Installing lowering springs?

[1quikvic]

I just bought a set of tein s-tech lowering springs for my 95 civ and I want to install them myself. I've heard some say I'll need an impact wrench and a spring compressor while others say I can do it without these. Are there any good sites with a DIY? Does anyone who has done it before have any advice?

[Severity]

you have to have the spring compressor. unless you don't mind the possibility of killing yourself. if you have an Autozone in your area you can borrow tools from them, i borrowed a spring compressor from them when i changed my springs. you have to put money down on them, but you get it all back. you don't NEED the impact wrench, but it makes the job WAY easier, some of those bolts are impossible without one. buy a shop manual for your car. it took me exactly 24 hours to do mine, the first shock took 9 hours, the last took 2 hours, maybe.

[zerocrxsi]

yea its a bitch with out the impact gun i highly recomend using one

[1quikvic]

autozone is pretty close by, so that's no problem. Does anyone know of a good website with a walkthrough of the install?

[BullShifter]

while your at crapzone buy a manual although I suggest a real one from www.helminc.com

It can be done with or without a spring compressor, spring compressor is the correct way and much safer.

http://importnut.net/springshock.htm

[jcrx]

Haha don't do it without a spring compressor...please.

1) rise car and place jackstands underneath.
2) Unbolt top two bolts for the shock
3) unbolt fork from strut and LCA, and brake lines
4) lower (remove) fork
5) remove shock
6) compress spring, remove hat, remove spring, replace with new spring, reverse process, repeat on other side.

You may not need to compress the new springs, as lowering springs generall are shourt enough to get the hat back on without, not sure about the S Techs though.

On the rear
1) raise car, and place jack stands underneath.
2) remove plastic access cover and undo the top two bolts
3) remove the LCA bolt (and any ABS line bolt you may have)
4) compress spring, remove hat, replace spring, replace hat, reverse process, repeat on other side.

If you know what you're doing, and nothing like the LCA bolts break, you can do the whole thing in about two and a half to three and a half hours.

[1quikvic]

Awesome. Thanks for the replies. I have a haynes manual to help me along. I will probably take pictures during the process and post them in the how-to forum along with jcrx's summary unless I fail miserably.

[jcrx]

PLease add to my summary, I whipped it out off the top of my head, and probably forgot a thing here or there.

[1quikvic]

Whew...finally did it! Took me about 12-14 hours total. I'm not really sure if I did it all the right way but I got it done. So probably won't post a How-To since I'm still not sure how i just did that lol. Thanx for the help tho ppl.

[BullShifter]

Originally Posted by 1quikvic

Whew...finally did it! Took me about 12-14 hours total. I'm not really sure if I did it all the right way but I got it done. So probably won't post a How-To since I'm still not sure how i just did that lol. Thanx for the help tho ppl.

12hrs

Takes me on average 2hrs but I've done it more times than I'd like to remember and plenty more to come. Add another hour for alignment so 3 total hrs. The biggest problem I run into is rear bolts seized in the bushings, which by now has become an easy fix.


I won't post a how-to for spring/strut work due to the dangers if done incorrectly. That is why I just post this link http://importnut.net/springshock.htm or recommend a repair manual.

Hope you cut your bumpstops or you may have a poor ride.

[1quikvic]

Yea some of the bolts were terrible. I even broke my breaker bar which had a lifetime waranty. I'm a little clueless about the bumpstops though...what are they?

[BullShifter]

Bump stops sit on top of the strut body surrounding the rod. They prevent damage to the suspension if bottoming out were to happen. Since you are "lowering" you are reducing suspension travel, cutting the bump stops allow for a bit more suspension travel.

[jcrx]

Bumpstops do two things, keep you from rubbing when the shock compress' and keep your shock from bottoming out and blowing. To properly increase suspension travel you need to change the mount locations of the strut. This is done two ways, one is using somethinglike Ground Controls modified hat, which gives you some extra travel by extending the rod at the top. The other way is to cut off the stops at the bottom of the shock that go into the fork and hold it in place, and then raise them higher on the shock body, essentially doing the same thing, just at the bottom.