How to: install shocks, springs.
07-16-2007, 07:24 AM
#1
How to: Install shocks, springs. (Lower your car for FREE!) People often email me about how to do this. I did this write-up a while ago and recently touched it up. Maybe this could be a sticky. Or not... 
CAUTION:
-This installation is dangerous. If you are not mechanically inclined, I DO NOT RECOMMEND SELF-INSTALLATION. Any damage or bodily harm that occurs before, during or after the installation is solely the responsibility of the owner and/or installer. The installation will require spring compressors that are available for purchase or rent at your local AutoZone. Please make sure to USE the locks on the spring compressors. If the spring compressors were to slip off the spring while the spring was compressed, the spring could easily hurt or kill anything it comes into contact with. Note: Springs that were suddenly uncompressed have been found up to a 1/4-mile away!
-Please be sure to wear protective eyewear to protect your eyes from any flying metal fragments while using the cutoff wheel. My engine builder recently underwent eye surgery after a splinter of metal completely punctured his eyeball. His eyeball was pulled out and removed from the socket to remove the metal fragment. Fortunately, he did not lose any eyesight. Bottom line: wear protective eyewear while using the cutoff wheel!
Note:
-Cutting of the factory springs is NOT the best way to lower a car but it is the most cost-efficient and the goal of lowering the car is met. By cutting the factory springs, you are physically shortening the springs to get the result of a lowered chassis. In my opinion, a factory cut spring does not sacrifice much ride quality despite the fact that by removing some of the coils you are increasing the spring rate. Aftermarket springs simply have a much higher spring rate which causes the ride to become stiffer. This ‘free mod’ is ideal for a daily driver on a budget that wants to gain a lowered stance without sacrificing much ride quality. However, factory cut springs will reduce handling performance by increasing body roll requiring the vehicle to take corners and sweeping curves at a lower rate of speed.
-Cutting factory springs or replacing them with aftermarket lowering springs will put extra strain on the shocks (dampeners). The overall ride quality and comfort level WILL decrease overtime as the factory shocks are not up to the task. Bilstein or Koni shocks seem to be the top two choices for aftermarket replacement shocks.
-A front-end alignment WILL BE required after the installation.
-Depending on your skill level, the front springs will take anywhere from two to four hours to install. The rear springs will take from 30 to 45 minutes. The installation will require spring compressors that are available for purchase or rent at your local AutoZone. You will also need a cutoff wheel available at any local hardware store, Meijer’s, Wal-Mart, Lowe’s, etc. You will also need two metal cutting blades. I purchased my cutoff wheel from Home Depot for $35. The metal cutting blades were around $3 each. A flat metal file will also be required to smooth the edges of your cuts. They don't have to be perfectly rounded but anything sharp could eventually rub through the plastic retainer boots.
On to the install:
Front: Complete one side at a time. These measurements will yield approximately the same drop as an Eibach Pro-kit.
-Jack up the car and remove the wheel.
-Remove the bolts bolting the strut assembly to the spindle. There is a ball joint that bolts in the top of the strut assembly. Remove the cotter pin and unbolt the castle nut. **Note: if the bolt inside the ball joint is spinning with the nut, put a lot of pressure on the top of the ball joint to hold the bolt in place. You may need to use a rubber mallet to smack the frame of the spindle and/or the bottom of the bolt of the ball joint to free the upper strut assembly.
-There are two bolts connecting the lower strut assembly to the spindle. After you remove these bolts, the strut assembly should be free to pull out of the car.
-With the strut still assembled, compress the spring with four coils in the middle of the compressor and three coils below it. Compress the spring enough so that it moves freely inside of the strut assembly.
-Remove the nut on top of the strut assembly. You will more than likely need to spray down the nut and bolt with WD-40 or something to break down the rust. **Note: The nut can be removed with a ratchet by hand but if the bolt is turning with the nut, you will need to remove the nut with an impact gun. Once the nut is removed, remove the top of the strut assembly and remove the compressed spring.
-Leave the spring compressed and cut off 1.5 coils from the BOTTOM of the spring with the cutoff wheel.
-Use the file to file down the rough edges of the cut.
-Reassemble the strut matching up the retaining cup to the end of the bottom coil. Do this by simply spinning the cup inside of the tray so that the cup fits snugly against the end of the cut coil.
-Uncompress the spring and bolt the strut assembly back in place.
-Bolt on the wheel, lower the car, and repeat on the opposite side.
Rear:
-Jack up the car at the location in front of the pumpkin (facing the front of the car, NOT on the lip of the differential cover) and put jack stands under each side of the frame of the car.
