blandry23

Ok I just got my tires changed ad the guy said I needed new struts and shocks all around. The only problem beings he said it was difficult and he wouldn't make his guys do something he didn't feel confident in then doing. Has anyone here done their struts before? I found all around shocks for a good price but if it truly is that difficult I'll take it in to get done. So is it really that difficult to do the front suspension?

thatpoorguy

after checking the handy haynes manual the front suspension is your typical mcpherson strut layout. meaning its no different from any modern day car. if you're doing it yourself i prefer the wall mounted spring compressors, never trusted the hand tool version. they call them widow makers for good reason

blandry23

In the Haynes manual it says something about taking off the bearing cap to pull the rotor completely off to replace the whole shock. It looks like u need to in order to reach where the strut detatches from the control arm. If I take out the bearings to do this should I replace them and if so where ca I find them? I also realized the spring and shock are or piece so I'm just going to replace them both.

Cykodagr8

repack the bearings. just as long as they are not making noise a repack will do. there is also some good bolt on options for upgrading your suspension and is not that much more expensive.

blandry23

cykodagr, that was actually going to be my next question. my friend made the point to me that any man with a set of ********* and a love for cars doesn't replace something just to get the same performance out of it. especially on a sports car. i have heard that racing beat doesn't have the best quality suspensions but that may be because they were used on a car that was raced. i just want a nicer ride. im not looking to put it into any corners like a madman, maybe some higher speed turns here or there but nothing crazy. what would you suggest as a good place to look? And once again guys thank you for the input.

Cykodagr8

tokiko. they pretty much are the OE suppliers of most your jap cars nowadays. they are cheap as well for an added bonus.

blandry23

ok thank you. ive also been looking at KYB. are they supposed to be good? and i was wondering if there is any place that i could buy the struts pre-assembled cuz the only thing i don't feel confident in doing is compressing the spring. It's simple, but i don't want the thing to kill me. every place ive looked for every brand, the struts come as the tube only so i would have to compress the spring. if it comes to it i will take it to a place to just switch out the springs for me, but i would rather not have to pay the 90 an hour for them to do it.

Cykodagr8

kyb is good, but beware some of their shocks/struts tend to raise the car about an 1". and about pre-assembled, you are probably not going to find anything worth getting. i agree with you on compressing the spring, but they are very small springs so the most i would expect is a concussion and missing teeth.



i wouldn't worry about it just as long as you have the right tools and use them properly.



oh and i agree with thatpoorguy about the hand spring compression tool, its no good. do some looking around and get quotes from local shops. i know my shop charges $75/hour, so it wouldn't hurt to hit the ground running.

blandry23

lmao its funny you say that about the missing teeth and concussion cuz i was telling my dad that if i were to do it myself then i'd wear my motorcycle helmet and his bullet-proof vest. just today i went to a shop and they said for compressing the springs, they'd charge $30 per strut. they also enlightened me to something i didn't read on and thats that i would have to take apart the strut because i'd be replacing the actual tube inside the strut and not the whole thing. i didn't know that and it seems it might make it quite a bit more difficult. he made a great point that the bolt holding it together that i would have to loosen is more than likely seized up from sitting for 26 years. ive seen a couple spring compressors on harbor freights website. the reviews were saying that they would work for one or two times and then would seize up but it was because they were using them on heavy duty springs and that they didn't pre-lube the threads before using. have any of you guys actually done this job before or know someone who has? im pretty mechanically inclined so i have a good understanding of what needs to be done and can more than likely do it, the real question is the tools or lack of them i should say. if i can't do it cuz of the tools im going to be up ***** creek and i would like to know what im up against because the haynes manual is based off of taking apart a brand new car, not a 26 year old one. so i guess my question is what extra things am i going to need in case murphy's laws start coming into play.

Cykodagr8

a torch might be an excellent tool, but be extremely careful not to heat the shock up. there is a flameless torch out that you wrap a wire around said bolt and it only heats up the desired location. that would be the best bet for a job like this.