I am doing a spring/shock swap in my '92 civic. Everything went well, from removal to assembly until I have to put in the bolt that holds the fork to the lower control arm (front). I've been wrestling with it for a few hours and no luck. I've tried using a floor jack to line them up, I once got a screwdriver in the holes but couldn't line them up enough to put the bolt in. Any tips?
Thanks in advance

 

get a friend to help

me and my buddie had no probs at all

 

Just moved to LA, I don't know anyone. Any other tips?

 

Well when I do this all I do is use my pry bar and put it in the front shock fork and turn the shock fork whatever way you need to to get the wholes to line up and then slide the bolt in. Well I hope this helps. Jordan.

 

unbolt the lower ball joint to free up the lower control arm.

 

Thanks for the advice guys! I actually loosened the upper control arm all the way to allow the lower control arm to droop just a little more without me pushing it down. Then after another 20 min. of struggling, I got it. The other side came together without a hitch. At first I was going insane because the left side seemed at least an inch higher than the right! But I let the car roll a few feet and jumped up and down on the doorsill to get the suspension to settle and now they're even, I guess it was the way the car was lowered from the jackstands the frame and the suspension were torqued a little and that caused the initial difference in height. All done with the front, gonna do the back tomorrow morning, plus new brake shoes (that should be fun)...

 

I would disconnect the knuckle from the lower arm and start from the inside and work your way out. Don't tighten everything (or anything) until all the bolts are through. You could also loosen the fork from the shock and re-adjust it from there... Good luck.