2 cents of info. Or it could cost you money. who knows. read with caution.
1- I did not lower the cradle to do mine (not sure if this was a bad idea or not)..I supported the rear frame with a jackstand. When the rear suspension is fully unloaded, the springs are not under any dangerous load. I unbolted the sway bar, then the lower control arm bolt. I just pushed down a bit on the control arm and just yanked the spring out from the top. There's a rubber washer/isolator holding the spring in at the top. Its held in there with one of those plastic panel push things. I also had to dig out a ton of sand and crap out of the area above the spring to install the gc mount. New spring goes in easy. (I actually have questions about that myself, see below).The shock removal is straightforward (are you familiar with how to get it out? interior removal etc?) 2 bolts on the top, 2 on the bottom. The whole thing comes out.
2- endlinks- I cant speak to the load/no load thing. I also reused my stock links for now because I'm not slammed. I plan to get the z06 ones, I just got a wild hair and didnt want to wait to install...
anyway I put front of car on jackstands at the frame. Have a jackstand handy on each side as well. Unbolt the sway bar. Put your jack under the end of the lower control arm and jack it up an inch or so. Loosen the upper control arm nut and carefully remove that bolt. The control arm might slap up so be careful. Lower the jack slowly until it is just holding the arm up. Loosen the 2 shock bolts. You may want to put a bit of pressure back up on the control arm to get the bolts out easy. I then removed all the bolts under the hood holding the entire assembly in. Yanking it out isn't hard, but it's heavy and awkward. You sometimes have to yank on it a bit. Once it breaks free you just tilt it out. I used that extra jackstand I mentioned to prop up the rotor assembly by the hub bolts so the brake line didn't hold it. I guess you could also use a coat hanger from the top too.
Spring compressor goes on. crank both sides until the spring can easily turn/move. the rest is easy. you don't need the spring compressor for the reinstall.
when putting the strut assembly back in, it's awkward. I found that propping it up, then laying on my back and using my foot to shove the upper assembly in place was the best method. (there's guide pins, line those up and it just shoves in there). I would also pull down on the control arm a bit while doing this. Once you've hauled those things around for a while, holding them in the air is tough.
3- yes, toe rod, etc... but I didn't undo that. not sure why it was necessary. I can't say if that's bad or good. Perhaps that's why my car is steering like a rear-heavy canoe. Maybe I shouldn't be working on cars. meh.
questions-
re: the rear spring bottom mount- i's a aluminum piece with the rubber isolator. Did yours (this question is for those who have installed as well) fit all the way down into the metal frame hole to the edge of the ring, or did they go in sort of halfway and allow a swivel type movement. 1a- Did you guys leave the lower rubber spring isolator from the stock setup in or remove it?.. Before I raised the rear of my car back up, the spring just kind of sat there crooked. I realize it trued up when I lowered the car back down. It also made a bang noise
can you take pictures of the whole kit before you install, and please measure the length/width of the supplied yellow bumpstop for the front shocks?
thanks
1- I did not lower the cradle to do mine (not sure if this was a bad idea or not)..I supported the rear frame with a jackstand. When the rear suspension is fully unloaded, the springs are not under any dangerous load. I unbolted the sway bar, then the lower control arm bolt. I just pushed down a bit on the control arm and just yanked the spring out from the top. There's a rubber washer/isolator holding the spring in at the top. Its held in there with one of those plastic panel push things. I also had to dig out a ton of sand and crap out of the area above the spring to install the gc mount. New spring goes in easy. (I actually have questions about that myself, see below).The shock removal is straightforward (are you familiar with how to get it out? interior removal etc?) 2 bolts on the top, 2 on the bottom. The whole thing comes out.
2- endlinks- I cant speak to the load/no load thing. I also reused my stock links for now because I'm not slammed. I plan to get the z06 ones, I just got a wild hair and didnt want to wait to install...
anyway I put front of car on jackstands at the frame. Have a jackstand handy on each side as well. Unbolt the sway bar. Put your jack under the end of the lower control arm and jack it up an inch or so. Loosen the upper control arm nut and carefully remove that bolt. The control arm might slap up so be careful. Lower the jack slowly until it is just holding the arm up. Loosen the 2 shock bolts. You may want to put a bit of pressure back up on the control arm to get the bolts out easy. I then removed all the bolts under the hood holding the entire assembly in. Yanking it out isn't hard, but it's heavy and awkward. You sometimes have to yank on it a bit. Once it breaks free you just tilt it out. I used that extra jackstand I mentioned to prop up the rotor assembly by the hub bolts so the brake line didn't hold it. I guess you could also use a coat hanger from the top too.
Spring compressor goes on. crank both sides until the spring can easily turn/move. the rest is easy. you don't need the spring compressor for the reinstall.
when putting the strut assembly back in, it's awkward. I found that propping it up, then laying on my back and using my foot to shove the upper assembly in place was the best method. (there's guide pins, line those up and it just shoves in there). I would also pull down on the control arm a bit while doing this. Once you've hauled those things around for a while, holding them in the air is tough.
3- yes, toe rod, etc... but I didn't undo that. not sure why it was necessary. I can't say if that's bad or good. Perhaps that's why my car is steering like a rear-heavy canoe. Maybe I shouldn't be working on cars. meh.
questions-
re: the rear spring bottom mount- i's a aluminum piece with the rubber isolator. Did yours (this question is for those who have installed as well) fit all the way down into the metal frame hole to the edge of the ring, or did they go in sort of halfway and allow a swivel type movement. 1a- Did you guys leave the lower rubber spring isolator from the stock setup in or remove it?.. Before I raised the rear of my car back up, the spring just kind of sat there crooked. I realize it trued up when I lowered the car back down. It also made a bang noise
can you take pictures of the whole kit before you install, and please measure the length/width of the supplied yellow bumpstop for the front shocks?
thanks
