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Do It Yourself Spring Install - Detailed Info & Pics

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Old 04-21-2003
  #31  
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I emailed a request to add this to the DIY section.
Nice work!!


added info:

FYI.....The webmaster has added this to the DIY section per my request.

Last edited by PunkingCivic; 04-21-2003 at 02:44 PM.
Old 04-22-2003
  #32  
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Question about step #19...with the L & R....is it possible to even put these on backwards and fit? I'm pretty sure you have to have it facing in the right direction or it won't line up correctly. Am I correct on this?

Matt
Old 04-22-2003
  #33  
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true, the bolts on the upper mount will only fit back on the car in one direction, but when you put the upper mount back on the spring, you won't know which way to put it on so the strut is facing the right way with the bolts lined up correctly. It's kinda hard to explain. if the strut isn't perfectly alligned with the upper mount piece, you'll have mad allignment issues.
Old 04-22-2003
  #34  
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awesome, im about to install my second pair of springs and this time i wont be paying someone to do it becasue of this
Old 04-25-2003
  #35  
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excellent DIY.. U R THE MAN!.. before this thread i felt really uneasy and unsure about DIY springs.. but now i feel alot more confident!. haha thankz
Old 04-29-2003
  #36  
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Mex Great DIY!!! My question for you is that I'm About to install my Springs and some one told me that I should put a camber kit on it because if I don't my wheels will fold inwards and my tires would wear down really bad on the inner part of my tires. Is this true???
Old 04-29-2003
  #37  
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yes, camber kit si necessary. if you drop lower than in inch, you'll want a rear camber kit.

if you drop more than 1.75", you want a front AND rear camber kit. I recommend SPC for both.. but i can't tell you where to find it.
Old 05-02-2003
  #38  
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thanks for the DIY, great job
Old 05-06-2003
  #39  
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one quick question about cutting the bump stops, what end do i cut???
Old 05-06-2003
  #40  
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doesn't really matter what end you cut. i just take off the smaller half, at the bottom.
Old 05-07-2003
  #41  
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i copied and pasted this DIY into an MS Word file and printed, just the DIY not the entire thread ... 22 pages ..... VERY NICE INFO, & THANKS.....

Last edited by AntDeezy; 05-07-2003 at 03:06 PM.
Old 05-07-2003
  #42  
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I just added a printer friendly version.. hope everything goes well!
Old 05-12-2003
  #43  
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Excellent!
This will help me when i drop my girls car on friday
Phil
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Old 05-19-2003
  #44  
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All I can say, is WHAT A PITA the intall was....the 2 front ones were cake, the 2 rear ones were a bitch & a half....but after cursing mor expletives than a drunk sailor, i finally had it done...all we need now is some wheels. Thanx for a great DIY procedure!
2 thumbs up
Phil
Old 05-23-2003
  #45  
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Best DIY I have ever seen on this board ... and I've been here since the beginning.
Old 05-24-2003
  #46  
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thanks for that DIY im lowering my car in the begining of june. and putting a full camberkit on it also. great job mex
Old 05-25-2003
  #47  
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beautiful DIY. nice job mex!
Old 06-01-2003
  #48  
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and now i get to use this method...to lower my civ vac w/ the help of mex.....
Old 06-06-2003
  #49  
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Sweet install pix
Old 06-26-2003
  #50  
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this is in the DIY section, so i am unsticking
Old 08-11-2003
  #51  
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thanks for the diy i was just about to go pay $80
Old 08-12-2003
  #52  
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Originally posted by SilverStreakEX
damn man $150, just to install springs??
I went over to honda to see how much they would charge to install coilovers, they said only 6 hours of labour (something like $400) toda. I was going to shop around though. Thanks for keeping the green in my pocket. How long does it take about?

I recommend realignment after doing suspension work. I worked a parts store and seen what happens to tires. Awesome DIY
Old 10-23-2003
  #53  
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hey, i have a 2001 civic, i just bought skunk2 coilovers, and u know how the stock front springs are HUGE? well these skunk2 front springs and skinny, but short...iono it says to cut the
Old 10-23-2003
  #54  
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oopz...continuing........



it says to cut the bottom part of the strut...the thing that looks like an upside down cone, (holds the spring) hopefully u guys know what im talking about........ne-ways it says to cut that just until the curve stops, so it would be a better fit..., but anyways thats not my point, the spring is small and the stock is huge...will it still fit?

