Well i bought some Si shocks from here without the tops hats. Now out of a difficulty of 1-10 how hard is this going to be. I'm replacng all 4s as these prob have 200k miles on them. Any pointers are appreciated or if someone has done this before. Thanks!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by pumpkyn &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well i bought some Si shocks from here without the tops hats. Now out of a difficulty of 1-10 how hard is this going to be. I'm replacng all 4s as these prob have 200k miles on them. Any pointers are appreciated or if someone has done this before. Thanks! </TD></TR></TABLE>

Well I mean in theory it's easy... But you're prob. going to run into some seized bolts.

If I were you I'd buy all 4 lower shock mount bolts before I started and the front to lower shock mount nuts. (rears the nuts are welded to the shock).

I'd make sure I had some PB Blaster/ZEP penetrating oil and ideally access to a torch. Then you'll need a spring compressor.

Other than that just normal metric sockets/wrenches.

It's not very hard to do... I could prob. swap all four shocks out and have the new ones back in and back together in ~3hrs even not trying to race through it.

I HIGHLY Recomend apply TONS of antiseize to the shaft of the lower shock mount bolts when you re-install them... and if you're a safety nut prob. a drop of the lesser locking lok-tite on the end of the threads so it doesn't back out on you DO NOT USE THE NON-HAND TOOL BREAKABLE LOCKTITE.

And just a heads up... most people end up having to drill out/cut out the lower shock mount bolts.

OH and also do some research hear and read some write ups... there a bunch of really good tips lurking around here...

One of them is a write up on how to break the front lower ball joint apart with a craftsman ratchet handle... and take it from me... it's easier to use that method then it is to use a purpose built 300 dollar ball joint seperator kit on it.

 

How much does it cost for the bolts? I maybe doing this tomorrow as well as my inner tie rods. if not i wont be doing it til next week or maybe tuesday.

 

http://www.hondaautomotivepart...ORBER

6.69ea for rear and

http://www.hondaautomotivepart...R+ARM

6.23ea for front plus 2.39ea for front nuts.

I mean you can try w/o the replacement bolts but chances are they're seized.

and if you snap one you're out a car w/o a replacement on hand.

 

are you swapping just the dampers or the stut sping whole deal.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by schardbody &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">are you swapping just the dampers or the stut sping whole deal.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Strut and Spring

 

Go ahead and buy some rear lower control arms. Trust me you will need them when those rear bolts sieze up cause they will. Good luck.

 

i have never had a problem with the rear bolts, but being in the south might be why.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by schardbody &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i have never had a problem with the rear bolts, but being in the south might be why. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Maybe, im going to look at it as soon as it stops raining/snowing here

 

Havent looked at it yet and my car spent its first 185k in Phoenix and the last 16k in SLC and about 5k of that in the snow. You think I will still have a problem with the bolts?

 

and i found the installation thread https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1106020 is it pretty straight forward like this or is there anything different i should know about?

 

my car has 235 8xx miles and the front fork bolts were not seized, and i live in michigan most of the time. I dont know about the rear ones...just my .02

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by pumpkyn &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">and i found the installation thread https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1106020 is it pretty straight forward like this or is there anything different i should know about?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I was going to point you to that thread. Nothing really special about suspension work. It's going to take some time though.

Since you're going to be junking the old shocks, I would make sure yo uhave a hacksaw on hand. That way, when you strip the allen key on the top of the shock, you can just cut the shaft of the shock to get the tophats off to reuse them.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by spoonracer84eg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Go ahead and buy some rear lower control arms. Trust me you will need them when those rear bolts sieze up cause they will. Good luck. </TD></TR></TABLE>
haha that happend to me and my friends car, but i think thats only because here in canada it snows alot, and rust. i hate rust.
and yah so i had to change my lower control arms. so if u dont run into any problems like this, and not snapping the studs, then its 6/10 difficalt and time consuming. if u run into snapping the studs like me cause they are so damn siezed then yes its gona be like 20/10 difficault.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NonovUrbizniz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...I HIGHLY Recomend apply TONS of antiseize to the shaft of the lower shock mount bolts when you re-install them...</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

Thanks guys! Any certain antiseize? or any? I will be doing this on Sat and will take pics of this disaster. If something breaks then i guess i drive a 78 Chevy Truck for awhile.