Post by
Beancooker »
https://forums.nicoclub.com/beancooker-u42602.html
Mon Dec 11, 2006 8:35 pm
IMPORTANT SAFETY WARNING!!! DO NOT PROCEED UNTIL YOU READ THIS!!!
Automotive springs are under an incredible amount of pressure when compressed in the strut assembly. Serious injury or death may occur if you are not careful. DO NOT remove the center nut in the strut assembly until the springs are completely compressed.If the spring compressors slip while compressing, BE VERY CAREFUL and slowly decompress spring.When starting to compress springs, make sure compressors are equally spaced on the spring.
When torquing the center nut on the strut, do not hold the smooth part of the cartridge with pliers or anything that may scratch the metal. This will cause your seals to wear prematurely. The top of the threads should have one side cut out so you can grip it there.
Personally I used Eibach Springs (pro kit) and Tokico Illumina struts. I reused the spring seats and strut mount brackets.
Here are the basics on installing springs and shocks: Equipment: Jack stands, breaker bar, spring compressor, metric sockets and torque wrench.
1. Remove the front tire. Remove the two 17mm bolts at the bottom of the front shock assembly. The nuts are 19mm. Open the hood and remove the three 14mm bolts at the top of the shock tower.
2. Once the bolts have been removed take out the shock assembly. Note which way the upper spring seat is directed. The notch needs to point out when you reassemble.
3. Install the spring compressors. One on either side of the spring and tighten. Tighten them alternately to avoid spring tilt. 4. When springs are compressed remove the large nut at the top of the shock assembly. DO NOT REMOVE THE NUT AT THE TOP OF THE SHOCK ASSEMBLY WITHOUT THE SPRING COMPRESSORS INSTALLED.
5. Take apart the shock assembly and be sure to layout the parts on the floor. Keep them in order so it will be easy to reassemble.
6. Cut the bump stop. I trimmed about 1 ½ inches off.
7. When swapping out the spring be sure that the lettering on the spring is not upside down. Install the spring on the shock assembly so that you can read the lettering. The lettering represents the top so you don't install them upside down.
8. Depending on what springs you bought, you may (probably will) need to compress the new springs.
9. Put the shock assembly back together and install the center nut. Make sure that you have the upper spring seat in the correct direction before decompressing the springs. The notch will point out.
10. After the center nut is torqued, then carefully release the compressors.
11. Reinstall the shock assembly and torque the top and bottom bolts to spec. Top strut tower bolts are 30-40 ft-lbs. The front lower bolts are to be torqued to 110 ft-lbs. 12. Repeat the same procedure for the rear install. There are two 12mm rear strut bolts per side. They get torqued to 12-14 ft-lbs or hand tightened. The lower rear shock bolt is a 17mm. The nut is fixed to the suspension. The torque spec. for the rear bolt is 80 ft-lbs.
Here are some pics for parts reference.