jam01

like the title states, i just finished installing all 4 shocks with bilstein i purchased from sam strano. first i would like to say great price and very fast shipping from him with great customer support. i dont have any real opinions on the way it drives yet except im not bottoming out anymore and it drives smooth for the mile ive put on it.

while i was lucky enough to have a hydraulic spring compressor for the front, they were a nightmare. the top of the isolator has a metal sleeve that rusted itself to the old shocks on both sides, what should have been a 2-3 hour job was a 6 hour job. while i was able to get the 2 separated i really should replace the isolators, i just want to check the aftermarket first. the rears were a breeze just cut the carpet were it was already notched for the upper nuts lower was easy enough, that was about a half hour.

so for all those possibly doing this in the future, be wary of the upper shock mount and rust and possibly replacing the isolators.

Frogger

Wait, so im not following you fully. im planning a shock swap soon too.

so you took the whole unit out. compressed the spring, then worked at the stubborn top nut? maybe you can give step by step commentary for those of us who will be doing similar work and your method that worked well. you know, after you got it you proly thought "why did i not think of doing it that way sooner" tricks and tips would help the others alot im sure

joe77

use the spring compressor and just cut off the shock then pound out the old shaft from the isolator, saved me time on the second one. if its badly rusted like mine was, even when i cut off the top nut with a dremel it wouldnt come off so i ended up cutting the old shocks shaft.

BlkBird2000

iTrader: (10)

My car only had 50k miles on it when I installed strano springs. The nut on the of the shock was a rusted pos. For anyone planning on installing new springs with old shocks, save yourself the hassle and buy shocks while you're at it.

jam01

ill try to explain as best i can.

you also need to remove the castle nut on the steering knuckle, and seperate it from the ball joint.
first there are four fasteners at the top, four are nuts which are 15mm, the driver side has a torx bolt and one is under the master cyl. i unbolted that and moved it so i could get to the bolt, the passenger side has the ac lines going over one of them, a flex head ratchet wrench work good on that one.

the lower two bolts are 15mm nuts with a 14mm bolt going through the a arm. just loosen and they came out. the shock assembly comes out as a unit, mine had some road dirt and rust on top which i cleaned off to get at the top nut. of course that was rusted and was a bitch to remove, the passenger side i had to cut the nut off. where the shock slides through the rubber isolator it has a metal sleeve that mine decided to rust itself together with, i had to cut the shaft that was inside the spring along with buried in the rubber. i basically had to pry the rubber out of the way to see the lower part of the shaft. that is what took the most time, while not destroying the rubber which i did on the passenger side ( i need to replace that ).

once all that is done just reassemble which should be easier because your using a new nut and washer, reinstall the assembly onto the car and your done.
i hope this helps everyone.

i forgot to mention, make sure you have the spring compressed before loosening the top nut. those springs are loaded and will hurt you or someone else if you dont.

BIG_MIKE2005

iTrader: (116)

Yep, the upper mounts are notorious for rusting out, usually its pretty common to replace them at the same time as the shocks. These cars are getting older & older every day & the rust can be worse if its a coastal car as well.

Frogger

sounds good jam. gave you a workout eh? ill be sure and try to retain the factory rubber. I dont think new ones come with the new shocks all the time

SSmokin99

iTrader: (7)

I just did my shocks/springs recently and that top nut was a real POS! I recommend people to get new shocks when doing a spring swap. Now, that I did the swap and had to re-do the fronts for a second time it's a piece of cake now.

jam01

no the shocks didnt come with new rubber mounts, but i do need to replace them. i also forgot to mention since i reused the rubber mounts i used a air hammer to push the rest of the shock out of it.

jam01

ok its been a few months and i finally replaced my upper shock mounts. i guess im lucky i have a spring compressor that is hydraulic, it works great and made the job easier. i used anti seize on the shaft of the shock that goes inside the mount, i am hopeful it wont rust together like it did this last time and cause such a pain in my a--. so know my ride is almost a joy to drive again, i think i need a trans and a torque arm mount. the shocks i bought from mr strano are performing great, while i do not auto cross they have given me the confidence in my car once again. i guess my next step is to replace upper and lower control arms, since doing the shocks seems to be the real pain in butt.