glitch77

First of all, I want to thank trackbird for all his help, and for telling me this method. I deserve no credit for it! I am just trying to give back a bit to the scene that has given me so much.

Step 1: Break loose lug nuts on both wheels while the car is on the ground.

Step 2: Raise the front of the car and secure it with jackstands, blocks, the e-brake, and anything else you can find. You will be banging a bit on the car, so it MUST be properly supported or personal injury could ensue! (I put my floor jack under the motor on the large metal guard with no pressure on it as a backup)

Step 3: Start with the passenger side by removing the wheel and taking the brake caliper off. (To remove the caliper, take both large bolts out of the back of the bracket that mounts to the car). Hang the caliper with a piece of wire out of the way so that it does not hang by the brake line.After removing the caliper, remove the brake rotor (may take a couple whacks with a rubber mallet) and sit it somewhere soft and non-abrasive, such as on carpet or some rags.

Step 4: Remove the sway-bar endlink (remember how it looks so it will go back together easier.) by removing the endlink stud and nut. If it breaks, be prepaired to get a new set. (Or better yet, have a poly. set on hand!) Remove the two nuts and two bolts front the upper shock mount inside the engine compartment. (If you have a strut tower brace, the two nuts that hold it on are the ones your looking for, plus the two bolts about three inches away fron them).

Step 5: *BE CAREFULL* Place your foot onto the wheel hub (where the wheel studs are) and push down firmly while a friend helps guide the assembly out of the fender. (it will clear!) You should now have the whole assembly clear and movable to some extent.

Step 6: Remove the large bolts/nuts from the top of the upper spring mount. This will release the shock/spring except for the two bottom bolts/nuts that mount the lower end of the shock, take them out with a friends help, and the spring/shock will be free of the car.

Step 7: Disassemble the shock assy. by compressing the spring with a HIGH QUALITY spring compressor. If something breaks while the spring is under a load *YOU COULD BE INJURED OR EVEN KILLED*. DO NOT cheap out on a spring compressor. DO NOT build your own. If you have any doubts HAVE A SHOP DO IT FOR YOU. After compressing the spring take off the upper spring mount using an air impact. I do not know how to do it easily without one. If you cannot get the nut all the way off, pull the upper mount away from the dust boot, and cut the shock piston with a sawsall with a metal-cutting blade (use extereme caution when doing this, do this as a last resort ONLY). Uncompress the spring, remove the dust cap and lower spring mount, and discard the shock.

Step 8: Re-assemble new shock/spring assy. by using a reverse step 7. (Hopefully with less sawsall.)

Step 9: Re-attach the shock/spring assy. to the car by using step 4 in reverse.

Step 10: Again step onto the wheel hub, and apply enough pressure to allow a friend to shove the studs back into their holes.

Step 11: Replace nuts on the studs, and bolts in their holes to secure the upper mount.

Step 12: Replace sway-bay endlink. (Rember: nut, washer, bushing, swaybar, bushing, washer, spacer, washer, bushing, car, bushing, washer, bolt head.)

Step 13: Put the brake rotor back on the hub, and re-attach the caliper. (You may need to remove the inner brage pad and compress the pistons with a c-clamp to make enough clearence to let it go back over the rotor.)

Step 14: Re-attach wheel and semi-tighten the lugs. (They must be tightened on the ground so the wheel wont spin.)


You are now ready to repeat the process exactly for the drivers side, except for the fact that you have to remove the brake mater cylinder. Which requires only takin two nuts off the the booster, and pulling it off the studs and to the side a bit so you can take out the two Torx-50 bolts that are holding the driver-side upper mount on. TIP: (Swap the t-50 bolts on the drivers side with the regular bolts on the passenger side so that you can access the bolts under the master cylinder with a standard wrench!)

mitchntx

iTrader: (14)

Might I suggest ...

That top nut on the shock WILL be rusted. Trying to back it off all rusted up will build the rust in the threads and the friction heat generated will literally weld the nut in place with rust.

Get a cup shaped wire brush that chucks up into a drill motor. You can then clean the threads pretty good.

Hose the threads down with WD40.

Back the nut off a round or so and retighten. Reclean the threads.

Then back the nut off another couple or 3 rounds, retighten and reclean.

Repeat till it backs all the way off. Just go slow, use WD40 to keep the shock shaft cool and it should come off easy enough.

glitch77

Thanks mitch!

trackbird

iTrader: (4)

Mitch....when do I get to apply the sawzall?????

Kevin

P.S. Remember not to loosen the top shock bolt without spring compressors in place. Releasing a spring without compressors holding it compressed can be fatal.

Have fun.

mitchntx

iTrader: (14)

Kevin, you are such a hack.
The only tools you own are vice grips and hammers.

You have these people so fooled.

trackbird

iTrader: (4)

Gotta get some vice grips.....Man, I thought I had all the tools.

Got plenty of hammers though.....

