install help in socal

[johnparkyourcar]

who would like to install some goodies on my car? i promise i will pay better than vivek. actually im low on money cuz i just bought some stuff but i can repay with some beers or maybe food?

[4drmadness]

lolllll, wow

[johnparkyourcar]

hahahha

[johnparkyourcar]

i have a list of things i need to install now... but heres a teaser pic of some of the goodies i got

[tollboothwilley]

If I still lived in Cali I'd give you a hand for sure

As it stands, you are welcome to come out to Utah and I'll get them on for you. haha

[Sentientbydesign]

I'd be up to help, but I don't think I can do it today. Probably not until next weekend

Also, if I help, you have to take pictures and do a COMPLETE write-up on the suspension swap.

Got any goodies for my coupe as "payment"?

[4drmadness]

lol nate

[johnparkyourcar]

i'll take pics and try to write it up thoroughly. ive been looking up some diys and so i think i kinda get the basic picture but i dont trust myself to do it alone. ill feel a lot better having someone who knows what theyre doing hahah. i wont have anything for your coupe but i can provide some beers and food?

[Sentientbydesign]

i wont have anything for your coupe but i can provide some beers and food?

Do you have all of the tools necessary? You'll need a jack, jack stands, 17mm,19mm, 22mm, breaker bar/torque wrench, PB Blaster/WD 40, STRUT COMPRESSOR!!! (not to be confused with a spring/shock compressor).

I feel I'm missing something, but that's all I can remember. I've got the jack, breaker/torque wrench, and a couple of those sockets. I think the one that we were missing last time was a tool to tighten the shock nut on the shock tower.

[tollboothwilley]

a spring compresser alone worked fine for all the installs I have done...

[Sentientbydesign]

a spring compresser alone worked fine for all the installs I have done...

That's nice. Did you do the suspension on the G? The shock sits inside the coil just like a strut.

The type of compressor you use is important. Autozone loaned us one of these:



It can't work because the center screw sits where the shock goes.

Something more like this would work:

[johnparkyourcar]

the guy i got my shock/springs from already had the front springs put on the shock so i thought it would be ok without one... ?

[johnparkyourcar]

on a side note... hey vivek do u think i can borrow your jack stands? im gonna make an attempt to install my muffler

[4drmadness]

yea dude, fosho. thats the only thing i have, lol

[johnparkyourcar]

when can i get it from you?

[4drmadness]

umm weneva dude, if u want u can come right now.

[johnparkyourcar]

hahah cool. i dunno where you live so u wanna just meet up at the bluffs? i'll leave right now i'll be at coffee bean haha

[4drmadness]

k dude. ill see u in 10

[4drmadness]

u want 2 or 4?

[C-Kwik]

Something more like this would work:

I wouldn't trust that thing at all. Spring compressors that use two independent compression devices tend to cause the spring axis to bend as you tighten one side more than the other. The hooks on this one are rather shallow and have huge potential to slip off the coil (they already tend to like to slide down the coils as it is). If it did, the compressor on that side would fly off, potentially at great speed, and its also possible that the compressor on the opposite side may immediately fly off afterwards. Not to mention the immediate expansion of the spring itself. Many kits that use two independent compressors use a safety mechanism that wraps around a coil on each end. Of course, the problem with small diameter coils is that the shock can tend to get in the way of these safety devices. Especially when removing the OE spring as they tend to be long, requiring a large amount of compression. Personally, I'd prefer something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-Ton-Hydr...18037

But it's rather pricey if you don't do many lowering jobs. But most of the smaller compressors do lack the ability to expand a great deal after removing the bearing plate. Which means if you didn't place the spring compressor with only enough coils to get the bearing plate off AND such that you've left enough room to fully expand the spring on the compressor, then you may have to recompress the spring and put the bearing plate back on, reposition the compressor and try again. Which is a particular pain in the behind with these cheaper compressors.

I usually just pop the OE springs, but I truly do NOT recommend doing it unless you've seen it done in a relatively safe manner. I've probably popped springs out of more than 10 cars when I was wrenching regularly with my friends and can personally attest to how much energy is wound up in a precompressed OE spring. Aftermarket lowering springs tend to be short enough that spring compressors are usually not even needed to get the spring on though.

the guy i got my shock/springs from already had the front springs put on the shock so i thought it would be ok without one... ?

If the spring is already installed onto the front shock, then no, you will not need a spring compressor...

[Sentientbydesign]

Nice find Chano. I don't do enough of these to justify the cost, especially since I get paid in food, but that's a very nice looking design.

I had to pop Vivek's OEM springs. I was actually surprised that there wasn't more force. Don't get me wrong. It scared the crap out of me, but I was expecting it to fly off, kill a cat, and make the breaker bar come around and hit me in the head

[4drmadness]

hey that was fun, i was hoping the spring would fly, but it didnot.

[Sentientbydesign]

Thanks bro

Vivek just wanted to steal my coupe, so he was hoping the spring would knock me out and he could steal my coupe while his sedan was in pieces.

[4drmadness]

lollllll

[toddnos]

i have never used a strut compressor....i use my muscles to compress the strut on my install.

[Sentientbydesign]

i have never used a strut compressor....i use my muscles to compress the strut on my install.

We did the same thing, a spring compressor would have alleviated the need to "pop" the springs off and also would have allowed the new ones to be properly tightened.

[C-Kwik]

Why wouldn't you be able to properly tighten anything without the spring compressor?

[toddnos]

the spring compressor is used to remove and install the lowered springs, a "strut" compressor i have never heard of or used.

...and a 14 mm wrench, and an allen wrench properly tighten everything.

[Sentientbydesign]

Why wouldn't you be able to properly tighten anything without the spring compressor?

Good point, I just realized that we needed a couple of tools that we didn't have to tighten the upper shock nut. You have to hold the piston rod and turn the nut and we couldn't with what we had.

[johnparkyourcar]

hey nate so should i get a compressor? the only thing i think we would need it for is to remove the oem spring since i got the h&r spring already on the shocks. unless youre able to remove the oem shock without taking the spring out? i got some pb blaster and i'll bring what little tools i have maybe it'll come in handy...