jchrisos

I've purchased new shocks for my car which has about 66,000 miles from Strano. I will be installing them myself and have read quite a bit about the installation of shocks as well as springs.

I do 99% of the work on my car myself and I am mechanically inclined. However, I read all these disclaimers about compressing the springs, the force they posess (while compressed), possibly getting hurt and/or not doing this unless you've been trained to do so.

I'm pretty confident in my abilities and believe I will be okay when working with the springs and the compressor. Other than keeping the compressors 180 degrees apart, compressing them evenly and using an "external" type compressor, are there any other pointers anyone can give??

Thanks all!

porksoda

All I can say is good luck! I installed my rear shocks without a problem but the fronts were a different story. The rear is only 2 bolts but the fronts are a bitch because the nut on top gets so rusted you can't bust it loose. So unless you plan on compressing the spring and cutting the nut off then I'd just take the spring assembly to a shop and have them mount them for you. Like I said I tried doing it myself too but the fronts are just too big a problem. I even rented the spring compressors from autozone and compressed as much as it would go but like I said there was just so much rust it was impossible to un-screw.

jchrisos

Ha! Thats something I never thought of - bringing the assembly rather than the whole car :-) That will definitely be my "Plan B". I'll see how far I can get with Liquid wrench and/or WD-40.

Thanks for the tip!

porksoda

It only cost me $40 to get both shocks mounted in the springs. Like I said I did it last weekend and couldn't budge the nut at all. I mean the whole thing was rust! You couldn't even see the threads that the nut was on anymore! I used the write up on ls1howto.com. It helped me alot.

OBE1 95Z28

I've done it both ways, using spring compressors and taking the assembly down to a shop. Either way, you need to ensure that the assembly is oriented properly when reassembled. The orientation of the top mounted flange and the bottom shock mounts can't be adjusted once the assembly is complete. I had a shop hand the assembly to me in the wrong orientation, which I immediately recognized, and had to convience the shop that it was wrong Since then I prefer to do it myself. I found that using grease on the threads of the spring compressors greatly eases the job.

Bud M

When I did mine I was fortunate enough to have the use of an experienced mechanic at his shop with a wall mounted spring compressor. It took liquid wrench and an impact wrench to get the top shock mounts off. I would recommend paying to have it done instead of buying a spring compressor that in all likelyhood you will use only once.
And like what was already said, make sure the orientation of lower shock mount to upper is correct.

pattracing212

yeah like they said, you can take the assemblies to any shop and have it done for 10 or 20 dollars. i used a spring compressor on a scoin tc lowering kit, it went fine...i still have all of my limbs. seriously, just take it slow and make sure you have them compressing evenly on both sides. also, do it away from other people. make sure that they are not going in the direction of where any would be at

gt_biker13

If you do decide to compress the springs yourself then just make sure that everything is secure and if the spring starts to bend out too much then decompress it and change the orentation of the clamps. Its really not difficlut with the right equipment.

Injuneer

I've used a Lisle strut spring compressor on the 4th Gen with good results. I like the fact that the u-bolts lock positively to the coils and can't come loose.



Before you do anything to disassemble the spring/shock assembly, be sure to mark the orientation of the top and bottom seats and the spring to insure it is reassembled with the seats in the correct orientation.

jchrisos

Thanks everyone for your tips, it is VERY much appreciated! I will be sure to mark the orientation - you all just saved me prolly an hour or two :-) If it helps anyone else in the future, one of the how-tos I read and also Strano pointed out to use anti-cease when reinstalling the top mount.

Injuneer - I read your how-to and I agree that the u-bolts are some added security :-) I'll definitely try to find your type of compressor!

NJLT1SS

I bought one of these from Harbor Freight when I did my front shocks:



Worth every penny.



Nick