I have a 1992 Accord LX that appears to have the rear ride height several inches too high. The car has been in my family since new, and as far as I know, has never had a modification that would cause something like this.

There is a big gap between the top of the tire and the bottom of the wheel well opening, and part of the rear suspension can be seen above the tire (sorry I don't know what that piece is called).

A year ago, I had new KYB oem-type shocks and springs installed, but this problem existed before with the original 23 year-old suspension.

Any suggestions you can provide would be appreciated.

 

That looks within the normal height that I see on that gen of Accord. Maybe 1/2" higher than normal.

What made you see it as abnormal? Are you comparing it to other accords of the same vintage? If the original suspension was like that from the factory...then its safe to say its normal.

The only possible explanation I can think of for a higher height would be if the car came with factory installed spring spacers to get the car off the truck. The dealer never un installed them. Whomever installed the KYB's swapped them over to the new suspension with the thought that they belonged there.

Check under the car for spring spacers. They're rubber blocks that go between the coils.

The spacer situation does happen. There are still people finding spring spacers on their S2000's to this day, for example.

How recent are the KYB's? Did you buy the entire spring/shock assembly? Are you sure for the right car?

 

Here's a random pic of an accord with your model and wheel tyre package. Yours doesn't look much higher.

Maybe you bought shock/spring assemblies for a wagon model.

 

Thanks for the reply, B. I will take another picture of the car that shows the whole thing and post it.

I looked for the spring spacers after you suggested it, but there aren't any.

The shocks I ordered are the KYB Strut Plus strut and coil assemblies #s SR4043, SR4045 & SR4046 which are specified for this car. The place that did the installation here in Dallas - The Hondew Shop - is renowned locally for knowing these cars inside and out, and even the owner said that the car looked like it had a lift kit on it with the new shocks and springs.

It definitely looks different than the reference picture you attached. The front looks correct, but the back definitely has something going on.

I remember seeing these cars by the thousands when they were new and I don't recall ever seeing one that looked like it had been jacked-up like 70s cars did when somebody was going to put big back tires on them, but this one does.

I will post additional pictures soon. If you have the time, please take a look at them. Thanks for your time.

 

Here are two pictures I just took of the car. To me, the car looks tilted forward. I realize they don't sit perfectly flat, but this doesn't seem right.

The thing that leads me to believe there is something wrong is what you can see in the picture of the wheel well and tire. Maybe I just never looked at these cars closely enough before, but should the suspension parts really be this exposed?

 

Hmm. Yeah, the ride height does look high now that you posted profile shots.

But, are you still saying that the factory suspension looked like that as well?

Maybe the spring rate provided by KYB is not quite right. The shop may have forgotten to clock the shock bushing...but that's quite a bit of lift for one bushing.

 

Just punched in the numbers for those strut assy's. The rears seem to be for a wagon. That would explain it.

 

Thanks for getting back to me!

That is absolutely the same stance the car had with the original shocks immediately before they were replaced. My parents bought this car new in August, 1992, and I saw it many times over the years, and maybe I just didn't notice, but I sure don't remember it always looking like this. Could there have been some repair work on it at some point that would cause this?

Surely those suspension parts shouldn't be hanging out in open view like they are. Could someone have disassembled something and not have reassembled it correctly?

 

Interesting that those shocks are for a wagon. That could explain a little. The place I bought them from, CarID, doesn't make any distinction between the different body styles. Would the ones for a wagon be longer, or have heavier springs, or both?

 

Honda Wagons typically have a higher rear spring rate...and the OEM rear dampers are different, not in size or length...but related to their valving.

I say this with some confidence because we own a TSX sedan and sportwagon. The suspension is definitely different between the two. A sedan suspension makes for a droopy butt on the wagon. And a wagon suspension makes for a raised tail on a sedan.

However...it seems you're right that KYB just sells one PN for all models.

Try checking coil spring part numbers for wagons vs. sedans on bernardiparts.com.

If they're different, it may point to a situation where KYB makes a "one size kinda fits" setup.

But if they're the same part.... maybe Honda wasn't that sophisticated in 1992.

