stingfish
06-09-2004, 09:18 AM
Well I won't have pics up until later today when I get off work but I installed my Eibachs late last night. Eibach said they weren't shipping out until the 11th but I walk outside my front door at around 9pm last night and there's an Eibach box sitting there!!!!!!!!!!! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ride quality is very good... car definitley handles better - still fairly neutral to pushy, doesn't bounce around (although we'll see what happens 6 months from now - by then though I'll have Eibach struts/shocks) and isn't clunky feeling at all, very comfortable/composed during my commute to work today.
I will add pics to this thread to show the ride height and stuff at around 2pm today... sorry, I didn't take any install pics... I did this all by myself so the last thing I was thinking about was touching my camera with a set of greasy hands.
Anyways... it's actually a pretty easy install. I did it in 3 hours by myself. If you've never done a spring install, it will likely take you an hour or two longer. Here are some notes to get the newbies through it...
Tools needed...
spring compressors (you can rent these at any auto parts store)
17mm socket
14 mm long socket
14mm open end wrench
allen keys (4mm and 6mm)
1/2" wrench or torque wrench with 3/8" adapter unless you have 1/2" sockets
17mm open end wrench
ear plugs (I'll explain)
hammer (the heavier the better)
can of pb wrench (optional)
safety glasses (at least while you're compressing the springs)
REAR - The easy part...
SLIGHTLY loosen wheel bolts
make sure the car is in gear, parking brake on then jack up both sides
put it on stands
remove wheels
remove sway bar links from lower control arms... these links have allen sockets on the ends of the bolts... you'll probably need to use an allen to prevent the bolt from turning while you loosen the nut.
rotate the sway bar down and to the front of the car as far as it'll go
put jack under control arm to prevent it from dropping and sending the spring through you, your friend or a wall in the garage
remove 17mm bolt holding control arm to spindle.
you do not have to remove the shock bolt
lower the control arm SLOWLY and the spring will ease it's way out.
put the new spring in.
jack the control arm up until it is aligned with the spindle bushing, insert the 17mm bolt and tighten with a torque wrench... don't know the torque spec but give it some muscle
do the other side.
with both springs installed, put the sway bar back into the sway bar links... tighten links back up and remember these links have allen sockets on the end so you'll need to use an allen key to prevent the bolt from turning... Tighten them good... I thought mine were tight, but one was still a little lose and was causing a rattle.
double and triple check that the sway bar links and the control arm bolt are tight
put wheels back on and take it for a SLOW, short test drive and listen for rattles
per Eibach, you do not need to cut down the factory bump stops
FRONT - A little tricker, but not hard...
SLIGHTLY loosen wheel bolts
make sure the car is in gear, parking brake on then jack up both sides
put it on stands
remove wheels
slide the clip that holds the brake line to the strut tower off and push the brake line out (it's pops out when you push down a little)
jack the spindle control arm up about a 1/4 of an inch to remove the tension on the strut... loosen and remove the 14mm nut that holds the sway bar link the the strut assembly... the link is a LONG, very skinny vertical rod
remove the 17mm bolt from the bottom end of the strut tower
remove the ABS sensor plug (if you have one) from the spindle
drop the jack down so you can remove the spindle from the strut tower
cover your CV joint boot with a thick rag in case PB Wrench drips onto it
spray pb wrench or WD40 onto the seam where the strut and spindle meet.
let this soak in for 10 minutes, spraying a little more on there every 1-2 minutes while you're waiting.
put your ear plugs in... there are several techniques for removing the spindle from the strut but this is mine and this is how I've done it on 5 other cars.
cover the rotor and calipers with a towel
start banging on the cast part of the spindle... doesn't have to be a monster bang... just hit it good and the spindle will start dropping... you may have to hit it a bunch of times... don't give up.
you can also try putting a heavy duty flat head screwdriver in between the joint at the back of the spindle and spread the joint... this worked on my Cobra... but didn't do much on the Mazda
there is also a tool but it's not readily available at auto parts stores... your dealer probably has one
once the spindle gets to the very end of the strut, move the spindle around and the strut will come out
now you can remove the strut
open the hood
take a 14mm socket with an extension and remove the 3 bolts on top of the strut tower - hold the tower for the last bolt so it doesn't fall
remove the tower
compress the spring using a set of spring compressors
compress them well... you don't want to remove the top nut and have the assembly pop out and shoot someone in the fase.
