Hey guys i have brand new shocks for my civic and was wondering if I have to preload my shocks? I’ve searched the internet but they only explain for coil overs. Mine is just del sol shocks. Do I have to preload? And if I do how would I do it? I’ve searched online but I couldn’t find an answer. Any advice and tips certainly helps. Thank you

 

Stock suspension can’t be “preloaded” however when installing the weight of the car needs to be on the shock, this will keep the bushings properly clocked and prevent them from tearing sooner rather than later.

 

How would I go about doing that? I’ve searched couple of step by step on shock replacing on these civics but none of them mention about having to do that

 

You would torque everything down at ride height

 

If you don’t have a ramp, load the shock by jacking up from the lower control arm until it lifts off the jack stand.

 

As far as my knowledge goes, I should measure from the wheel bearing to the top arc of the fender but couldn’t find the specs... this is my first project car and I want to do everything correct and don’t want to cut any corners. How important is this step of having to torque it down at ride height? If it’s not that important, could I just jack up the shocks about maybe few inches or so and torque it down? I tried searching online earlier and can not find any ride height specs... my car is a 1992 eh3 and sitting on 15 inch wheels...

 

Also, I wanted to add that before purchasing the car, I don’t really know anything about vehicles and such... so sorry if I ask noob questions

 

It is very important to bushing life, however you are over-complicating the procedure. And your questions are appropriate, it’s not a problem to be a noob, your learning and asking relevant questions.

 

Okay, thanks biggie I appreciate you guys feedback. I’m going to tackle this right now. So far, I’ve only seen the front strut replacements. Is the rear the same thing? As in I gotta put the weight of the vehicle before torquing down them bushings?

 

Correct.

 

Buy a factory service manual if you are this specific about vehicle repairs

You an also download the 92-95 civic factory service manuals for free by searching this forum

I don't preload anything. The rotors have screws to hold them in the hub for God's sake. The struts were assembled before they were installed in the car. It doesn't matter but you want to make sure the nut is secure to hold the strut tight on the spring mount

 

I was about to go installed them but I noticed my fuel pump wasn’t priming.. it happened last week but I fixed it temporarily by resoldering the connection point. I ran out of day light to work on the car. (Midwest weather right now is cold and snowy here in Kansas...) I’ll test it tomorrow and hopefully it’s just the fuel pump that’s the problem.

 

This is how I do it. It gets it within a quarter inch or better I'd day. Nothing to hurt the bushings with.