Hey guys/gals! I am new to the board, but I have been reading the posts for awhile. Well, back to the business at hand.

I attempted to install my Bilstein struts and Neuspeed Sofsport combo today. It did not go as planned. I followed what the Haynes manual said. Remove the 2 strut tower bolts, unbolt the lower control arm bolt, and then I had a friend push down on the brake assembly to allow me to pull the strut out. I thought it was going to be that easy, but it was not! Well, the bolts cam out easy.

Now, the strut assembly is stuck half out of the tower bolt holes and the lower control arm nearest the rotor. I was wondering if someone could shed some light on the best/proper procedure for the front and rear removal and how do I get what I did unlodged? I appreciate your help with this!

Thanks

 

Don't know the answer, but welcome to the board, that is a funny a$$ name

 

Let me guess....the LCAs didn't lower enough to pull out the strut. When I did it, I had a friend use a 2x4 as a lever and push down the LCA. Then the strut came out easily.

 

You're talking about the rear assembly, right? Well, you have to unbolt TWO (2) of the lower control arm bolts...not just one of them. DO NOT push down on the brake assembly. It might damage the ABS sensor wire. The shock bolt and the outer LCA bolt closest to the brake assembly have to be removed...as well as the 3 10mm ABS wire bracket bolts on each LCA.

 

If this is for the front, you should take off the fork. There is a bolt that hugs the lower part of the shock.

 

*edit* no need to start a little war -ek9t

You do not remove the lower control arm in the rear. Nor do you have to remove the ABS sensor or bracket.

To remove the rear shocks/struts, simply remove the 14mm bolts within the hatch on top of the shock tower.

Then unbolt the lower 17mm that holds the lower ball joint of the shock tower to the control arm.

Then unbolt the 2 x 14mm bolts that connect the upper rear control arm to the chassis.

Gently press down on the rear hub assembly and the entire shock/strut assembly will come out.

As for the front, remove the upper 14mm bolts that are in the engine bay.

Then remove the 14mm bolt that is on the side of the lower fork (horizontal bolt on the back of the shock around the middle).

Then remove the 17mm bolt that holds the fork to the front lower control arm.

Remember to remove the 2 x 10mm bolts that are holding the brake lines to the shock body if the car is NOT an ITR.

Then seperate the fork from the shock and let the shock/spring drop down and out.

Simple job. Each corner can be removed and installed in about 15 mins.

Check here for some pics and instructions:

http://www.c-speedracing.com/howto/b18cswap/swap.html


HTH

 

Here is an install we wrote that is fully illustraed and tried by many HT.com members.
http://www.bseries.net/html/garage/spring.php

Trey

 

*edit* (look above) this is an informative post... it doesnt need to be locked up because of arguing... anyone have problems; please take it up privately -ek9t

 

Actually...this is hardly an argumentative post. I simply took longer to write my reply than red97gsr did. I didn't even know that anybody had even replied yet until I came back today. I was simply warning him not push down on the brake assembly because it's unnecessary. Why bother going through the strain of that when you can simply unbolt the outer LCA bolt that holds the LCA and the brake assembly/trailing arm together and the shock will pretty much drop right out by itself...no pushing or pulling needed. Trust me...I've tried it both ways before. And, I'm not telling him to remove the rear LCA's...just to unbolt the 2 outer bolts (oh...and the swaybar endlink bolt too).

Maybe you don't need to unbolt the rear ABS sensor wire brackets...you decide on that.

And, where is that 17mm bolt in the rear?

 

The way I did it was the same way IN VTEC did it, except that I needed a 2x4 to push down because the whole thing did not lower by itself or when we pushed down on the hub.

And I don't see what was so argumentative either.


[Modified by red97gsr, 10:42 AM 8/8/2001]

 

I can agree with the install procedure in the front, but the back kinda peeves me.

I'll outline my way and if some of you still wanna tell me I'm stupid...go right ahead.

It really helps to rent or buy an electric impact wrench with 14mm and 17mm impact wrench sockets. It'll also help you to bust loose that 14mm nut that holds the spring hat and spring down in the strut assembly.

1.) Loosen lug nuts (use lug wrench or 19mm deep socket).
2.) Jack up rear of car and put jack stands under jacking points just in front of rear wheels.
3.) Remove lug nuts and wheels.
4.) Loosen (2/side) 14mm nuts (USE DEEP SOCKET 14mm) on the tops of the struts. You might have to remove the plastic panels to get to the tops of the struts.
5.) Unbolt the (1/side) 14mm bolt that holds the rear swaybar endlink to the rear LCA.
6.) Unbolt the (3/side) 10mm bolts that hold the ABS sensor wire brackets onto the rear LCA's.
7.) Unbolt the (1/side) 14mm bolt that holds the rear LCA to the brake assembly/trailing arm. [elec impact wrench]
8.) Unbolt the (1/side) 14mm bolt that holds the rear shock fork to the rear LCA. [elec impact wrench]
9.) Remove the (2/side) 14mm nuts on the tops of the struts to allow the strut assembly to drop down. Have a friend catch, or you can painfully do both parts yourself.
10.) To reinstall, do the strut assembly first and then put the outer LCA bolt back. Go from inside to outside, as a generalization.

 

There are a million ways and combinations to do this install. If the job gets done and everything is safely attached at the end of the job the means of getting there is pretty irrellevant.

I have done 17 Shock spring installs on my different intagres and I have done it just about every possible way (I suppose that would mean there i\are less than 1 million different way ) and I wrote the best way for me and I share thaqt way on my website http://www.bseries.net.
If you read the bottom of the install I wrote up I say that there are different ways and this worked best for me.

No one here is wrong it is a matter of preference.

 

I followed Carlex's way...and it works really well. I saved myself a lot of time looking at the pics. Now if only those rear lower shock/LCA bolts didn't have to break and freeze onto the bushing...

 

did you use liquid wrench? does that even help? ima do a suspension swap soon and like to know

 

I used WD40 on the bolts everyday for 5 days before the install just to try to make sure I didn't have any bolts that would be stuck. I don't know if it helped, but I didn't have any stuck bolts when I did the install last spring.


[Modified by red97gsr, 4:46 PM 8/8/2001]

 

Yes, liquid wrench helps a lot! Do exactly what red97gsr said...WD-40 or liquid wrench should do the same thing. Then again, if the bolts are frozen enough...neither of them will help.

 

That's my car in Carlex's pictures and I haven't had any problems with the setup yet.

 

great thread! haven't seen too much fun around here anyway.. but back to the topic, i've tried both methods and i prefer G3-TEG's method because you don't have to put any unnecessary stress on the brake rotor.. the shock assembly just drops out.

 

I just did a suspension install on my 89 Civic lats night. I used liquid wrench on the bolts and sprayed them 2 times in 3 days. It helped alot except for 2 bolts thta were stuck. The bolts unloosened, but that were seized in the bushing. I used my friends angle cutter on them and 10 minutes later my whole suspension dropped out.

Def. use some liquid wrench on them. It can only help...

 

Blow torch!! cut that sucka outta there..u dont need it..you got ur new shock and springs HaHa

 

If you disconnect the swaybar or jack up both sides of the car. It will come out much easier.