started spring install...
 

i put the rears in last night and it didnt look any lower :( im going to do the fronts within the next few days and then check it out, might be taking it apart again.

There was a rubber tube thing in the stock spring just sitting there, what is it? and do i need it? just seemed pointless sitting in there.

those are called isolators

not the isolater...unless there is three of em. there was a rubber tube inside the spring, not on the coils.

If you want to lower it 1/4 more than dont use any isolator. You need to drive the car around to let the suspension settle down. Get the biggest friends you have and go for a ride.

ya im probably going to take the back apart again tomorrow night when i have some time again. hopefully it will be done by monday.

anyone know of a write up where they use spring compressors? a guy i work with has some and he's gettin them for me...

Yeah those rubber tube things I always see with drag kits. I don't know what they are but I know what you're talking about.

-B

Ya dont need a spring compressor at all. I done mine not long ago and front and rears came out w/o a prob. Since ya got the rears figured out , on the front... after ya got it up on jack stands, take your jack and raise the A arm a bit just enough to put pressure on the spring. Disconnect the tie rod and lower the jack. A pry bar and a tad bit of muscle will free the front springs pretty dang easy.

i know you dont need one, but i had always heard it helped. plus i didnt want to have to hammer out the tie rod end or w/e you have to do.

The tie rod was super simple. I just used a deep socket 15mm I think was the size. On the lower side of the A arm where the rod conects I droped a nut, had to get a wrench on the top side too to keep it from spinning. In fact, I have to admitt that suspension is not my thing. I didnt disconect the tie rod it was the sway bar. There was a small verticle rod that had blue rubber bushings on it (I dont know what the name of it is)But I disconected THAT rod on the bottom where it went through the A arm. After that nut drops off the bottom end of that verticle rod the whole A arm assemble will lower fully and take all the pressure off the spring. Considering you unbolted the factory CC plates under the hood.

Do a search on these forums I found a link somebody posted to D&D garage and they had a complete walk through with pics. Thats what I used, and I say its a pretty nice write up!

As you can tell I know nothing bout suspensions and that walk through made things super simple. I hope ya find it, and GL with the project!

ya i know what write up you're talking about. ill go read through it again

Best write up out there IMO. http://www.dndgarage.net/springinstall.htm

does the taking off the tie rod make much of a difference when you lower the control arm? I have everything else off and i lowered the arm to try and put the new spring in and it just wont go. so will the tie rod make enough difference to get the spring in?

Yes, just follow the instructions. That write up is the easiest way to change springs, trust me.

i took everything else off (except tie rod) and the control arm lowered a lot, i just needed like an inch more to get the spring in...i guess ill hammer it out tonight.


it doesnt help that my dad doesnt have any confidence in doing this type of stuff to a car and when i mentioned hammer it out he didnt like that at all.

I have done it 10xs without removing the tie rods. I used pry bar to get spring out once the control arm is lowered. You can remove tie rod and it will be easier to get spring out but the tire rod is sometimes hard to remove.

i got the spring out, i just cant push in the new one. i can get it close, but i cant get it in.

Make sure that the car is high enough so control arm goes down as far as it can and you can use the pry bar to get it back in if you need to.

What springs did you get

Try some lube on the front ISOs to help slide them in...pry bar helps

i got h&r sports.

and i almost got them in without the bottom iso...with it in would be even harder.

are the mach 1 struts like an inch shorter then the stock ones? when had put one in (with the stock spring still) i couldnt get the strut to come through the cc plate enough to even get the nut on. will it be a lot different with the h&rs?

also should i lower the car down first before i put the strut nut on so it pushes the strut up as far as it will go?

heres a pic...everything on this side is bolted in...

Attachment 24241

That may be due to the camber plate but what I did is remove the two bolts the hold the strut to spindle so I did not mess with anything up top.

well i put the top in first on the driver side and i dont see how im going to be able to line the holes on the bottom up. if i use the jack, it just starts raising the car:help:

What holes are you talking about the ones for the strut, two bolts that attach to the spindle? Im not sure why it difficult but here is all I took apart to get springs in and out. Brake caliper,two strut bolts and endlink nut, thats it.
Attachment 24239

ya those holes on the strut in your pic, 2 of them. i put the top of the strut through the plate with the spaces from MM. then when i jacked up the control arm until it started lifting the car i still had about an inch until the holes would line up on the strut and the spindle i guess...the holes that it bolts too off the caliper. i have everything installed, i just cant get the holes to line up.

now that i think about it maybe i can just put some of the spacers that are on top to the bottom.

Dont tighten up the bolt until you have both of them in. You may have to raise or lower control arm plus move it around so two holes line up. Also make sure that the coil end or bottom pigtail of spring is correctily inside the perch. I put a piece of tape to mark where the perch ends.

well i have been talking to MM and we still can't figure it out. I sent in pictures and they suggested a few things which helped, but didnt solve the problem. :(

I had no problem lining up my strut bolt holes.
Make sure the cup of your floor jack is just in front of the spring (toward the outer edge). You have to straighten the Rotor and position the jack up next to it so the cup is on the end of the A-arm. When you lift the jack you can watch the spring compressing. Make sure the top isolator is oriented properly and the pigtail of the lower spring between the 2 holes (1 hole should be exposed). The spring should be compressed enough before it gets to the point where it is raising the car if you have the jack positioned properly. Maybe you are not getting enough lift from that small jack you are using.. Try positioning a couple small 2x4 pieces of wood under the cups....

If your not able to get the spring out then you don't have the car lifted high enough to allow the a-arm to drop low enough. Mine was up on the top of a pair of 6 ton jack stands position under the front of my subframe connectors.
The a-arm dropped low enough. The isolators where a little stuck to the bottom of the a-arm. I just pulled on them and twisted and they came right out. You can spray a little wd40 in there to help free them...