kidfrostbite

iTrader: (1)

Those of you who have changed out front springs/struts, how difficult was it? Is it worth the price to have a suspension shop do it, or is it easy enough to do yourself?

Second question, can any of you recommend a suspension shop around the Portland area?

Thanks in advance.

WAHUSKER

iTrader: (4)

What year car are we talking about?

I did my 00 TA & it wasn't too bad.....if you know what you're doing & have a spring compressor. I think howtols1.com has instructions for this job. And unless you are putting on adj shocks (meaning lowering the car) you don't NEED to take it to a shop. If however you lower it, you'll need to get the front end re-aligned. Places like Les Schwab can do this job, as long as you don't need a road-race-level alignment..

kidfrostbite

iTrader: (1)

It's a 99 TA, which I want to replace the shocks and change from Eibach "John Ames" springs to a set of G2 supersprings. Just tired of hitting bumpstops like mad, and scraping everywhere with my LT's. I'm a little worried about changing from a progressive (330-677?) front to a linear (550?) spring such as the G2s. I'm almost thinking of changing just the rear springs for a stiffer rear end.

narcszm

I ran 428 linears up front for a long time in my Z28 and I could not have been happier. They were the ST Speedtech springs, which are probably too low for you. Changing the front hardware is only a pain because the spring compressors take time. It's not difficult; just time-consuming.

Rottluver

iTrader: (3)

A friend & I changed out all four corners (shocks/springs) a couple months ago on my T/A and it wasn't too bad. Lots of physical work (compressing the front springs) but not worth the $$ of a shop to do it in my humble opinion. And I am not what you would call a mechanical genius either, so it wasn't that difficult.

97BlackT\A

I have a spring compressor kit you can borrow. I'm not too far from you. You can rent them from Schucks, etc. as well. My son was quoted $15 each @ Les Schwab last summer to change his out of the car. The upper control arm can be a mess on some cars due to rust from water incursion at the strut area.

The job isn't too bad at all. After 107k I was surprised the steering knuckle separrated so easily. That was the part I was worried about. Took a couple leisurely hours.
After thinking about it, I'd pay $15 a piece just to have someone else save me the hassle of messing with the spring compressors. Then again, I've done 4 sets of struts in the past year, so I've had plenty of fun already....

NataSS Inc

iTrader: (9)

I run a 650 front and 225 rear liniar spring. LOVE IT.

WAHUSKER

iTrader: (4)

I'm not sure whqat the Eibach pros are I run, but I like them for the look & handling. I raised the fron 1/2" because my cats hit speed bumps, but now it's fine. And I did them myself. If you have a compressor, that makes quick work of the springs. DO NOT use it on the nut on top of the shock! I damaged mine that way & can't get it tight enough so I have a small rattle now. (at least that is what I think happened)

kidfrostbite

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the offer, I might take you up on that. However, $15 each sounds good as well, but I'll definitely hit you up if I decide to do it myself.

Hearing that makes me feel better about it. I figure if I do it myself, I'll have the know how to change them out again if I don't like the 550 spring rate.


Thanks again guys for all the helpful advice