RedHatch

I keep reading about these horror stories of people swapping their rear shocks out for aftermarket pieces. All the horror stories involve everyone having trouble getting the bottom bolt out of the lower shock...(lca i think?) How could i go about swapping for aftermarket shocks\springs without having to worry about having the bolt's head break off and need to be replaced?

TIA

shawnhayes

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=282388

It's a fact of Honda life. Read and prepare. If you have replacement bolts, a hacksaw, a hammer and a drift, proper sockets, big beefy arms, and a fat friend with big feet who doesn't fall down, and replacement polyurethane bushings, you can do it, waterboy.

(i.e. you don't necessarily need the press, but it makes the pressing the polyurethane bushings easier - the replacement is the fat friend with big feet).

Shawn

Eee Pee

It sucks. Make it easy, buy the energy LCA bushings, and be ready to go to town on the OEM bushings. Chances are, your bolts will break. Thats fine, cut the lower shock mount so there isn't too much left around the (now) broken bolts. Hacksaw, then have the remaining stubs and bushings pressed out. It isn't worth four hours each to try to press or dig or whatever the bushings out. IMO
And have a every now and then to ease the pain.

RedHatch

Are the rear lcas worth replacing? would that make everything easier? and do you know how much those ssr buggers cost?

Mrs. Vapor

Every Honda's nitemare are those bolts and bushings. Before we do any lowering jobs on Hondas at my shop, we always warn people about them. We usually burn the bushings out with a torch. I got those SSR LCA's. They are pretty hot. I got them real cheap from A-J Racing. Bought them for about $175 or so without shipping from British Columbia, Canada to NY.

b20em1

i had that exact problem yesterday when putting my new springs on. we got the front ones on in about an hour and we broke the bolt where the shock attaches to the control arm in the rear. We tried to get it out for about three hours. We then realized that it was welded on so i had to get a mechanic(my friends uncle) to get that **** off. It really sucked.


[Modified by natural, 4:11 AM 9/20/2002]

skunk2unerz

I've had that problem several times when changing springs or shocks. I just recently rear the bushings on my LCA's. Its alot werk if you dont have the right tools.