btw it sayd it'll fit the 2001+ RSX and the 2001+ civcic EX (notice the EX) i have an LX im guessing the suspension system on both models are the same
Old 10-23-2003
  #55  
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its called the perch. you dont HAVE to cut it. you cut it so that its easier to adjust when you want to drop your car low.
ya suspension on all models are the same.
about the spring sizes.. eh all coilovers springs are smaller than stock.
Old 10-23-2003
  #56  
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i just installed my skunk2 coilovers today, im having some trouble with the rear. its lowered to the max, and theres still a gap between the wheel well and the tire...anyonw know why? i think this is the reason..............there were 2 kinda of springs, tall and short, also 2 kinds of sleeves, tall and short as well. the instructions says that the package comes with:
(2) short threaded sleeves - front
(2) tall threaded sleeves - rear
ok..so i used the long one for the rear and the short ones for the front, the short threaded sleeve same with short springs, and the long sleeves came with long springs. yes..the sizes of the springs were different. anyhow, i was assuming the short spring went with the slort sheeve and the long with long, is that correct?
Old 10-24-2003
  #57  
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yeah, long spring always goes in the rear. have you driven around yet? as soon as the car is lowered back onto the ground, the rear will always look high because the rear needs to settle first. actually, this goes for the front too, but it's not as excessive. after about 2 weeks of normal driving, your springs will have settled completely..
Old 01-07-2004
  #58  
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for my ground controls i Had that same problem
tall ones were supposed to be in front and small ones in back... did you remove the gold covering on the strut? I just a flat head to pry it out and the sleeves should fit right in and then cover the cap again and now the coilovers are locked in place, I wont be having this problem anymore because I am gettin B&G now
Originally posted by reloaded
i just installed my skunk2 coilovers today, im having some trouble with the rear. its lowered to the max, and theres still a gap between the wheel well and the tire...anyonw know why? i think this is the reason..............there were 2 kinda of springs, tall and short, also 2 kinds of sleeves, tall and short as well. the instructions says that the package comes with:
(2) short threaded sleeves - front
(2) tall threaded sleeves - rear
ok..so i used the long one for the rear and the short ones for the front, the short threaded sleeve same with short springs, and the long sleeves came with long springs. yes..the sizes of the springs were different. anyhow, i was assuming the short spring went with the slort sheeve and the long with long, is that correct?
Old 02-20-2004
  #59  
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Just to add..

On step 11, I would suggest using this type of tie rod separator which can be bought rather cheaply from any decent parts/tool store. This is the type my Helms manual recommends using as it has the least amount of room for error. While using both the hammer and pickle fork method will work, you risk a greater chance of damaging the threads on the tie rod end. The last thing you want to do is replace the tie rod end or drive around with this part partially damaged. Here's a pic of what I'm referring to:



Also on step 19, when your reassembling the strut, there are actually two triangles that need to be lined up with the knuckle mounting area, or hole on the bottom perch. The first thing you do is make sure the spring is seated in the bottom perch correctly. Then the first triangle on part 10 needs to be lined up with the second triangle on part 7. After these triangles pointing towards each other, there is a hole on the bottom perch(the red circle) that is directly centered below the knuckle mounting area. Align both the triangles with this hole and tighten the top strut bolt, then remove your coil spring compressors slowly while keeping everything centered. It is critical that these arrows be aligned with the bottom perch hole or knuckle mounting area. If they arent, the upper perch wont be flush when installed and the spring will not be seated properly inside the rubber isolator. If this happens, your spring will try to spin causing popping noises when turning and part 10 wont be flush inside the strut housing.

Here's a pic of what I mean. See the red triangles on part 10 and 7? The MUST align with the red circle(hole on the bottom perch) or the knuckle mounting area.



The reason I'm mentioning this is I just had to take my passenger side apart after recently installing Koni's and getting a knocking/popping sound when turning the the right. Even after indexing the parts correctly when diassembling, I still didnt get it right. Now if you use the above method you wont have to index the parts and should help ensure that the parts are lined up correctly. Hope this helps.

EDIT: I might be wrong in my post above about indexing. My Helms manual says that your suppose to line up the arrows on the top mount and upper perch with the knuckle mounting area(or hole on lower perch). I did this, and I still had some popping and what sounded like coil bind. After installing some Progress springs on my nepews RSX today, I noticed that the knuckle mounting area wasnt lined up with the arrows, but instead with the paint marks(see above pics, the yellow paint marks is what I'm referring to). So I installed them using the paint marks and he has no problems with popping. This got me curious so when I got home today I redid my struts using the paint marks also and now it doesnt pop, but I still had a little coil binding noise when turning right. Its no where near as bad as was, so it might be something to test out.

Last edited by flotsamm; 06-12-2004 at 07:41 PM. Reason: I might be wrong on this..
Old 05-11-2004
  #60  
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can some one help me what would be beter to but cailover or spring ????


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