Suspension & Brakes Springs | Shocks | Handling | Rotors

Spring/shock install

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Old 12-20-2010, 12:38 AM
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You mean the upper shock mount is tight? It's supposed to be tight, you use a spring compressor to take the load off of the upper mount before you loosen the nut....

....unless I'm not getting what you mean. A pic would be helpful.
Old 12-20-2010, 01:35 AM
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Originally Posted by 99FormulaM6r
You mean the upper shock mount is tight? It's supposed to be tight, you use a spring compressor to take the load off of the upper mount before you loosen the nut....

....unless I'm not getting what you mean. A pic would be helpful.
Yes, that is what I did. I didn't finish and I hope to get all done tomorrow. I started to loosen the nut on the top of the rubber shoe and I CAN'T get it off at all. I sprayed PB blaster on it too. I put a vice grip on the shaft so it won't spin when I try to loosen the nut and the vice grip is stripping the shaft This is a real pain in the ***! We'll see what happens tomorrow.
Old 12-20-2010, 01:48 AM
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Ha, alright. Well, you're not the first person to have problems with that nut, it seems to be the biggest pain in the *** out of the whole swap. Some have even resorted to cutting the shaft on the shock I believe. Let it soak over night in PB blaster and give it another go in the morning.

That nut was one of the reasons taking it to the shop was a smart option for me. I just took the shocks out of the car and took them in, and the mechanic fought with it for an hour (for both sides) and they ended up charging me $20 instead of the quoted $30 because they didn't have anything to do that day (yeah, not the usual shop, haha).
Old 12-20-2010, 02:12 PM
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Ok, this rusted nut will not come off this rubber shoe. What's next? Where can I bring it to get this off?
Old 12-20-2010, 03:29 PM
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when i did this the nut was rusted as hell and completely stuck..

i did loosen the upper part first, and then just pulled tigth until it came off, then i took it off the a arm, and compressed the spring and cut the nut off,

i could put it together w/o compressing it, put it dosn't matter if you got the tool anyway

but i sure was surprised how boring the front part was
Old 12-20-2010, 04:52 PM
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Originally Posted by lt1porsche
depending one the car i have been able to install new struts without using a spring compressor. If you remove the nut holding the the top strut hat/bearing assembly to the strut while it is still in the car and bolted up. Then lightly jack up that side and remove the wheel then unbolt the strut from the control arm, it may allow you to slide the strut and spring out while still leaving the strut hat to the car. but with camaro and firebirds there normally isnt enough flex within the control arm to allow to spring to fully expand and be removed. installing the new springs and struts is normally a little easier becasue lowering springs are normally shorter. But use a spring compressor. Its just as easy.
read the above.....
Old 12-20-2010, 04:54 PM
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Impact gun time.....gonna need a good expensive and powerful one....lol
Old 12-22-2010, 02:52 AM
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Bumpp
Old 12-22-2010, 06:19 AM
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All done... I had to re-do my front struts/springs and just got done at 3am. When I got done yesterday and drove around I heard clunking noises so I fixed that and all is GREAT Thanks for all the help everyone.
Old 12-22-2010, 06:41 AM
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you know how it is, you end up doing most things twice, and know them really well after
Old 12-22-2010, 12:18 PM
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what was the clunking noise? how did you fix it?
Old 12-22-2010, 12:34 PM
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The noise was what it normally is, I'm sure.... the nut that holds the upper mount to the shocks wasn't sufficiently tight. I'm pretty positive that's the case as we discussed it, and now it's not a problem.

Now, looking for some public feedback on what he thinks!
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Old 12-22-2010, 01:06 PM
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Originally Posted by Sam Strano
The noise was what it normally is, I'm sure.... the nut that holds the upper mount to the shocks wasn't sufficiently tight. I'm pretty positive that's the case as we discussed it, and now it's not a problem.

Now, looking for some public feedback on what he thinks!
Yes, you were right Sam. By the way Sam, were the front struts suppose to come with an adjusting tool? When I adjusted the fronts and started all the way from - then went 3 times to + (meaning everytime the allen key hit the wall I went all the way to the - then + again). For the rears I started all the way from soft then went halfway to the right. After taking it for a drive everything is good and there's no noise. Thanks Sam for the help! PJB- ^ That's what the problem was.

Edit: I got confused with the adjusting and just realized that after re-reading your PM Sam. 1/2 way for the front and 1/3 for the rear. I guess I'll do it another day
Old 12-22-2010, 01:28 PM
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thats what I warned you about in post #18.
at least you got it right now!
Old 12-22-2010, 02:24 PM
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Originally Posted by pjb
thats what I warned you about in post #18.
at least you got it right now!
OH wow, I missed that I guess or I read it and completely forgot. I sure paid for my mistake! Thanks for that heads up even though I missed it.
Old 12-22-2010, 03:33 PM
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Originally Posted by SSmokin99
Yes, you were right Sam. By the way Sam, were the front struts suppose to come with an adjusting tool? When I adjusted the fronts and started all the way from - then went 3 times to + (meaning everytime the allen key hit the wall I went all the way to the - then + again). For the rears I started all the way from soft then went halfway to the right. After taking it for a drive everything is good and there's no noise. Thanks Sam for the help! PJB- ^ That's what the problem was.

Edit: I got confused with the adjusting and just realized that after re-reading your PM Sam. 1/2 way for the front and 1/3 for the rear. I guess I'll do it another day
Fronts do not come with a tool, you use a 2.5mm allen wrench. Your settings sound about right, I run a little firmer myself, but you just have to experiment.
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Old 12-22-2010, 03:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Sam Strano
Fronts do not come with a tool, you use a 2.5mm allen wrench. Your settings sound about right, I run a little firmer myself, but you just have to experiment.
Ok thanks! So how do you like your 5.0 compared to your Z/28?
Old 12-22-2010, 06:07 PM
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No problem...

Ahhh, do you want the truth??? That's dangerous around this site, because I love my Mustang. In fact when I had my '07 Mustang folks would ask me that and I'd tell them if it only had an LS1 in it, it'd be great. Well, this has more like an LS3.

It's not a fair comparison really. The 4th gen is an older car, and it's more modded. I like them both very much. There are times I prefer one over the other depending on what I'm doing.
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