jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

Part I

I am in the process of doing a rear Koni shock install and have ran into some trouble. The previous owner put some Gabriel shocks on the rear of the car . I can get the shock itself off but what I am left with is puzzling. See attachment that is DSC01213.jpg Basically I am left with some kind of stud. Has anyone else run into the problem of finding some sort of stud left on the rear end when they removed their shock? If so, what was your solution? That stud is on there really really good. I imagine that I am going to have to figure out a way to remove that black plastic T looking piece which will then allow me to remove the stud to get the new shock in.

If you open attachment image006.jpg from ls1howto.com, I can kind of give an example. When you open the picture and it says remove nut, the nut that I remove is on the other side, leaving me with the stud as mentioned before, the same as what the Koni shock has (as seen in attachment 1214.jpg) to install so I need to get that "stud" out.

Also, does anyone know where to get a replacement lower nut from? Obviously, I am going to have to get some new ones since I don't have anything that is remotely close to factory hardware down there. Hopefully I can get something from Lowe's or HD and not have to bow down to the dealership.

Part II

To get the rear springs out when doing the heater hose mod, you can have both shocks unbolted simultaneously and lower the rear from the center with everything else still attached, correct?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
jdoyle

neutron82

iTrader: (26)

you don't have to drop the rearend to get the springs out, just put jackstands under the frame rails and let the rearend hang and you should be able to pull them out by hand... just push up on them a little until they clear the mounting tab on the axle housing them pull them out... the rear springs aren't very stiff so it's pretty easy... as far as that stud it looks like it's jambed into the hole that the new shock needs to go through... i'm not sure how they got that to work, it seems like even if the shock was bolted to that there would be nothing really holding it in... is that stud welded or anything on the other side?... you're gonna have to figure out a way to remove it to make the new shocks fit correctly

jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

i have the jackstands under my SFCs. that's okay, right? if mounting the jacks there is okay, I'll give that a shot.

i don't think that the stud is welded on the other side. however, I will go outside and look right now then I'll post up.

Always gotta be fightin' me!

neutron82

iTrader: (26)

as long as the rearend is hanging freely you should be fine... if it's loaded you won't be able to get the springs out

jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

okay so it is definitely not welded in there.

i think it is kind of a homemade stud.

so the other side, the part not shown in the middle attachment, has a nut and a washer on it to secure it to the rear end.

I think what I need to do is get that plastic looking piece off of the front side and then go from there.

anyone have an experience with this or come across it before?

jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

okay so for anyone who may find this in the future..if you need hardware for the lower portion of the rear shocks, grab 2

9/16"-12 hex nuts

now to get the damn stud out.

still no ideas from anyone else?

neutron82

iTrader: (26)

if there is a nut and washer holding that stud in from the other side then take it off

jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

i should have changed that word ideas to experiences.

man i hope getting that thing off isn't a bitch.

Thanks for posting up about the hose mod tho neutron, Taxi Driver is a badass movie!

neutron82

iTrader: (26)

if it's too much of a struggle just get a cut off wheel and chop the mother f'er off... it's crap and you don't need it and whoever did that in the first place should be slapped haha

Viper

iTrader: (6)

Maybe the Gabriel shocks had holes at the bottom of the shock (instead of studs like koni's and decarbon's) and he had to fab a stud. In which case it does look like in your photo you can simply remove the nut on the other side of that bolt, or pound it out with a hammer. I also wonder if the black plastic t-piece was 'wound' onto the stud? Then you could unwind it counter clock-wise.

Hardway

This looks like the same kind of shock setup that KYB uses on their Gas-A-Just shocks. Just remove the nut from the other side and the stud should pull out. Please take some more pictures if you are continuing to run in to an issue with it and we will help you some more.

jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

ya the gabriels have the holes at the bottom. that nut is on there really really good. luckily, it has had some fluid film on it for 2 or 3 days now. i was thinking that i could unwind that black plastic t piece with some vice grips and see where that takes me.

Thanks for the help guys. I might be able to toy with it tomorrow night but maybe not. If not tomorrow night, I'll for be back at it on Sunday. I'll keep the thread updated.

Thanks again.

jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

UPDATE:

still cannot get that damn stud off. i'll be borrowing an impact gun and trying it tomorrow. wish me luck!

for the people that have the heater hose mod, what is the fastest/easiest way to get the hose on the spring? i swear it took over an hour to get the hose on one spring.

what i did was step on the spring with my right foot and set the spring on my left foot where the hose and very top of the hose can move freely. then i got a screwdriver in my left hand and pryed the spring open, forcing more space between the two coils so that the hose will wrap around the spring easier. then i got a pair of pliers and pulled the hose towards myself. it was a bitch.

is this what you guys did? if not, what worked best for you?

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

I just spray some WD-40 in the hose and shove it on. It hangs up a little in spots but is basically easy to get on. Make sure you are using 5/8" heater hose. If you're using 1/2", it'll be a bear.

neutron82

iTrader: (26)

wd40 or silicone spray will make it really easy to get the hose to slide over the spring... what kind of springs do you have??... from the way you're describing it, it sounds like you have progressive springs that have dead coils at the top... i have stranos which aren't progressive and neither are the stock ones so there is plenty of spacing between the coils... what area of tx do you live?... if you were close to me i would give you a hand sometime and get that stud off

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

Good point. I also thought that maybe he was trying to shove the hose past the point where it starts overlapping ... it does become difficult there. And it's unnecessary because you're past the area where the spring is making contact with the body.

jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

haha I am using 3/4" inch hose and it's a bear. i started with half inch hose. sounds like the stock springs that HPE sold me a long time ago MIGHT not be stock springs, but I am no spring expert.

jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

HPE sold me some stock springs a long time ago (2005 or 6) when i ditched the sportlines and shitty ride. mine do have the dead coils at the top.

I live in Hutto, but in the outskirts of Hutto, so basically I am in Austin.

do you have a picture of stock rear springs?

jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

ya I got to the point where I had 16" of hose on the spring, then i said **** it and cut the remaining two inches off.

jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

I did get a full inch of drop though which for less than 2 bucks and plenty of cursing, sounds like a good deal to me.

but it sounds like these springs are not stock springs, and isn't the hose mod only for stock springs?