Suspension Installation Advise - Por favor !

[spydur]

At the age of 57 I'm sure most of you think I should be driving a Buick rather than an EP3. BUT, I have been a sports car nut since I was 14 and never interested in the muscle cars many of my high school buddies drove in the mid to late 60's. I was enamored with 356's, 911's, BMW 2002's and 2002ii's. Unfortunately (in the summer between my senior year of High and freshman year of college I couldn't afford approximately $6,000 for (my dream car, a new 911-T Targa) so my first car was a new 1968 VW Beetle (at least it was designed by Professor Porsche ). I bought lt with money I had saved in Jr. High and High School (a new VW Beetle was $1,875 then and there was no dickering on price with the dealer as they were very popular). Given the times of today, I should say that in the late 60's gas ranged in price from $0.19 to $0.25 a gallon, on a good day I could fill-up my bug for approximately $2.00 - THINGS HAVE CHANGED A LITTLE!

While I have been fortunate to have owned some of the nicer european sports cars, I have become a diehard HONDA fan (one was a 1988 CRX Si which I bought new and used as my daily driver for 16 years and 181,000 miles, boy I loved that car) We have owned 7 HONDAS of which, two are in the driveway and one is in the garage (yes, its the Si).

I have good basic mechanical knowledge and enjoy doing things myself (I have always changed my own oil, I have replaced several water pumps, adjusted the valves on all of our HONDAS, lowered a 911SC (torsion bar suspension) and installed Ansa headers and an Ansa exhaust system on a Fiat 124 Spyder.

NOW, FINALLY TO MY QUESTION:I have purchased a set of Tokico Spec-D adjustable shocks. Progress Sport Springs and a Progress Camber Kit. Should i comfortably be able to install these suspension components in my garage if I have a hydrolic jack, four jack stands, a medium sized compressor, an impact gun and I rent a spring compressor?

Thanks,

SPYDUR

SAIL ON!

[drjd888]

wtf...? Are you drunk posting lol?

[spydur]

No, its just late at night and I hit a couple of the wrong buttons -LET SEE HOW NIBBLE YOU ARE IN YOUR LATE 50's.

[frm_808]

all your tools listed some sockets and wrenches, and a cooler of beer and your set!
theres a diy around here somewhere

[!@#$%]

Make sure to have someone laying around willing to offer 5 minutes of help here and there. You might need more than 2 hands at a couple of points, but you should be perfectly fine. Start with the rears. The install will go much easier.

This exact suspension setup lasted me right at 4 years.

[illusionsoflife]

i bet you will do it fine. but yes make sure you have a second body...at least 150 lbs....putting them back on the car youll see why. and ive done this job 3 times...4th time is coming next month. you dont need a spring compressor i never used one. i used to have d specs a year ago. buying some more as soon as i sell the xbox. buy or rent a tie rod end puller. i screwed that up the first time....ended up replacing my tie rod end

[bmyers4321]

with some mechanical knowlage you will be fine. our suspension is rather easy to do. front are def the easiest so maybe do that first. the rear is not bad either just a little tighter and those lower strut bolts can be a pain.

[oldschoolimport]

when I do suspension work, I start by removing the strut rod nut before I jack the car up. that way, as I jack the car up, the spring tension is relieved naturally, making a spring compressor unnecessary. the thing that gets most folks on the ep is when the knuckle flops out, and the inner CV joint seperates within the boot. its a pain to get back in. lift either end of the car from the middle, so you aren't having to fight the sway bars. past that, its a simple R&R.

[spydur]

!@#$%

What happened after four years?

[spydur]

Wes G:

Do you remove the remove the strut rod nut before jacking the car up on one side then place that side on jack stands and then do the same on the other side - so the car is up on all four sides before you move forward?

SPYDUR

[spydur]

bmyers4321

Help me sort this out. !@#$% says do the backs first and you say do the fronts first. I guess there is a difference of opinion. Does anyone else want to comment on this isssue?

SPYDUR

[!@#$%]

!@#$%

What happened after four years?