"I've got a 3lb "metric set" with a 18" handle"

jRaskell

iTrader: (1)

Steps 4 & 5... You are swinging the entire top a-arm and shock assembly out with removing it from the spindle?

I was able to get my shocks out by disconnecting the upper balljoint and without touching the swaybar endlinks. Unless you've got a stubborn balljoint, seems easier then dealing with swaybar endlinks, unless you're swapping in a new swaybar anyways (in which case you should have new endlinks and just cut the old ones off)

I did have problems with that rusted top shock nut though. I just clamped a big fricken set of vice grips onto the shaft to keep it from spinning.

I also did drivers side first, and on that side I took off the caliper, then the carrier that mounts to the spindle, but realized on the passenger side I could probably take it off as one piece (and of course, it came off in one piece)

Didn't think of replacing those torx bolts with regular bolts though. I'll have to keep that in mind next time I dig into my front suspension (if there is a next time, which is probable)

trackbird

iTrader: (4)

When I did mine, I started to pull the upper balljoint. I was about to destroy the boot with a suspension fork so I looked for a better way. My car had only a few miles on it (brand new) so the end links came right off and this method was born. I'd rather cut off a set of endlinks and replace them than go looking for new balljoint boots and have to deal with beating on suspension parts. But, that is just my preferred approach. The balljoint removal way works, I just found this to be faster. Cannibal tried it that way and was also very happy with the result. Everyone has their favorite way to do things and they all get the same result. This was just my "best way".

But yes, you are swinging the shock, spring, upper arm and spindle out at once.....

jRaskell

iTrader: (1)

^^ I can understand that. My upper ball joints popped out very easily. Both sides took only a couple moderate whacks on the spindle with a rubber mallet just a few inches below the ball joint and they popped right out. Didn't even have to use a fork. If my ball joints had been more stubborn, I'm sure I would have wished I'd removed the endlinks.

You just gotta be a bit pyshic and know which connections are going to come apart the easiest on your ride (or rather, just get lucky).

mitchntx

iTrader: (14)

I don't see how you guys could wrestle that shock out of there w/o removing the endlinks.

jRaskell

iTrader: (1)

We had no problem removing the shock assembly along with the entire upper control arm, since it wasn't attached to anything. It took two of us to pull the lower control arm down, but it wasn't a struggle to do so. I think one person could have done it, but it would have been more of a pita to do so. I do have the stock TA swaybar still on there, and a stiffer bar I'm sure will pose more of a resistance though. Could easily be enough to make it necessary to disconnect the swaybar.

jRaskell

iTrader: (1)

Ironically enough, my ST 35mm swaybar just arrived in the mail. One more mod to finish over the T-day holiday.

Scalpel

iTrader: (4)

I use this method everytime

pjb

iTrader: (2)

how do you remove the upper shock nut when it is completely rusted to death?
I have new shocks/springs but I want to reuse everything else. Is there a way to compress the spring enough to cut the shock shaft below the upper perch?

mitchntx

iTrader: (14)

Kudos to you for using the search tool!!!!!



If you take the tension off the spring, you should be able to get between the top coils enough to cut the shock shaft.

Weezzer

You cut it off with a dremel tool and a carbide burr (looks like a small end mill). Cut thru the nut till you hit the threads of the shaft, do this again 180 degrees from the first.
Lube it good with LPS 2, and it will twist right off.

pjb

iTrader: (2)

I had to air hammer the top shock nut off. Then the shock shaft would not come free from the top mount/perch. it finally pulled the whole sleeve from the center of the perch. I had to buy a new top perch from the dealer. I got a new isolater (the center removable peice) while I was at it. $113 that I didn't expect to shell out. I haven't even gotten to the driver side yet. I hope it is not destroyed with rust like the passenger side was.

trackbird

iTrader: (4)

I think Tirerack carries those top rubber mounts, and I believe they are far cheaper than $113 (but I haven't looked in a while).

BubaGumpShrimp

iTrader: (1)

you do not need to waste time and do this step
Step 3: Start with the passenger side by removing the wheel and taking the brake caliper off. (To remove the caliper, take both large bolts out of the back of the bracket that mounts to the car). Hang the caliper with a piece of wire out of the way so that it does not hang by the brake line.After removing the caliper, remove the brake rotor (may take a couple whacks with a rubber mallet) and sit it somewhere soft and non-abrasive, such as on carpet or some rags

just jack up the car, remove tire, remove endlinks,remove top nuts, remove bottom bolts,press down on a-arm while pushing up on shock,slide shock to the right- and off the a-arm, get a 15mm wrench(pretty sure its the size) and put it on the bolt where the bushings are and push down, that will release the top of the shock and a-arm. Once you do that the shock and spring will litterally fall out.. the rest of the install is the same.

trackbird

iTrader: (4)

You're right, you could skip #3. I find it easier to work with a little extra room and it's a good time to check and lube the slider pins.