How long will it take me?
10-19-2004, 10:26 PM
#5
TECH Junkie
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Pearland, TX
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It's not that hard, just be careful and take your time. I followed the directions from www.LS1howto.com
The rear shocks took me about an hour from popping the trunk hatch to finish. The longest part was just getting the jacks situated. It's really easy. I also replaced the panhard rod while I was under there.
Now, the fronts are another story. Getting them off is pretty easy if you have a small two jaw puller or a ball joint remover, because the hardest part for me was getting the ball joint loose. I got everything out and compressed the old springs, then started to put the new springs on.
Here is where I ran into trouble. There is less clearance between the coils on the Hotchkis springs than on stock. Conesquently, the spring compressor that fit so easily on the old spring was a tight fit on the new ones. Being the smart fellow I am (sarcasm), I pulled the compressors apart and wound one end of each down to the lower end of the springs. I compressed them down, put the boot on, tightened it up, then started to remove the spring compressors. This is when I realized the load on the springs was increased, so the coils are too close together to get the ends of the spring compressor off. I ended up taking a hammer to the spring compressor ends and hammered them all the way up the springs (round and round and round), scratching that nice grey powdercoat all the way up. I went to put them back on when I realized my next mistake: failure to put grease on the spring perch. Since the holes at the bottom didn't quite line up, I had a helluva time getting this thing back together. I called a buddy and he came over to help lend a spare set of hands. Together, we got the holes to line up and got it back together. This brings up another little tip: Trying to hold up about 35 lbs of strut, spring and upper control arm while manipulating a jack (under the a-arm, to prevent stress on the brake lines) and lining everything up all at the same time is not easy. Get a friend to help you. After finishing the driver's side, we went to the passenger side. We learned our lesson, as the passenger side was swapped out in under 45 minutes.
In summary, here are my three tips:
1) Buy a spring compressor whose clamps are narrow enough to get between the coils of the new spring while under load.
2) Be sure to put a little grease or WD-40 under the spring perches, in case the holes don't line up. This will let you twist the strut a little, so you can line it up better.
3) Get a buddy to help you. Those things get heavy when they're all put together and you're trying to do 5 things at once.
-Mike
The rear shocks took me about an hour from popping the trunk hatch to finish. The longest part was just getting the jacks situated. It's really easy. I also replaced the panhard rod while I was under there.
Now, the fronts are another story. Getting them off is pretty easy if you have a small two jaw puller or a ball joint remover, because the hardest part for me was getting the ball joint loose. I got everything out and compressed the old springs, then started to put the new springs on.
Here is where I ran into trouble. There is less clearance between the coils on the Hotchkis springs than on stock. Conesquently, the spring compressor that fit so easily on the old spring was a tight fit on the new ones. Being the smart fellow I am (sarcasm), I pulled the compressors apart and wound one end of each down to the lower end of the springs. I compressed them down, put the boot on, tightened it up, then started to remove the spring compressors. This is when I realized the load on the springs was increased, so the coils are too close together to get the ends of the spring compressor off. I ended up taking a hammer to the spring compressor ends and hammered them all the way up the springs (round and round and round), scratching that nice grey powdercoat all the way up. I went to put them back on when I realized my next mistake: failure to put grease on the spring perch. Since the holes at the bottom didn't quite line up, I had a helluva time getting this thing back together. I called a buddy and he came over to help lend a spare set of hands. Together, we got the holes to line up and got it back together. This brings up another little tip: Trying to hold up about 35 lbs of strut, spring and upper control arm while manipulating a jack (under the a-arm, to prevent stress on the brake lines) and lining everything up all at the same time is not easy. Get a friend to help you. After finishing the driver's side, we went to the passenger side. We learned our lesson, as the passenger side was swapped out in under 45 minutes.
In summary, here are my three tips:
1) Buy a spring compressor whose clamps are narrow enough to get between the coils of the new spring while under load.
2) Be sure to put a little grease or WD-40 under the spring perches, in case the holes don't line up. This will let you twist the strut a little, so you can line it up better.
3) Get a buddy to help you. Those things get heavy when they're all put together and you're trying to do 5 things at once.
-Mike