ucfz31s13
03-28-2004, 11:08 PM
Well, woke up bright and early this morning to finish the other 3 corners of the suspension. I did one rear last night so I figured I'd have enough time to do the rest today...and I was right! Just finished up a couple hours ago. I'd say it's possible to do all of this in one day, as I wasn't rushing around too much. I was also working alone so an extra pair of hands along the way will surely speed up the process...anyways, on to the install!
Here's the old stuff
http://www.mitchvision.com/misc/install/DSCN1065.JPG
The NEW Parts:
Front - SPLParts T/C rod's, Tein hard tie rods/ends.
Rear - SPLParts RUCA, toe, traction links
Both - Tein HE's
The guinee-pig :)
http://www.mitchvision.com/misc/install/DSCN1029.JPG
Front
Tension Rods are easy. 3 bolts, remove, then install. The only prob I had here was I stripped one of the nuts over-torquing the bolt. FSM says 65-80, and 80 stripped it. I ended up doing 72ish on the others. Don't be liek me and overtorque them!
Tie rods were straightforward too. To help knock down the end link here's what I did and it definately helped. Spray some liquid wrench and few taps w/ the ol' hammer and she'll fall right out.
http://www.mitchvision.com/misc/install/DSCN1050.JPG
Here a pic of the include spacer for the Tein tie's. It just slides in over the threads that go onto the rack.
http://www.mitchvision.com/misc/install/DSCN1055.JPG
Tein He's
To make things easy, when you are installing the new coilovers, bolt it to the spindle bracket, and then jack the lower control arm up and slide the 3 top mounting bolts thru. Much easier than bolting it up top and fighting w/ the bottom. One thing to look out for is the clearance on the camber adjustment bolts up top. Set from the factory, mine very VERY close to hitting the car.
http://www.mitchvision.com/misc/install/DSCN1048.JPG
Rear
No tricks here. Unbolt them and put the new ones on. As for the little rubber thing at the bottom of the strut tube, I put it in towards the brake. That's how the stock ones were, so I use them as a guide. The way the bolt is tapered, the long end covers it.
Adjusting the coilovers. MAJOR PITA, lol. I must've taken my tires on and off 7 times or so. I adjusted via the bottom bracket for the most part, fine tuning with the bottom spring seat...is this what you guys are doing too?
Here are some comparison pics of the stock vs. HE's
Fronts
http://www.mitchvision.com/misc/install/DSCN1044.JPG
Backs
http://www.mitchvision.com/misc/install/DSCN1013.JPG
And some completed pics
http://www.mitchvision.com/misc/install/DSCN1028.JPG
http://www.mitchvision.com/misc/install/DSCN1057.JPG
http://www.mitchvision.com/misc/install/DSCN1059.JPG
Driving impressions - Well, the only driving I've done so far was around the block to see if it tracked straight so i could limp it to the race align shop i'm headed to in the morning....
but OMG, the car turned into a go-kart. You point, it goes. It was almost funny how incredibly responsive the car became! Definately rides stiff, even at under 30mph, but need to get it aligned to really see how it feels. Hopefully tomorrow!!
I'm so glad its finally done, I'm tired, will update tomorrow after align! ...now I just need LSD! :hammer:
-Mitch
Here's the old stuff
http://www.mitchvision.com/misc/install/DSCN1065.JPG
The NEW Parts:
Front - SPLParts T/C rod's, Tein hard tie rods/ends.
Rear - SPLParts RUCA, toe, traction links
Both - Tein HE's
The guinee-pig :)
http://www.mitchvision.com/misc/install/DSCN1029.JPG
Front
Tension Rods are easy. 3 bolts, remove, then install. The only prob I had here was I stripped one of the nuts over-torquing the bolt. FSM says 65-80, and 80 stripped it. I ended up doing 72ish on the others. Don't be liek me and overtorque them!
Tie rods were straightforward too. To help knock down the end link here's what I did and it definately helped. Spray some liquid wrench and few taps w/ the ol' hammer and she'll fall right out.
http://www.mitchvision.com/misc/install/DSCN1050.JPG
Here a pic of the include spacer for the Tein tie's. It just slides in over the threads that go onto the rack.
http://www.mitchvision.com/misc/install/DSCN1055.JPG
Tein He's
To make things easy, when you are installing the new coilovers, bolt it to the spindle bracket, and then jack the lower control arm up and slide the 3 top mounting bolts thru. Much easier than bolting it up top and fighting w/ the bottom. One thing to look out for is the clearance on the camber adjustment bolts up top. Set from the factory, mine very VERY close to hitting the car.
http://www.mitchvision.com/misc/install/DSCN1048.JPG
Rear
No tricks here. Unbolt them and put the new ones on. As for the little rubber thing at the bottom of the strut tube, I put it in towards the brake. That's how the stock ones were, so I use them as a guide. The way the bolt is tapered, the long end covers it.
Adjusting the coilovers. MAJOR PITA, lol. I must've taken my tires on and off 7 times or so. I adjusted via the bottom bracket for the most part, fine tuning with the bottom spring seat...is this what you guys are doing too?
Here are some comparison pics of the stock vs. HE's
Fronts
http://www.mitchvision.com/misc/install/DSCN1044.JPG
Backs
http://www.mitchvision.com/misc/install/DSCN1013.JPG
And some completed pics
http://www.mitchvision.com/misc/install/DSCN1028.JPG
http://www.mitchvision.com/misc/install/DSCN1057.JPG
http://www.mitchvision.com/misc/install/DSCN1059.JPG
Driving impressions - Well, the only driving I've done so far was around the block to see if it tracked straight so i could limp it to the race align shop i'm headed to in the morning....
but OMG, the car turned into a go-kart. You point, it goes. It was almost funny how incredibly responsive the car became! Definately rides stiff, even at under 30mph, but need to get it aligned to really see how it feels. Hopefully tomorrow!!
I'm so glad its finally done, I'm tired, will update tomorrow after align! ...now I just need LSD! :hammer:
-Mitch