you have a list of what I need or a link to a swap that shows what I need that would be huge, sounds like if it is this simple I could even do a write up on removal and install which would help the next guy, thanks for your help.

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