The shocks are finally just worn out. The reason I mentioned to do the rears first, is because it makes the entire install seem much faster for some reason.

[dichotomous]

being in tulsa your lower shock bolts on the rear suspension might not give you all that much trouble, but I'd try them first, just to make sure, hit them with your impact wrench as high as it can go, then try the biggest break bar you can find. if that doesnt work, search for some of the other rear lower shock bolt loosening techniques people have had on this site. the front are pretty easy, just do everything very carefully and try to keep the hubs from "falling" outward (they only "fall" out a little bit, but it pops the axel joints apart) if they do, dont freak out, search for my trick to popping the axel back in. be sure to lube everything really well with good thick grease, and coat every metal-metal connection with a heaping helping of anti-seize compound. you definately want another person to help with the install, it helps if they are big since you need some good muscle to move things around. remember to get an alignment afterward and let the shop know if you have installed any camber adjusters. oh, and put camber adjusters on while you have everything apart anyways, you will be VERY VERY happy that you did as you can make your car drive much better with them and they arent that expensive or hard while you are doing the rest.
my dad helped me do my fronts, he's close to 60 and his eyes arent what they used to be, so you should be fine.

[bmyers4321]

bmyers4321

Help me sort this out. !@#$% says do the backs first and you say do the fronts first. I guess there is a difference of opinion. Does anyone else want to comment on this isssue?

SPYDUR
remember that is just my opinion. i did the front first and it took me about 45-1hr to do them both. when i did them though i had the front of the car jacked up only the switched when i did the rear. just take the hole assembly out 3 nuts top, 2 on the knuckle and one holding the brake line on. then you probly know what to do from there. and like dichotomous said put anti-seize on everything. specially those rear lower strut bolts.

[Drew1d]

If you're working alone, I'd recommend doing the rear first. I sprayed the rear shock bolt with liquid wrench everyday for 2 weeks prior.

I tried a breaker bar, my impact wrench, I tapped the bolt lightly with a hammer to try and shake it loose. Finally, I slightly bent a wrench to get it off.

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q44/schwag512/Chemistry.gif

It took nearly 5 hours in total for me to do the rear. Taking my time, and putting all the tools away when I was finished. Probably 4 hours of it was trying to get out that first rear shock bolt. (Which I didn't strip, make absolutely sure your wrenches fit.) I also had ruined rubber bushings at the top of the assembly that needed to be replaced. Also, I did have to use the jack and the old bolt to compress the strut to slide the bolt in for the new struts.

I found the fronts much easier. (the next day) My Axles didn't pop out, I took the cardboard box the jack stands came in and wedged it under the rotor to hold it up and straight after I took out the two pinch bolts. The only two things I'd say is make sure you grease the plastic bearing A LOT, and after assembled correctly, correctly line up the top hat.

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q44/schwag512/strut.jpg

This only took me 2 1/2 hours, which seemed really quick compared to rear. I also used a block of wood and hammer to take the tierod ends out, it's not the safest, but I think if you're careful they pop out pretty easy. (I also tap lightly on the side of the strut arm, it seemed to loosen it up for the "block and whack" approach.) The following day I got it aligned at a shop.

Good luck, from what it sounds like you already have good experience with cars.

[frm_808]

Make sure to have someone laying around willing to offer 5 minutes of help here and there. You might need more than 2 hands at a couple of points, but you should be perfectly fine. Start with the rears. The install will go much easier.

This exact suspension setup lasted me right at 4 years.

ive done it by myself haha its cake

[oldschoolimport]

Wes G:

Do you remove the remove the strut rod nut before jacking the car up on one sidee then place that side on jack stands and then do the same on the other side - so the car is up ion all four sides before you move forward?

SPYDUR
no, take the strut nuts off both front shocks, and jack up the front completely. that way, both sides of the front suspension will decompress and you can swap the components and reassemble. at this point, the front is done and you can put it back on the ground.

then take the strut nuts off the back, and jack up the back end. same deal, the springs decompress, and you can swap the components.

if you try to do sides, rather than ends, the sway bars have to be removed, or they won't let the suspension droop enough to decompress the springs.