How to replace shocks and springs - need some help
How to replace shocks and springs - need some help Hey guys.
I bought my car with an AutoFab coil over system, and QA1 shocks. My car slams bad in the back when I hit bumps, and it's a DD on the street. I talked to Sam and he told me that the QA1's are threaded shocks, and most likely no other shock (Koni, AGX, Tokico) will fit in the coil over system. Anybody know about that? I took his word for it and I ordered KYB AGX's and LT1 Eibach prokit.
Now... My local mechanic told me around $300 just for shocks. Now i'm going to need to rip out the whole coil over system and replace shocks and put in new springs. I'm sure this is going to be a hefty price to get it done.
My question is.. Is it hard to take out the system I have now and put in the new shocks and springs? My family advised me not to do it myself because it can be dangerous (spring compressor). But I don't know if the case is different if i'm taking everything out.
What do you guys think? Bring it to a shop or do it myself. I'm gonna need some help or advice if i'm going to be doing it myself, i've never done shocks/springs before.
Thanks for actually reading that, lol.
EDIT: i will also be selling the whole system, coil overs and QA1 shocks after I take them out, if anyone is interested. Previous owners said they were great at the track, car ran 11.88.
I bought my car with an AutoFab coil over system, and QA1 shocks. My car slams bad in the back when I hit bumps, and it's a DD on the street. I talked to Sam and he told me that the QA1's are threaded shocks, and most likely no other shock (Koni, AGX, Tokico) will fit in the coil over system. Anybody know about that? I took his word for it and I ordered KYB AGX's and LT1 Eibach prokit.
Now... My local mechanic told me around $300 just for shocks. Now i'm going to need to rip out the whole coil over system and replace shocks and put in new springs. I'm sure this is going to be a hefty price to get it done.
My question is.. Is it hard to take out the system I have now and put in the new shocks and springs? My family advised me not to do it myself because it can be dangerous (spring compressor). But I don't know if the case is different if i'm taking everything out.
What do you guys think? Bring it to a shop or do it myself. I'm gonna need some help or advice if i'm going to be doing it myself, i've never done shocks/springs before.
Thanks for actually reading that, lol.
EDIT: i will also be selling the whole system, coil overs and QA1 shocks after I take them out, if anyone is interested. Previous owners said they were great at the track, car ran 11.88.
this is a pretty good guide
http://www.ls1howto.com/index.php?article=6
http://www.ls1howto.com/index.php?article=8
http://www.ls1howto.com/index.php?article=6
http://www.ls1howto.com/index.php?article=8
Hey guys.
I bought my car with an AutoFab coil over system, and QA1 shocks. My car slams bad in the back when I hit bumps, and it's a DD on the street. I talked to Sam and he told me that the QA1's are threaded shocks, and most likely no other shock (Koni, AGX, Tokico) will fit in the coil over system. Anybody know about that? I took his word for it and I ordered KYB AGX's and LT1 Eibach prokit.
Now... My local mechanic told me around $300 just for shocks. Now i'm going to need to rip out the whole coil over system and replace shocks and put in new springs. I'm sure this is going to be a hefty price to get it done.
My question is.. Is it hard to take out the system I have now and put in the new shocks and springs? My family advised me not to do it myself because it can be dangerous (spring compressor). But I don't know if the case is different if i'm taking everything out.
I bought my car with an AutoFab coil over system, and QA1 shocks. My car slams bad in the back when I hit bumps, and it's a DD on the street. I talked to Sam and he told me that the QA1's are threaded shocks, and most likely no other shock (Koni, AGX, Tokico) will fit in the coil over system. Anybody know about that? I took his word for it and I ordered KYB AGX's and LT1 Eibach prokit.
Now... My local mechanic told me around $300 just for shocks. Now i'm going to need to rip out the whole coil over system and replace shocks and put in new springs. I'm sure this is going to be a hefty price to get it done.
My question is.. Is it hard to take out the system I have now and put in the new shocks and springs? My family advised me not to do it myself because it can be dangerous (spring compressor). But I don't know if the case is different if i'm taking everything out.
A spring/shock job will cost a ****-load from local mechanics. I advise doing it yourself following the above posters links. That's a very good how to and it is actually very simple, but doing it the first time can be confusing and it will be time consuming. The hardest part is separating the steering knuckle from the A-arms.
The spring compressor is not dangerous at all, people exaggerate. Just make sure its on properly and you will not be hurt.
Oh believe me I did not think Sam was lying, he's a good guy, he called me to let me know my setup wouldn't work at first, I just wanted to shed some light on the situation. My only problem is, for doing it the first time, I don't think this is a good situation. I'm changing a complete system not just a shock, you know? Thanks though guys, i'll figure something out.
Staging Lane
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 70
Likes: 0
From: Hutchinson, KS
You can do the rear springs and shocks- piece of cake. For the fronts I would recommend taking the whole assembly with your new shocks/springs/hardware to a trusted suspension shop. Take the assembly home and bolt it all back together. It cost me 5$ a piece, for a 10$ grand total. My father almost killed himself using a spring compressor in his earlier years. I would rather pay the 10 dollars and know that it was done right.
Just my .02
Just my .02
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 314
Likes: 0
From: Ottawa
I did shocks/springs on mine just this spring. Had a buddy come over to help. Rears are a 1-2 hour job for a novice (as I was, being my first time replacing shocks/springs). Fronts are a little more time consuming. But the guide at ls1howto.com will take you through all you need to know. And for what it's worth, get the pickle fork. Took us all of 2 minutes to disconnect the a-arm from the "spindle".
You can do the rear springs and shocks- piece of cake. For the fronts I would recommend taking the whole assembly with your new shocks/springs/hardware to a trusted suspension shop. Take the assembly home and bolt it all back together. It cost me 5$ a piece, for a 10$ grand total. My father almost killed himself using a spring compressor in his earlier years. I would rather pay the 10 dollars and know that it was done right.
Just my .02
Just my .02
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To take the assembly out you will need to remove the two top nuts and two top bolts from each upper shock mount. You will probably need to remove the brake cylinder from the drivers side to gain access to the rear torx style bolts on that side (I'd recommend replacing them with standard hex head bolts like are on the passenger side when you reinstall, it makes it easier for the next time you go through this). You will also need to remove the two bolts from the bottom of each shock that hold it to the lower A-arm (You may need to remove the sway bar endlinks and turn the bar up to get the front bolts out), and the castle nut (you will need to remove the pin to take this out but MAKE SURE YOU REPLACE THIS PIN WHEN YOU REINSTALL) that holds the upper A-arm to the spindle. From there you can either take it to a shop to remove the top nuts, put the new springs in, put the top nuts back on, for a minimal charge, OR you can get some spring compressors and do it your self (either way is fine but if you are worried just take it int and have them do it). Hope that makes sense... I've been up for 18 hours though so it might not. Best of luck.
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