-Lower the jack down so that the rearend will lower from the body. The rear will drop enough so that the springs will nearly fall out. Notice the placement of the end of the bottom coil on the rear axle mounts.
-The spring compressors are not needed to remove the rear springs. Pull the springs out by pushing up on the spring to lift it off the axle mount and pulling out.
-Cut off 2 full coils from the BOTTOM of the back springs. **Note: If you drag race the car, I would recommend only cutting off 1.5 coils from the rear so as to retain some weight transfer when launching the car. The rear is very easy to do so you may only want to take off 1.5 coils to start even if you do not have any intentions of drag racing. If it is not low enough after removing 1.5 coils, cut off another half-coil. Keep in mind that a full tank of gas will drop the car about another half-inch so if your tank is close to empty and the rear looks just a tad bit too high then you should be fine once you fill up.
-Once cut, the springs are very easy to put back into place. Make sure to put them back in with the bottom coil being in the same orientation as it was removed. **Note: Leave the rubber boots above the rear springs ON. Some people say to remove them and replace them with heater hose to lower the car a little but in my experience, this causes the springs to rub the top of the pockets they sit in and become noisy. And it doesn't yield that much of a drop anyway.
-Jack the rear back up, remove the stands, and drop it to the ground.
You’re Done!
Other:
-As mentioned before, aftermarket shocks will compliment the ride of your newly lowered car.
-If you are plagued by the common wheel hop present in most f-bodies, relocation brackets will help by bringing your lower control arms back to the proper angle.
-If that does not cure the wheel-hop, you may need aftermarket lower control arms as well. Poly/Poly LCA’s will bind in corners so Poly/Rod-ended LCA’s are best to cure wheel hop AND aid in handling while keeping noise to a minimum.
-If wheel-hop is still present after LCA’s and LCA relocation brackets, you may need an aftermarket torque arm.
-If you notice that one wheel is pushed out further on one side of the car more than the other, an adjustable Panhard Rod will be needed to center the rear-end. A PHR will also increase handling stability as well. With the stock PHR, you can push on the rear quarter panel of your car and the back of the car will move from side to side. With an aftermarket PHR, the rear will barely move at all.
Good Luck!
CAUTION:
-This installation is dangerous. If you are not mechanically inclined, I DO NOT RECOMMEND SELF-INSTALLATION. Any damage or bodily harm that occurs before, during or after the installation is solely the responsibility of the owner and/or installer. The installation will require spring compressors that are available for purchase or rent at your local AutoZone. Please make sure to USE the locks on the spring compressors. If the spring compressors were to slip off the spring while the spring was compressed, the spring could easily hurt or kill anything it comes into contact with. Note: Springs that were suddenly uncompressed have been found up to a 1/4-mile away!
-Please be sure to wear protective eyewear to protect your eyes from any flying metal fragments while using the cutoff wheel. My engine builder recently underwent eye surgery after a splinter of metal completely punctured his eyeball. His eyeball was pulled out and removed from the socket to remove the metal fragment. Fortunately, he did not lose any eyesight. Bottom line: wear protective eyewear while using the cutoff wheel!
Note:
-Cutting of the factory springs is NOT the best way to lower a car but it is the most cost-efficient and the goal of lowering the car is met. By cutting the factory springs, you are physically shortening the springs to get the result of a lowered chassis. In my opinion, a factory cut spring does not sacrifice much ride quality despite the fact that by removing some of the coils you are increasing the spring rate. Aftermarket springs simply have a much higher spring rate which causes the ride to become stiffer. This ‘free mod’ is ideal for a daily driver on a budget that wants to gain a lowered stance without sacrificing much ride quality. However, factory cut springs will reduce handling performance by increasing body roll requiring the vehicle to take corners and sweeping curves at a lower rate of speed.
-Cutting factory springs or replacing them with aftermarket lowering springs will put extra strain on the shocks (dampeners). The overall ride quality and comfort level WILL decrease overtime as the factory shocks are not up to the task. Bilstein or Koni shocks seem to be the top two choices for aftermarket replacement shocks.
-A front-end alignment WILL BE required after the installation.
-Depending on your skill level, the front springs will take anywhere from two to four hours to install. The rear springs will take from 30 to 45 minutes. The installation will require spring compressors that are available for purchase or rent at your local AutoZone. You will also need a cutoff wheel available at any local hardware store, Meijer’s, Wal-Mart, Lowe’s, etc. You will also need two metal cutting blades. I purchased my cutoff wheel from Home Depot for $35. The metal cutting blades were around $3 each. A flat metal file will also be required to smooth the edges of your cuts. They don't have to be perfectly rounded but anything sharp could eventually rub through the plastic retainer boots.
