[DIY] Removal & Refitting front Springs

[bennjamin]

incase i missed it - you should LOOSEN the wheel nuts (ie just slightly crack) when the wheel is on te ground. Makes it much easier to take off.
Also you shouldnt need to loosen the upper mount (single 14mm bolt and allen key top of piston) until its entirely out of hte car and held by spring compressors....JUST IN CASE !

[phwoaaa]

for oem springs u dont always have to use the compressors .. but at your own risk obviously... if u lie down the suspension and hold the top of the suspension carefully and undo the bolt with a rattle gun or something it'll bounce off about 2metres away... but nothing crazy enough to break your hands ! but that doesnt mean to try catch it!

and usually when putting lower springs on you dont need to use the compressors as it is shorter then oem which allows it easier to screw the bolt back on.

[ECU-MAN]

for oem springs u dont always have to use the compressors .. but at your own risk obviously... if u lie down the suspension and hold the top of the suspension carefully and undo the bolt with a rattle gun or something it'll bounce off about 2metres away... but nothing crazy enough to break your hands ! but that doesnt mean to try catch it!

and usually when putting lower springs on you dont need to use the compressors as it is shorter then oem which allows it easier to screw the bolt back on.

thats the most dangerous way to do it,

you could end up with a spring wrapped around you neck like some zoolo african woman.

dont mess with OEM springs with out a decent pair of clamps.

any other way is asking from trouble. you might get away with it many times, but it will be your last time you do it when you cop it.

dont risk it that way

[Bludger]

ATM i got lowered springs & ****ed up shocks on the car. i'm trying to put dc2r spring & shock combo back on.

the problem is that its longer than whats currently on the car....

I've spent the better half of a whole day, trying to get it on but its still doing my head in.

any tips???

its already caused my drive shaft & mid shaft to accidentally pop out. i had to cut open the cv boot to put it back together.

please help

ARRRRRRRRRRRR

[vinnY]

move the bottom shock fork towards the wheel hub then angle your shock/spring combo into there
poke the top hat studs through the holes and screw the nuts down a few threads to hold the shock there
now angle the shock towards the hub and slide the fork up and on to the shock body

after that will just be your luck whether you can get the fork holes to line up with the lca

best way i've found when doing it myself is to jack up just the shock fork until it lines up with the lca's bolt hole, shove a screw driver into it and use it to line up the hole on the other end so you can slide the bolt into

[Bludger]

yeah, thats exactly what i've been doing, but the shock is just so fricken long.

grrrrrrrrr

more will come tomorrow.

i'm gonna poor petrol over it and burn it if it doesn't go in tomorrow.

[vinnY]

might need someone to step down on the hub while you match up the holes

this should make the lca go low enough so you can quickly shove it together

[Bludger]

I even undid the top bolt ( don't know what its called) the one attatched to the UCA.

forgot to leave a jack underneath to support it and the whole thing dropped. the mid shaft separated from the left drive shaft.

couldn't get it back together untill i cut open the cv boot with a knife to fiddle it back together, thats how much of an OD this sussy change is

[vinnY]

doh well when you go to repair the boot you'll just have to remove the shock again

are you doing this alone? if you are then you might need another hand, as i said you should be able to step down on the hub(not the studs!) and move the lca low enough to match up the holes on the shock fork
don't tighten up the bolt that holes the fork to the shock body otherwise you won't be able to rotate it and get it into position properly

[Bludger]

got both the front in eventually, combination of 3 things helped me.

1 - scissor jack, lifting & pushing different parts.
2 - big thick screwdriver for prying.
3 - spring compressor's used on the springs while shock and spring combo was on the car.

my situation was unusually very difficult because, previously was running on lowered springs and then trying to put on a longer spring & shock combo. I dare say that now its even higher than when it 1st came out of the factory.

There is more than 10cm gap between tire & guard.

hope this info helps ppl.

[vinnY]

bushings have probably shifted from being push/pulled and from the forces of being used with lowered springs, give it a few days and see if it goes back to normal
otherwise loosen the bolts, sit the car down and torque them up again

[antO]

great guide!~
Thanks

antO