next »

[crxgator]

Well I didn't have the tool needed to take off the top hat, and I figured this would be easier than trying to mess around with that. People say that you need an airgun to take off the lower nut because there is no tension (if the spring is already off). So I knew that stock springs would have enough tension (or so i hoped) for the nut to break free and come off.

Tools needed:

14 mm socket
rachet
torque wrench (not pictured)
knife / razor (not pictured)
Mobil 1 synthetic grease (red stuff)
Paper towels
gloves (not pictured)
garbage can (not pictured)



next take the 14mm socket and rachet and take off the nut. hold the strut with one hand and it will come off easily (only 30 ft/lbs here)



slide off the strut housing



looks pretty clean so far



take off the bump stop if you want lowering springs



cut off two notches (same as prodrive bump stops)



put the bump stop back on



grease the inverted strut and put some grease inside the pink housing. once that is done put the spring back on the correct way (make sure you dont touch the spring to the strut.



slide the housing back on



put the nut back on and push the strut down and torque to 30 ft/lbs



all done, ive only done the rear so far and it took 30 mins including clean-up time

[ed]

Moved to the new DIY forum.

[flutyr525]

awesome bro...nice write up/pics

[ssgtshields]

Is it alright to cut the bump stops like that? Did it effect the ride height and comfort that much? Thanks

[bigfishs]

Im gonna try this this weekend.  Do you need a apring compressor or car you jack the car up, let the wheel hang and just unbolt it?

[LiamWRX06]

i was just reading this this morning, i plan on doing this at my next oil change time.

[bigfishs]

Mine are clunking/sticking pretty bad.  Went from fine to sticking in 3 days.  I got beer and pizza if you (or anyone else) wanna come and  help out/hang out. The garage is heated.  Prolly gonna start fri night or maybe sat morning.

[LiamWRX06]

i've never done it before and have no idea what tools are needed besides what is listed at the top of the how-to.  but i am free friday night and saturday morning
my struts are dirty and i can hear them i think, i also want to cut one or maybe two of the bump stops, probably just one

[bigfishs]

Cool. I'll pm you my address. Prolly start fri between 5 and 6 pm. Shouldn't take more than a hour or 2.

[bigfishs]

We tried this tonite and it took around 4-5 hrs total from start to finish, but we did take our time and drink some beer.  Points to note

1. remove rear seat and seat back, -drink beer.
2. jack car up under diff and lower with stands under back sides near sills (there is a point with 2 bolts in it lets you drop her down onto with out using the side jack points and hence destroying your sills). Remove wheels. Give beer to liam and jake.
3. Spray lower stut bolts with PB or WD 40 and then use 2 19mm sockets to try and get them off. Drink several beers and scratch heads. The lower one is really difficult as you cant get a socket onto the nut. You have to put a spaniard (or wrench as you yanks lilke to call them) and use a breaker bar (or impact tool if ya got one) to break the bolt free. We had to literally have one person with 2 feet on the hub pulling backward on the socket while the other lay under the car holding the nut to break it free. It werent pretty. Wave bye bye to jake.
4. Loosen the clip that holds the brake line in place usin a flat head screwdriver and tap up on the clip
5. Do one side by putting a block under the hub and jack up a bit. Then undo the top 3 nuts using 12mm sockets/ring spanner.
6. Lower jack and strut will drop out
7. Repeat for other side. Drink more beer.

Liam will fill in how we took the top nuts off the struts as he figured it out.  When you do the reverse we added anti seize to the lower bolts/nuts and torqued to ~80ftlb.  Thanks again to the lads esp liam.  Looking forward to jakes new enclosure and sound proofing.

Anyone needs a heated garage to work in on the weekends let me know, I like to drink/share beer and watch people struggle then succeed!.  I plan to get my air compressor working and will hopefully have an impact wrench going soon.

Thanks again to Liam and Jake. No more clunking. Dont mention what happened to the rear tire........

[LiamWRX06]

ok, so when taking off the lower 14mm nut, take off with force on the strut so it is compress a little, and don't let go of compression until the nut is fully off.  DON'T start taking the nut off then stop and continue, do it in one action while compressed.  the threaded portion of the strut that the nut threads onto has a specific shape at its base as it becomes the piston (right at the top of the bump stop) that is needed to so the nut can be torqued down the correct amount; otherwise the the nut and strut just spin around.  that shape fits into the strut housing that has the same shape for it to fit in like a lock and key.
its a pain so take a look at how the shape is on the strt housing before you insert the strut into it
i'll try to find a picture or make one of the specific shape when i have some more time