Hey everyone! Finally decided what custom 13" rims I am gonna get for my Geo. Here is the link:

http://www.americanracing.com/wheels/details.asp?wheelid=85&name=Estrella&style=95&desc=1-piece%20alloy,%20clear%20coated%20wheel&section=P#

They are American Racing Estrella Series 95, 13x5.5 inch, 4x4.5 bolt pattern (otherwise known as 4x114.3), 35mm backspacing.

Let me know what you all think! With shipping I'm getting a set of 4 for about $330.

~Dan~

PS. I already ordered some new lug nuts....a set of 4 Gorilla locking conical seat bulge lug nuts, and the rest Gorilla conical seat bulge lug nuts. Should work perfectly with the new rims. The tires I will get are Falken ZE512, P175/60R13s. I had them on my Ford Festiva when I still had that car...I absolutely loved the tires.

Those are some bad-ass wheels man! Be sure to post pics of them on the car.


-MechanicMatt

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n49/danielbogle/geonewwheels.jpg

There you go everyone! Got my rims/tires installed! They look really good. For now I'm running Yokohama AVID T4 P175/70R13 tires. They look alright. Going to go for a test drive a little later tonight. I'm sure they'll be alright, until I get the right size I wanted the P185/60R13. The tires I got just clear, no rubbing anywhere, and look pretty good. They sure fill up the wheel wells though, but that's ok. From the 155/80R12, the car sits about .6 or .7 of an inch higher than it was. My speedometer will be off about 4.8 mph reading 60mph (will actually be going 64.8mph) but that's alright.

Next Tuesday/Wednesday I'm installing my new KYB GR2 struts, strut mounts, and strut boots, front and rear. I got spring compressors, so it should go fairly easy. It'll be my first time but I got both the Haynes manual and factory service manual to go by. Sounds like it'll be easy. Take time, but be easy.

After that's all done, I'm gonna take the car to Midas and have a all-wheel alignment done for $79.95.

I just went for a test drive, and wow, what a difference new tires make! Now I can barely feel potholes when driving over them. There's no more steering wheel shaking on the freeway (the old tires were out of balance I guess), I can't really hear the tires on the road as much as I used to with the little 12" tires, and the car rides a lot smoother. I haven't even put on my new struts yet and it's at least 200% better than it was. I'm very happy. :)

Wheels look great Dan!....The KYB GR-2 Struts are what I put on my 94 Metro....These cars are simple compared to other struts I've installed in the past. The rears are more like a basic shock install and the front coils will compress easily. Just keep an eye on the Upper strut mount bearings under the cap....their thin, made of nylon with roller bearings in them. I lightly cleaned them off, then applied a thin layer of bearing grease on them before the re-install. Above all, pay Strict attention to the order in which everything comes apart and goes back together....It can be confusing at times. I took my digital camera and took pics of the whole process while disassembling the struts for a reference if I needed it. All I did was: Jack the car up, remove the wheel, remove the 2 lower strut bolts, seperate the strut from the Steering Knucle/ lower control arm, lower the control arm just Enough to seperate the strut clear the Knuckle, unbolt the strut from the upper strut tower (3 nuts), then lower the strut down and remove it from the car.

Here's a few pics that will help you out Dan......Let us know how it goes?.......Mike

Front Suspension:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c83/MrBBody/FrontSuspension.gif

Rear Suspension:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c83/MrBBody/RearSuspension.gif

Removal/Installation
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c83/MrBBody/Strut-Front.gif

1. Raise and support vehicle allowing front suspension to hang free.
2. Remove front wheel and tire assembly.
3. Remove E-clip from brake hose and disengage hose from strut bracket.
4. Support lower control arm and knuckle assembly, then remove strut to knuckle bolts.
5. Remove upper strut mount nuts, then remove strut from vehicle.
Reverse procedure to install.

Disassembly/Assembly

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c83/MrBBody/Strut-Front-explodedview.gif

1. Mount strut in a spring compressor.
2. Compress spring approximately 1/2 inch.
3. Remove nut from strut shaft and remove components.
4. Reverse procedure to assemble. Compress spring so strut shaft protrudes through cap by about 1 inch. Tighten nut to specifications.



Suspension Torque Specs:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c83/MrBBody/Suspensiontorquespecs.gif

REAR STRUTS - Removal and Install......TIP: Remove the lower rear strut clamp bolt, Lubricate the area where the rear strut is clamped into the rear knuckle with some PB-Blaster or WD-40, take a large screwdriver and slightly pry the clamp apart, allowing the lubricant to flow into the clamp.....the strut will come out of the clamp alot easier.

Fig 2
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c83/MrBBody/RearSuspension.gif
Fig 3
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c83/MrBBody/Suspension-Rear2.gif

Fig 4
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c83/MrBBody/Suspension-Rear3.gif

1. On two door models, open hatchback for access to upper strut mounting.
2. On four door models, open trunk for access to upper strut mounting.
3. On all models, raise and support rear of vehicle, then remove wheel and tire assembly.
4. Support suspension using a suitable jack.
5. Remove strut upper support nuts, then push downward on strut. Fig.2.
6. Remove strut lower mounting bolt, Fig. 3 .
7. Separate strut from rear suspension knuckle, by compressing strut. If strut is difficult to remove, open slit on knuckle just enough to allow strut removal.
8. Reverse procedure to install. When installing strut, align projection on strut with slit on rear suspension knuckle, Fig. 4 .

Hey thanks for all the photos and help! I have both the Haynes manual and the service manual for the 92 Geo. Those should do me fine, and I'm sure those photos came from the factory service manual. The struts I got, I also got new strut boots, and new strut mounts, which the front strut mounts came with new bearings as well. Everything's new, which is really nice. I paid around $400 total for struts, boots, and mounts. Not bad, since I got a quote that it'd cost $900 to replace the struts at a service place.

I also invested in a strut spring compressor. That should work well on the front springs. I'll keep you all informed on my progress. I won't get to do this until this next Tuesday/Wednesday.

Wow, who needs a manual when you've got guys who will do this? Very nice. Figure 2 seems to have slipped in from outer space though, that's not a Metro, and unless it's the four wheel drive model they sell in Europe, it's not an M body at all.

Figure 2 seems to have slipped in from outer space though, that's not a Metro, and unless it's the four wheel drive model they sell in Europe, it's not an M body at all.

Yea....:wtf: .....The pic came straight off of the ALLDATA site For my 94 Metro (Copy and Paste).....Fig 2....revised!....E-Mail sent to AllData.

Today I had some time and I did the front struts. The old ones were no good. You could press them down, and they'd stay down, wouldn't come back up, which showed they were no good at all. Once I figured out how the new strut boots went on the new KYB struts, replacement went easy. Much easier replacing the entire assembly (strut mount, strut boot, strut). Did both the front ones in about two hours. Would've been faster if I didn't accidentally install the strut boot in backwards the first time lol. Got it right though.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) I will tackle the back ones. Those should be easier, as you don't have to mess with the spring. I'm curious to see how bad the back ones are, if the front ones were no good at all...

Do you know if there is a year Metro's went to 13" stock?

Convertables and Suzuki Swifts always had them, Metros changed to 13" with the redesign in '95. Swift GTI and Esteem came with 14" wheels, those are very nice with a proper diameter tire.