Though I find the latter hard to believe because they have front different springs for manual vs auto trans cars.

 

I'll jump in here and say that yes B_Serious is exactly correct! The makers of the pre-assembled strut/spring parts are a one-size-fits-all. They pick one generic spring and apply it to all vehicles. I had that problem on my 96 Civic when I tried Moog's all-in-one. Looked like I was some jacked up 4X4! It wasn't until I got the separate springs that were for my coupe that it looked normal again. And yes they do have separate springs for manual and automatic cars.

But since your Accord had a wagon involved in the model line-up, sounds like they used that one for everyone to save money! I bet if you were to check the specs for a rear accord wagon spring, you'd see that it's a taller spring. Probably rides more harsh too!

 

The thing about generic one-size-fits-all springs makes a lot of sense except for one thing. At the end of the life of the original shocks and springs, the car looked almost exactly as it does now. The guy at the place where I had an alignment done immediately after I got the car (before the shock/spring change) said that the original shocks were "frozen" because they were so old. He proceeded to show how much force it took to compress the suspension. Might they have been frozen in the most extended position? If I then replaced them with springs with a too-high spring rate, could it then cause the appearance to be the same as it was with the old shocks frozen? Just a theory.

 

I have never seen frozen shocks that came off a recently driven car. I don't know how that would happen unless your car was parked next to the titanic for years.

Im guessing the bare shock was hard for him to compress by hand...and they probably stayed compressed when he let them go.

This is mistakenly diagnosed by many as "blown shocks". That's the normal operation of twin tube shocks.

And...that car probably weighs something like 500-600LB per rear corner. You cannot duplicate its operation via your hand.

 

Are you sure the factory ride height was exactly how the car sits now? Or did it look more like the car in the photo I posted above?

 

It might have been a half inch lower, but I was still able to easily see the suspension parts that are visible in the picture I posted. I questioned what those things were to somebody with more knowledge than me because I had never seen anything like that on any car of any type. It just appeared that something was wrong.

Maybe this is much ado about nothing. It's certainly not a major problem, but it's just annoying. I have learned to ignore it, but it is still aggravating.

 

The suspension parts being exposed seems pretty normal to me for an older Honda. I've noted seeing the upright and upper control arm on every old Accord I've looked at.

Fixing this and keeping stock height may require buying springs from Honda. But...it will be fairly costly.

 

Thanks for letting me know about the parts being visible on other cars. I guess I have never looked at them closely enough, and there aren't enough of them left nowadays to reference.

 

I've always liked that body style of Accord. Seems like you and your family have kept it in good shape!

 

Thanks! My dad died just a couple of months after they purchased it, so my mom drove it until she died in 2004, at which point it had 6,000 miles on it. My sister took it as part of her inheritance, and drive it until 2014, when she sold it to me with ~70,000 miles. I bought it for my 16 year-old son to have for his first car, and he just drove it to school and back for about a year, then we bought him a new car, and I have been driving it to work occasionally. It's in the garage at home and there is a parking garage at work, so it never sits out in the weather. It is a treasured member of our family.

 

Sorry to hear about your mom and dad. Hope you keep the car in the family!

 

Thank you. I can't foresee ever getting rid of it. I guess eventually it might be hard to find some parts, but at the rate it is being driven right now, it's not wearing out quickly.

 

Accords last forever. Google "million mile Joe". Unfortunately, he passed away.

 

I own a 1993 Honda Accord SE and had to replace most of all the suspension after I got it from the original owner and I also had the same problem with the car sitting high in the back after replacing the same shocks and springs as you did. After checking everything just to make sure nothing I installed was wrong I was left confused. This past weekend I finally decided to replace the new rear springs with the old ones I still had sitting in my backyard and I can say it made the difference. Laying the KYB springs next to the stock ones they seem to be the same length but the stock ones appear to have less coils. Since the shock is new the ride still feels the same. I know this thread is pretty old but hopefully it helps others.

 

I eventually ended up replacing the complete set of KYB shocks with coil-overs, which corrected the problem. Since they are adjustable, I was able to set the car to my preference for ride height. The car is a little lower than stock, but I think it looks nice, and handling is much better as well.