I got the struts today and have the springs just waiting for WED to roll around so I can install them. I have a spring compressor at work so thats not a problem. I do have a question about any tricks or problems I may face as I change everything over. I know I have to reuse the spring seat but what else? How do the Strut bushings look like when they have 10 years of use on them? Will I need to replace them? Also the dust boot is torn in half. Is it needed or is it fine to just trash it? Goin on a 93 touring with 115k on the ODO.

 

The only piece of advice I have is either remove the front swaybar or just jack both sides of the car up. It will give you much more suspension travel to work with. I have those shocks and springs too (with a few other things)and the set-up is great. You may want to replace the front dust boot and upper mount assemblies. They're not cheap at $65 each but when's the next time you're going to take your suspension apart?

 

thanks for the tip.. Any others?

 

I just did my suspension over the weekend. It wasnt too tough at all, but I did have to get new front dust boots. But I actually think that without them the car would have not rode well at all. I put my car up on Jackstands, actually for other mods I was putting in, but it really helped when I put on the suspension. Just plan on taking a little bit of time and it shouldnt be too tough. Oh and make sure you have a torque wrench.

 

I'd also replace the rubber sheets that sit between the springs and the shock perches...

 

I have run low on time to get parts for this project so I think they are going in on Wed regardless. I have a Digital camera and will Document everything from Start to FInish and Post pics when its all done Wed Night. If there is someone who can Host them all PM me so I can get them to you Wed night. Thanks.

 

Ok it was so easy I didnt bother taking pictures. I will post a pic of it lowered at a later date. First of all the fronts were a bit more time consuming but not hard. The first thing I did was remove the strut tower bar and loosen the lug nuts on all 4 wheels. Second I jacked the car up and secured it with Jack stands. After pulling the front wheels I took off the Brake line secured to the strut. its held on by a clip. The way to remove the clip without ruining it is to slide it straight up and out. I used a flat head screw driver and it popped right out. Then just slide forward and out the brake line from the strut. The bottom pin holding the strut to the control arm comes off fairly easily with a breaker bar and a 17mm socket. Then remove the top bolts from under the hood on the strut tower and then the center nut. Only remove the very top center nut as the one below it holds the spring on the perch and is under tension. Only remove that nut when you have it on a spring compressor. Now remove the Upper control arm from the frame. Its easier than taking the ball joint lose. Now with the Upper control arm lose you can slide out the Strut/spring. There was not room to take it out without taking the upper control arm lose. I tried. If the strut is stuck inside the Lower control arm just use a large flat head screwdriver and work it out by prying it against the lower control arm/sway bar link. The rears were a bit easier due to the fact they came out quicker. The first thing to do on the rear after jacking it up and taking the wheels off is to remove the covers and expose the nuts on the rear strut tower. After removing the 4 top nuts take the bottom pin lose holdng the strut to the control arm. The pin that is hooked to the sway bar will not swivel out enough with the sway bar in place
Remove the sway bar or at least take it loose from the mounting points so you can slide it out from the strut. I tried to make it work with a pry bar and it wasnt pretty. Now use a spring compressor to load the spring and take it lose from the perch. Now you can take off the top nut. And switch the spring out or in my case take the perches off and put them on my Bilsteins and compress my H&R springs and set them onto the old spring perch now on my new Bilstein strut. Now tighted up the top nut to hold the spring in place before releasing the spring compressor. Be very careful with the spring compressor. it may be wise to have this part done by a shop. You can take the assembly to them and have them swap out the springs/ perches etc. Now just go in reverse and re install the struts and all the Control arms, pins etc. Also Reference a Shop manual for all the proper torque specs for putting the suspension parts back together. Also double check your work before putting the wheels back on. I hope my experience has helped some of you. If you have any questions. PM me.

 

The Bilsteins actually came with a bottom spring perch and its larger than the stock perch so you CANNOT fit the rubber sheet under the new Bilstein supplied perch. Also the new Perch provided is Aluminum so it wont make any noise. Mine doesnt make a peep. It also ride Very Very Nice. I must say I was very impressed. I had a bad experience with some Konis on another car I used to own and since then I have always hesitated to do upgraded Shocks or struts due to the harsh ride I got from the Konis. But Bilstiens rode very nice without feeling like you were in a Dump Truck. Maybe its also the H&R springs being Progressive, Whatever it is this is a great combination. The car feels glued to the road. its unreal.

 

Im looking at the exact same set up......can you PM a ballpark figure of what everythng cost you......and was ANYTHNG else needed for the install? I hate getting delayed in the middle of an install for parts needed.

TY!

Also comparing to stock how much stiffer of a ride is it?

 

ZoomZoom-

I'm surprised you thought the Koni's were too harsh- which Koni's- the sport or the higher-end ones? I just put H&R's and Koni's sports on and they are just fine on the street.

 

I worked at a Tire/performance shop up till today so the parts cost me little to nothing. List on the bilsteins were 160 bucks each. Cost from Bilstein is 80 bucks each front and rear. Cost on the H&R springs is 218 bucks. I got everything at Cost so it didnt run me alot. maybe 525 bucks for everything and then I installed them. The ride quality is just a bit stiffer than stock but not very noticable. On the other hand the Performance is much more noticable over stock. I think the performance would be better than many coilover kits because most people dont take the time to have them set up correctly i.e corner balance and align after every change in ride height. It takes the problems with tuning out of the equation. And No you wont need anything in the way of parts. You reuse your upper sping seat and mounting hardware. My car was a southern car all its life and there is no rust on the nuts or bolts. If yours has rust on them I might suggest buying new mounting hardware for the struts and upper control arms. otherwise I think you will be able to reuse everyting. I would be happy to answer and questions regarding the install.

 

This was back in the early 90s with the Koni adjustables on a Mustang 5.0. And they rode so harsh I had to **** everytime I got out of the car. And I was just 19 years old back then!! A guy that age shouldnt have to pee all the time.

 

zoomzoom thnx for the reply! Ill keep ur offer in mind when the time comes!

 

Today was my last day at that shop in NH. I took an Engineering Job in NJ. I start Monday. I will still have a hook up for the Parts but it wont be at cost. I will be in NJ during the week and back in NH on the weekends.

 

Where abouts in NJ?

 

I will be reporting in at the Princeton NJ Office on Monday morning. I will probably be in princeton all week and then the following week I think I will be in Northern NJ. Not sure of exactly where yet.