On to the install:
Front: Complete one side at a time. These measurements will yield approximately the same drop as an Eibach Pro-kit.
-Jack up the car and remove the wheel.
-Remove the bolts bolting the strut assembly to the spindle. There is a ball joint that bolts in the top of the strut assembly. Remove the cotter pin and unbolt the castle nut. **Note: if the bolt inside the ball joint is spinning with the nut, put a lot of pressure on the top of the ball joint to hold the bolt in place. You may need to use a rubber mallet to smack the frame of the spindle and/or the bottom of the bolt of the ball joint to free the upper strut assembly.
-There are two bolts connecting the lower strut assembly to the spindle. After you remove these bolts, the strut assembly should be free to pull out of the car.
-With the strut still assembled, compress the spring with four coils in the middle of the compressor and three coils below it. Compress the spring enough so that it moves freely inside of the strut assembly.
-Remove the nut on top of the strut assembly. You will more than likely need to spray down the nut and bolt with WD-40 or something to break down the rust. **Note: The nut can be removed with a ratchet by hand but if the bolt is turning with the nut, you will need to remove the nut with an impact gun. Once the nut is removed, remove the top of the strut assembly and remove the compressed spring.
-Leave the spring compressed and cut off 1.5 coils from the BOTTOM of the spring with the cutoff wheel.
-Use the file to file down the rough edges of the cut.
-Reassemble the strut matching up the retaining cup to the end of the bottom coil. Do this by simply spinning the cup inside of the tray so that the cup fits snugly against the end of the cut coil.
-Uncompress the spring and bolt the strut assembly back in place.
-Bolt on the wheel, lower the car, and repeat on the opposite side.
Rear:
-Jack up the car at the location in front of the pumpkin (facing the front of the car, NOT on the lip of the differential cover) and put jack stands under each side of the frame of the car.
-Lower the jack down so that the rearend will lower from the body. The rear will drop enough so that the springs will nearly fall out. Notice the placement of the end of the bottom coil on the rear axle mounts.
-The spring compressors are not needed to remove the rear springs. Pull the springs out by pushing up on the spring to lift it off the axle mount and pulling out.
-Cut off 2 full coils from the BOTTOM of the back springs. **Note: If you drag race the car, I would recommend only cutting off 1.5 coils from the rear so as to retain some weight transfer when launching the car. The rear is very easy to do so you may only want to take off 1.5 coils to start even if you do not have any intentions of drag racing. If it is not low enough after removing 1.5 coils, cut off another half-coil. Keep in mind that a full tank of gas will drop the car about another half-inch so if your tank is close to empty and the rear looks just a tad bit too high then you should be fine once you fill up.
-Once cut, the springs are very easy to put back into place. Make sure to put them back in with the bottom coil being in the same orientation as it was removed. **Note: Leave the rubber boots above the rear springs ON. Some people say to remove them and replace them with heater hose to lower the car a little but in my experience, this causes the springs to rub the top of the pockets they sit in and become noisy. And it doesn't yield that much of a drop anyway.
-Jack the rear back up, remove the stands, and drop it to the ground.
You’re Done!
Other:
-As mentioned before, aftermarket shocks will compliment the ride of your newly lowered car.
-If you are plagued by the common wheel hop present in most f-bodies, relocation brackets will help by bringing your lower control arms back to the proper angle.
-If that does not cure the wheel-hop, you may need aftermarket lower control arms as well. Poly/Poly LCA’s will bind in corners so Poly/Rod-ended LCA’s are best to cure wheel hop AND aid in handling while keeping noise to a minimum.
-If wheel-hop is still present after LCA’s and LCA relocation brackets, you may need an aftermarket torque arm.
-If you notice that one wheel is pushed out further on one side of the car more than the other, an adjustable Panhard Rod will be needed to center the rear-end. A PHR will also increase handling stability as well. With the stock PHR, you can push on the rear quarter panel of your car and the back of the car will move from side to side. With an aftermarket PHR, the rear will barely move at all.
Good Luck!
Last edited by SStolen; 07-16-2007 at 07:55 AM. Reason: Changed the title
07-18-2007, 01:42 PM
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how did you get the driver side t50 torq bite bolts out. I got the one out easily but couldnt get the other. Even loosened the bolts so i could wiggle the master cylinder but no luck
