Sup guys,
Im looking to replace both the front and rear shocks on my 99civic lx sedan. For one, how hard of an uninstall/instill is it for a job like this? Does anyone have a diy writeup they can direct me to? Also...when it comes to changing the shocks, my car has 135k on the clock...would you guys suggest changing anything else? Like buying a new mount kit for each side? I definately dont need springs in my eyes as I know springs dont ware. Sure they lose a bit stiffness but thats fine...its the harsh ride from the shock Im worried.

Cliffs:
-Whats entailed to changing my shocks on my 99 135k lx sedan civic? Can I just swap out old for new shock and call it a day or do should I buy a new mount kit etc and or anything else?

-Diy writeup for changing shocks.
TIA

 

new mounts, thats up to you and how much your motor moves around
the shock and spring. you need a tool or a shop to take them apart and put the new shock in.
or you can get shock and spring already assembled from alot of online stores usualy called full coilovers you can raise and lower the cars height but they come assembled sometimes. its very easy and straightforward and self explained as you take the wheel off and look at everything. 2 bolts on top and the fork bolt at the bottom

 

Not motor mounts shock mount assembly...that has nothing to do with how much the motor moves around

Depending on the spring rate you can compress it by hand down onto the assembly itself. I do it all the time for m3s.

Defintaely not looking for coils as I dont track my car, need that type of handling ability or am looking to lower it. Just basically looking to freshen up my old ride and its blown shocks. New springs are definately not needed as springs dont blow only slightly lose their stiffness which isnt a worry of mine. So just new shocks...nothing fancy!

I cant seem to source anything for a LX on the net though. Looks like Im going to go with autozones gabriel shocks <shrugs>

 

NO AUTOZONE! try O'Rielly and rent a spring compressor from them, it's only like 40 bucks and you get it all back when you return it.

 

no autozone? They have good cheap parts like duralast rotors and pads I was going to go with and gabriel shocks. Sears I thought was cheap and carried monroe shocks which arent bad but they went ahead and told me over the phone they wants like 120$ a shock lmao!!!

I thought sears had a deal where you buy their shock they install it for free or somethin? This guy kept ramblin on about labor charges this n that hahah

 

here in cali autozone is the definition of fail. prices are ok but customer service and quality sucks. i haven't heard anything bad about gabriel shocks but i've always shopped at Kragen (checker, schucks, Orielly/ all the same company) and used monroe shocks. if the price is right, go to the zone. maybe thier associates actually care out there.

 

ah bad experience! Thats what I figured! Never had a problem with them so I was wondering what had happened. That explains it!

 

have you looked at gr2s?


they are great if your leaving it stock height, stiffen it up a bit and give it a better ride.

 

Screw spring compressors. Put on some safety glasses and zip them off with an impact wrench. I've done it at least a half dozen times and no injuries, just a few lost nuts...and marbles haha.

 

hahaha x2 compressers suck and are a pain in the *** to use,
i have done it a few times, no problems no lost bolts.


just stand on the end of the shock, with a impact just hit the bolt and the spring will pop a few inches out.

 

advice, since this is probably the first time the rear shocks have been taken out, and you live in jersey, spray some PB blaster on that rear bolt for the control arm. there is a good chance that it might be seized.

and you don't need a compressor. just a jack and a jack stand. shoot, you don't even have to take out the axles.

 

+2 , once you decompress the springs, life gets easier.

 

a guy at autozone in my area was sued a few months ago for telling a customer to take a strut apart without a compressor. The cust. almost died and he lost an eye in the process.the company didn't have to pay because he just got hired.

I've done it without a compressor and had no problems, but i do highly recommend using one.

buy the new mounts and if the old ones don't look bad just return them.

 

yeah well what about putting your stock springs back on?
with out the compressor thats more of a pain in the ***
then using the spring compressor...

 

^^^ x2 what he said!!!

 

Dude can you STOP GIVING OUT FALSE INFORMATION?!?!?!
Every post you make lowers everyone's IQ by like 3 points. I was thinking, "who would make such a stupid post?". Not surprised it was 98civdx.

GR2's are OEM replacements and they do NOT stiffen up the ride. You might as well say Gabriel or Monroe shocks do so since they are very similar.

I installed (4) of them on my girlfriends coupe and they ride great!! Very soft and it gave the car much better handling since her old shocks had 140k on them. I highly recommend these. I dont know much about durability since shes had them for about 4 months now.



Its easy to replace your shocks.
-14mm
-17mm
-Philips screw driver
-Spring compressor
-jack
-beer.

 

hey that's honda-tech for ya!

 

^^^^ LOL!!!

CivLXbro: If you really wanna do this PM me and ill show you how its done.

 

Its almost a self explanatory job. Fronts are easier then the rear, and if you want stock replacements i also reccomend GR2s.

 

get dropzones

 

Definitely not a self explanatory job. When I first got springs I wanted to install them myself; I took a quick look at the suspension and I was "fck this **** im out", and had my cousin install em.


Now I can drop all 4 corners in like 20 minutes with air tools lol..

 

Thanks alot for all the replies guys. Ive done suspension jobs on m3s so Im not totally clueless. Just all I know is m3s so Im like my civic...what? lol How do I fix that shet

As far as recommendations for shocks....gr2s are close oem replacements? Ive been looking into gabriel and monroe shocks. It looks as of right now autozone is my best bet as I can get all 4 (2front 2 rear) gabriel shocks for roughly like...just under 250$. Would anyone suggest just replacing the fronts and not the rears? Car has 135k on it if anyone didnt notice! Also...any links to cheaper brand new shocks to your recommendations?

Also, when replacing the shocks...should I look into replacing the shock mounts etc..? Im not made of money and its not like **** it just replace this why not also that, but I just want things to be straight with this upgrade Im about to pull the trigger on. Shes much needed it ;/

 

http://www.amazon.com/Koni-1152SPORT...3580970&sr=1-7


am I missing something? Ive been notified that if I was to upgrade to koni shocks for my civic I wouldnt need any further aftermarket equipment to make them fit. Oem shock mounts etc are fine. But see on an m3, the stiffer shock is to much for the OEM shock mount so you must upgrade the shock mount or kiss your tire tread goodbye not to long after. So im not new to the game just the layout of the civics needs!

 

what are you willing to spend?
these are cheap but nice
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/New-D...Q5fAccessories

 

If you can do an M3, im almost positive you can do a Civic since the suspension set up is so simple in 88-00 Civics. In 01+ Civics, Honda ****ed everything up.
GR2's are OEM replacements. I got mine on eBay for $200 and they ride great with some soft Gold line springs.
Do it right the first time and replace all four. Theres no point in just buying two. Save up a lil longer and get all four.

No you dont need to replace anything else when replacing your shocks. The mounts should be good for the lifetime of the car. One good thing to inspect is the bushings on the pillow mounts, they tend to get hard and start squeaking with age. Luckily, they arent that expensive at the dealer. But when I did my chicks car, only one needed replacement (actually, it really didnt but whatever) and she has a 99, so most likely youre okay.
*droooool* Koni yellowssssssssssssssss
I wish I wouldve bought those instead of my KYB AGX's.
You can install Koni shocks without upgrading anything. Nothing will break I promise lol... Im not sure if youre lowered, but you can lower your car with Koni yellows since the spring base is adjustable, and still have dampening adjustment if you want to stiffen up your ride.




Just get new shocks and call it a day, you wont regret it one bit!