How do i fit my lowering springs?

[PaddyPower]

Now i am no expert, good with my hands but only have basic knowledge of cars.

WILL I BE ABLE TO DO THIS OR NOT?

If you think someone of my ability would be able to carry out this task is there any chance someone could tell me how to go about doing it?

 

[JU5TY]

Take the shocks off...

Put spring compressors on the spring (very important or they could take your face off!), then use a sunken ring spanner to undo the nut at the top of the shock whilst holding the little nut on the top of the shaft with an 8mm spanner (if my memory serves me correctly). Remove the top mount, fit the new spring (compress it with the spring compressors) then put the top mount back on.

 

[Keira]

i always undo the center nut abit, not all the way whilst the shocks still on the car, dont matter if its abit tight then as you aint trying to hold it in one hand and undo with the other

Also, when fitting the springs make sure you've got the damper fully extended cos you will look a right tw@t sitting there wondering why you cant compress the springs enough to go over them :shock:

not that i know of anyone stupid enough to not extend them fully

 

[PaddyPower]

Any diagrams?

Should i try my self or take it down the garage?

 

[Keira]

its easy enough, depends wether you can be arsed

 

[stugtir]

yes m8 u should definatly try it yourself. just take ur time with it, even if it take u a day at least u will have learnt how to do it by the end of it!

as the other lads have already said its not hard att all.

just make sure u have the correct tools to do the job.

set of spanners
spring compressors
socket set

youll be fine m8

stu

 

[PaddyPower]

Can this be done from a jack? I presum the wheel has to be removed

 

[Keira]

following that reply i think you might be better off getting someone else to do it

it does help if the wheels are removed first :roll: :lol:

 

[JU5TY]

lol!

Yes the wheel needs to come off so you can remove the whole suspension strut. You cant do it on the car...

It doesn't take long to remove, two bolts at the bottom and three nuts on the top (access via the engine bay/boot).

 

[JU5TY]

kieron beat me to it...

Yeah agreed maybe you should take it somewhere to be done. :?

 

[stugtir]

yeah best bet is to jack the front up and make sure u use axel stands,

take the wheels off
disconnect the brake lines that are attached to the strut(small plate slides out to releasepipe)
now undo the bolts that go through the bootom of the shock that attaches it to the hub assembly i think its 19mm not sure though!

once they are off go under the bonnet and uno the three screws on the topmount that hold it in place, then u should be able to remove it from the car.

now follow the advice above for taking the springs off and putting the new ones on,

thats pretty much it.

the back is the same procees pretty much.

as i said before just take your time with it and you will have no trouble doing it yourself. if u get stuck u can always come on hear and someone will be able to help u.

stu

 

[JU5TY]

now undo the bolts that go through the bootom of the shock that attaches it to the hub assembly i think its 19mm not sure though!

17mm

Yeah as Stu says you can always pop back on here for help. It isn't that hard, but is time consuming doing all 4 shocks.

 

[Fast Guy]

It took me a couple of hours to do a straight swap with my suspension for Teins, so add another couple of hours for swapping the springs too, but as you've never done it before allow all day for those rusty bolts etc.

My rear end was abit stiff :shock: The bottom two strut bolts were very tight and took a fair bit of moving, make sure you have a good lever Also undo the anti roll bar drop link and remove it with the cars weight on the ground as it doesn't like being undo with the wheel in the air (I forgot and couldn't be bothered to put the wheel back on and drop the car )


You'll need a torque wrench to tighten everything correctly afterwards.

One other thing, I'm fairly sure it's an MOT failure if the springs unseat when the car is jacked up, so if the springs are alot stiffer and shorter and the don't hold the strut under tension but are just sitting loose, then what I had to do on my old car was drill holes in the spring seats and cable tie the springs in place, cos otherwise they may unseat if you go over a large bump.

 

[ard1ey]

If you want to have a stab at it but aren't sure how then buy the Haynes manual for a normal H-reg Sunny. Its a few quid and you'd be best off checking the torque wrench settings on here but most of the mechanical gubbins is the same and its well explained. Apart from the "refitting is the reversal of removal" arse.