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When i took out the rear strut today the bar that the strut bolts into on the bottom sprang upward a couple of inches and i could barely get it back down with someone else pushing down on it and me pulling on it to get the bolt back through. Does anyone know why it did this and what i can do so it wont do it again when i take them back out tomm. and install my lowering springs????

 
Rep Power: 417

its normal, its cause your shock assembly has room to expand after you take it off the car... i didn't remove the wheel when i got the rear shock off... when i put it back on, i just had someone stand on it.... the front does this too, thats why you have to jack up both sides of the car so that the axles drop down, giving you more room to put the shock back in...

 
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Thanks man, another thing why cant you jack up the car with a lift using the plates, or what are the benefits of jacking it up on the chassis??

 
Rep Power: 417

plates? what plates? well the whole car is attached to the chassis so if you lift the chassis you lift the whole car... if you lift it on a panel or something the panel might not be strong enough to support the car and will bend/brake. its like lifting a baby(kinda) you mainly hold him/her by the body compared to just the hand or leg...

 
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In your DIY it says lift the car by the chassis and not in plates or anything and i misunderstood that you meant not to use the actual things on the bottom of the car for it to be lifted and lift it from somewhere else. I got it now thanks. So that thing springing up is normal and basically i just need to use some muscle to get it back in place or is there any easier way of getting it back in? Another thing exactly how did you line it up to keep the top piece aligned with the bottom?? Thanks a lot man i i really appreciate your help!!

 
Rep Power: 417

for the rear, like i said... dont take off the wheels, this way you could just have someone stand on it while you put the bolt back on... standing on the wheel is much easier then pushing down on the rotor...
the front, you lift up both sides of the car... when you remove the lower two bolts, the axle(not just the rotor) should fall down, this will let you put the shock back in...

aligning the top/bottom by marking them... i used a ruler and tried to eyeball the center/middle of each peice and marked the edge of it my making a scratch using a pocket knife...

 
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That's the same problem that I had in the rear. Only thing is, no one was home to stand on the drum brake. I just took a crow bar and laid across it, my chest and stomach, and used all my weight to push it down while trying to get the bolt in.