i have h&r springs , and am useing stock r1 struts that are newer then mine.. now is it possible to do it my self in my driveway or should i just have it done for me??? is it very difficult?? i really dont like letting anyone touch my car but if i have to i guess i will.

 

You can't change the springs without a spring compressor. You should have a professional do it.

How is the car running?

 

Did mine myself without the spring compressors. It wasn't to bad if I remember correctly. All ya need is a jack that will get the tires off the ground and then be able to slide back out once the car is lower.

Bob

 

I am not sure if this will work on FD's but this is what I did with my old Civic.


You can take the stock assembly and wedge it up on a curb. Then just loosen the top until it pops. Make sure you have plenty of weight on the bottom because you don't want it to slip when it pops and have the spring fly off like a rocket. Yes, yes kinda ghetto but gets the job done for free.


Also, Harbor Freight sells some cheap manual spring compressors for like 10 bucks.

 

could i bring is somewhere and have them compressed , then just install them myself... or do they have to be compressed on a car... the last time i seen a suspension done in front of me was an acura legend and i think he compressed the springs out of the car then installed them. im trying to picture this in my head but its not coming out to well... i dont mind paying but there are so many idiot mechanics around me ( even the high end ones ) that im afraid to leave my car with them.

adam c .. cars running great now i need to bring her down to the ground a bit

 

So your struts are newer than yours? Sorry, couldn't resist. I don't know anything about suspension work, never done it.

 

btw when i say compressed i mean onto the strut .. forgot to put that in lol.

 

You wont need to compress the lowering springs. They should be short enough.

 

I did mine in my driveway. It's not complicated, but you will want a set of spring compressors to get the old srings off of the struts. I used a cheap set from Harbour Freight. If you are close to an AutoZone or something like that then they will probably loan you a set of compressors. One thing to watch out for though is the ABS sensors on the front. Be sure to disconnect and remove them if possible. Mine wouldn't come loose so I just had to be very careful not to pull on the wires while moving the control arms around.

 

Do it yourself, but I wouldn't risk the injury (or merely the hassle) of not using a spring compressor. You can buy or rent a spring compressor from an auto parts store for not a lot of money ($30?).

-Max

 

Only do it in a ghetto fashion if you know someone who can show you the right way to do the ghetto methods first. Otherwise use a spring compressor.

 

True dat. I don't want to be held responsible for someone breaking their leg

 

You can remove the assembly from the car. It's not that difficult. The issue is that the spring is compressed in the assembly. If you try to remove the top of the assembly, without holding the spring in place, the top will come shooting off. You don't want that to happen. Seriously, it could kill you, which would make it tough to finish the installation.

Glad to hear that you are still pleased with my intake kit

 

ok ill rent myself a spring compressor... but is it hard to work around the abs wires? i would now rather do it myself because of that, i am as careful as possible with my own car.. and i know some place would careless..

 

The first ghetto method I used was on my Civic too. Take the entire assembly, put a rag over the end you are loosening with a box-end wrench while standing on the end of the spring.

While loosening it's like that old Mattell game Perfection where you have to place the plastic pieces in the holes before the timer goes off and launches them all. You know at any time it's going to go loose. No matter how many of them you do and know it's just going to sound loud but not do anything it is still kind of sketchy each time.

With an FD I would just use the jack and car as spring compressor method.

For first-timer, use a compressor.

 

i am going to call some places right now, see if i can stay there while they do this...

 

Thats the same way I react. Everytime I do it, I still get scared when it pops Plus my neighbors think I am crazy cause I am standing outside in shorts and a wife-beater but I have my steel-toe work boots on for the extra grip and protection.

 

Autozone will "rent" compressors to you for free. They charge you $40 and refund it entirely when you return them.

No experience on my FD, but have done it on my A4. Not too bad. Just use common sense. There's a lot of energy in a compressed spring...

 

Rent a spring compressor from Autozone. It's not that hard, just be very careful that the compressors are on good and handle it with the ends not pointing at anything. Treat the ends like a loaded gun - it's really what it's like if the compressor breaks.

Install the new ones, and take the car in for a full alignment. Done.

Dave

 

Agree. Do it yourself. Just rent a spring compressor and if a friend has a small air compressor/impact gun you may want to borrow them as it'll make it go much quicker. Springs are pretty easy for the most part, there might be a couple little hang-ups throughout the install, but nothing that can't be overcome. As for the abs sensors, the fronts are the ones to look out for. They're bolted the rear of the front spindle. The problem comes when you the front upper a-arm, without anything to support the spindle/rotor/caliper assembly, usually wind up stretching wires on the sensor and pulling them out of the sensor. And those sensors are expensive at $200.00 a peice new.


Tip from me, make sure when you uncompress the new springs on the struts that the new spring seats on the rubber bases exactly right. I know moved a little when I uncompressed the spring and they shifted like 1/4" on the rubber base. Thinking it would be fine I went to try to install them and it through everything off for some reason, nothing lined up when reinstalling the strut/spring. So I ended up recompressing/decompressing the spring until I could get it to seat exactly right.

 

Don't risk injury. I tried removing stock springs a few months ago on my FD and there is just no way to do it safely - my opinion from my experience.

I bought a spring compressor for $20 and used hand tools. Wasn't that bad at all. Takes a while to compress the springs with hand tools but not that bad.

Do a search in the suspension archives or on Robinette's site for the how to. It is real easy. Do pull the ABS wires out of the front hubs to ensure that you don't break them. I broke one when I did my springs.

 

If do you not have a spring compressor, What about using two or three high quality ratchet straps??? Would that work?

 

Ghetto way in my garage......
unscrew bolt or bolts on top of shock (under hood)
jack car up
remove tire
take out spring (don't remember details here)
put in new spring
jack up suspension to seat spring and compress at same time
once the threads come through put the nut back on securely
put tire back on
remove suspension jack
lower car

that is a pain, and since you can get the compressor for free now I'd just go that route.
Bob

 

OK.

1) RTFM. It is trivial to loosen, then remove the ABS sensor. Leaving it in and hoping you don't smack it a few times is for stupid ricers. Its not even a minutes work to loosen and put aside, the same for reattaching.

2) As people have said here, most autostores will let you borrow a set of spring compressors for a deposit. If not, then find someone that has one, or go to a garage with each pair, and pay some trivial amount to have them do that bit. There are a few things stupider then doing spring work without the proper tools, but not many. When tightening and loosening, be sure to alternate sides, to keep the pressure roughly constant.

 

there is to much to worry about doing them myself.. i found a reputable race shop near me , that will do it for 225. so i guess i will just take it there , and have it done..