Need help with spring install...

[SilviaSR20DET]

Ok i ordered a set of tanabe sustec springs and im thinking about doing it myself since alot of people said it was easy and wouldnt take longer than 1 hour. Do you need a spring compressor? From what i heard you dont really need one is this true? Also can someone tell me the key steps of replaceing springs. Any help will be great, thanks.

[Xren17]

Spring compressors are nice and you can pick it up for like 10 bucks. Or like I've done in the pass when one wasn't around, was to wrap the top of the strut with a towel and slowly loosen the top nut while aiming it at a wall (because it might shoot the top of the assembly and washers off if you're not careful and aiming it at a wall allows you to find the pieces). This is once you've pulled the entire strut assembly from the car.

Removing the struts from the car is pretty straight forward.
For the front if iirc, it's three bolts on the strut tower (inside the engine bay) and two at the bottom. Also remember to remove the brake line from the strut assembly. It's held on by a clip, just
used a flat screwdriver to pop it out. Most important thing is to
remember the order of components and which way they were oriented. The back is even easier.

Hope this helps.

[SilviaSR20DET]

thank you for your help i really appreciate it. One more question so how many pieces really shoot out? so a compressor would prevent that from happening am i right?

[Xren17]

I think there's only like 4 pieces, don't quote me on that, the bolt, the washer beneath it, the assembly top and another washer beneath that. Yeah the spring compressor will stop it from doing that. You might look into getting some new adjustable shocks too, they help alot.

[Var]

I wanted to share a story with you before you begin your project. My cousin who is a mechanic was watching one of his friends work on a car and he was changing the springs. What happened was the spring compressor he was using was in poor shape and it gave out on him. The spring slipped out of the compressor and it shot out into the mechanic's face and killed him. Just a head's up.lol Be careful cause springs have a lot of stored energy in them when they are compressed even a little bit.

Also my friend in college was in a suspension class where someone messed up using the spring compressor. It shot out horizontally and made a crack in a stone wall about 50 feet away.

Be careful.

[SilviaSR20DET]

Thanks for the safety tips cause i didnt know it can shoot out that fast.

[Xren17]

Quite scaring the poor boy! haha. If you're really worried, just wrap a towel around the assembly even if you do have a spring compressor and point it away from you. You're just changing springs, it's not that big of a deal.

[THX1138]

If there's an AutoZone near you, you can borrow spring compressors by leaving a cash deposit. It was $40 when I did mine about a year ago. When you're done take the tools back and retrieve your money.

It is possible that you might not injure yourself if you don't use spring compressors, but when you consider that you can use 'em for free it just doesn't make sense to take the chance.