How To: Suspension Install

1fast2liter · Post by **1fast2liter** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 4:08 am

this is a pretty straight forward... If you have power tools then use them as i don't know anyother way to do it..........

step 1) put the car on jack stands or a body lift.

step 2) remove the tires.....

step 3) remove the 2 bolts that join the strut to the front knuckle theis are 18mm.. use a mallet to remove the bolts from the lower strut.. same goes for the back. their is also a 10mm bolt that holds the brake lines to the strut undo those too.

step 4) their are three bolts that hold the strut onto the car in fron and 4 in back acessed thru the trunk. theis are 13mm undo all and with a little manuvering they will come out....

ste 5) here you need spring compressors for a mcpherson style strut. autozone rents a set for $40... clamp theis on and run them down with eaither a inpact gun or a air ratchet..

step 6) i hold the strut between my legs tilted away from me using my impact gun a socket extension and i think its a 14mm or 15mm socket.
push down as hard as you can and zip them off. un zip the clamp and the hat and pillow bearing and isolater will come off..

step 7) now replace with desired spring and reassemblie in reverse order.... when putting it all togeather make sure the bottom 2 strut bolts are seated firmly thun the nuts put on. i usally install the bottom first then the tops.... then if further assistance is needed us a jack to help compress the spring a little to get it in... throw your tires on and lower the car... softly. go out and make a few sharp left to right movments to help settle the suspension a bit..... over then next months or next oil chnge recheck top strut nuts to make sure their seated tight still.

enjoy.

Lackof · Post by **Lackof** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 11:43 am

this might help ...

1fast2liter · Post by **1fast2liter** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 12:47 pm

yup that'll work too.....i would also like to add to this and one doing a lowering job them selve... consider what you want out of it.... i always recomend that you replace the struts with a set of kybs,konis, or some sort of aftermarket strut. as far as springs and kits go.. stay away from ebay sleeve kits they are more dangerous then good. If you want some thing with adjustability then go with a true strut coilover kit, eiback, dropzone,k sport,kw, and mopar all have strut coilover kits that are of pretty good quality.

springs are another topic. you want to auto cross? look good for the street? the spring must match your application... i recomend sprint,eiback and b&g goldline are seem decent brands to lower a car with springs......
auto cross you can find a set of x high rates from mopar or some such source. pared with konis makes a good auto x setup.

please if you decide to eaither 1 heat or 2 cut your springs do so at your own risk. this is not safe and can potentially harm you and your ride. especially if you have no idea what you are doing. i rode with heated springs for a yr and went to a sleeve kit wich was a decent brand and still rode hard. i know reside on a true strut/coilover set up.

i had a buddy who had cut springs and i hated his car. if you wanna do it do it right the first time and don't regret the way you did it.

happy cruising.

adammmmmm · Post by **adammmmmm** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 8:36 am

I recently ordered eibach springs from modern performance, I have NO clue how to start the process of putting them on, i have friends who do but they totally put down the neon, how would buying konis' make a difference in the ride i would get?

i want it low, but i still want it to feel smooth, you know?

if anyone would respond, it would be greatly appreciated

Lackof · Post by **Lackof** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 11:10 pm

adammmmmm wrote:I recently ordered eibach springs from modern performance, I have NO clue how to start the process of putting them on, i have friends who do but they totally put down the neon, how would buying konis' make a difference in the ride i would get?

i want it low, but i still want it to feel smooth, you know?

if anyone would respond, it would be greatly appreciated

Anytime you lower a car the ride isn't goin to be smooth or for that matter smoother.

KONIs will make a world of difference and allow for adjusting to soft or hard and not fail as quickly as the stock ones would do.

As far as doing the spring install just get a hayness manual and you should be set.
There really isn't anything to difficult about it, but you will need a spring compressor which you can rent from autozone (give them a deposit bring back tool and you get your money back).
After the install you will need an alignment too.

chipdogg · Post by **chipdogg** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 11:16 pm

You'll need an impact gun to get strut nut loose otherwise it just spins.

DOHCRT · Post by **DOHCRT** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:44 pm

chipdogg wrote:You'll need an impact gun to get strut nut loose otherwise it just spins.

I stopped using the impact on strut nuts because it can junk the strut. Instead, I use a 13/16 spark plug socket for the strut nut and a 10mm 1/4" drive deep socket to hold the piston nut.

Almost all spark plug sockets have a hex on the end of them for a 7/8" wrench. Put the 10mm socket in through the spark plug socket and turn the spark plug socket with the 7/8" wrench while holding the piston nut with a 1/4" breaker bar.