lay the assembly on the ground and point the both ends away from anything you value (just in case)
using a 17mm open end wrench and a 6mm allen wrench, remove the nut on top of the strut assembly
remove the spring comressors (EVENLY) do one side for 20 turns the other for 20 and repeat until they come off
put the spring compressor on the new spring and compress
mount the spring onto the strut assembly and place the top late back on, snap the strut boot back onto the top plate
per Eibach, you do not need to cut down the factory bump stops
put the nut on top and tighten down
remove the spring compressors
mount the strut back in on the top
jack the spindle up, put the strut in and align the tab at the back of the strut so that it slides back into the spindle notch
jack the spindle WAY up, then lightly tap on the spindle and majically the strut will work it's way into the spindle... but again, you have to have the spindle jacked way up for this technique to work
put your 17mm bolt back in and tighten
mount your sway bar link and the brake line/clip
repeat the process on the other side
DOUBLE, then TRIPLE check your bolts... this is the front end (the end that'll really make you crash if something comes loose)
mount your wheels
drop the car
take it out for another SLOW test drive
No Rattles???? Good... throw it through the turns and enjoy the killer handling.
not totally necessary but the next day I would jack each side up one at a time and just quadruple check every bolt you touched.
go get an alignment... come on... you paid $15-20k for the car... spend the $50... you think it handles well now, wait till you get it aligned!
Hope this helps - Oh and since this install involves some potentially dangerous stuff (i.e. spring compression), I take no responsibilty for your own actions.
Ride quality is very good... car definitley handles better - still fairly neutral to pushy, doesn't bounce around (although we'll see what happens 6 months from now - by then though I'll have Eibach struts/shocks) and isn't clunky feeling at all, very comfortable/composed during my commute to work today.
I will add pics to this thread to show the ride height and stuff at around 2pm today... sorry, I didn't take any install pics... I did this all by myself so the last thing I was thinking about was touching my camera with a set of greasy hands.
Anyways... it's actually a pretty easy install. I did it in 3 hours by myself. If you've never done a spring install, it will likely take you an hour or two longer. Here are some notes to get the newbies through it...
Tools needed...
spring compressors (you can rent these at any auto parts store)
17mm socket
14 mm long socket
14mm open end wrench
allen keys (4mm and 6mm)
1/2" wrench or torque wrench with 3/8" adapter unless you have 1/2" sockets
17mm open end wrench
ear plugs (I'll explain)
hammer (the heavier the better)
can of pb wrench (optional)
safety glasses (at least while you're compressing the springs)
REAR - The easy part...
SLIGHTLY loosen wheel bolts
make sure the car is in gear, parking brake on then jack up both sides
put it on stands
remove wheels
remove sway bar links from lower control arms... these links have allen sockets on the ends of the bolts... you'll probably need to use an allen to prevent the bolt from turning while you loosen the nut.
rotate the sway bar down and to the front of the car as far as it'll go
put jack under control arm to prevent it from dropping and sending the spring through you, your friend or a wall in the garage
remove 17mm bolt holding control arm to spindle.
you do not have to remove the shock bolt
lower the control arm SLOWLY and the spring will ease it's way out.
put the new spring in.
jack the control arm up until it is aligned with the spindle bushing, insert the 17mm bolt and tighten with a torque wrench... don't know the torque spec but give it some muscle
do the other side.
with both springs installed, put the sway bar back into the sway bar links... tighten links back up and remember these links have allen sockets on the end so you'll need to use an allen key to prevent the bolt from turning... Tighten them good... I thought mine were tight, but one was still a little lose and was causing a rattle.
double and triple check that the sway bar links and the control arm bolt are tight
put wheels back on and take it for a SLOW, short test drive and listen for rattles
per Eibach, you do not need to cut down the factory bump stops
FRONT - A little tricker, but not hard...
SLIGHTLY loosen wheel bolts
make sure the car is in gear, parking brake on then jack up both sides
put it on stands
remove wheels
slide the clip that holds the brake line to the strut tower off and push the brake line out (it's pops out when you push down a little)
jack the spindle control arm up about a 1/4 of an inch to remove the tension on the strut... loosen and remove the 14mm nut that holds the sway bar link the the strut assembly... the link is a LONG, very skinny vertical rod
remove the 17mm bolt from the bottom end of the strut tower
remove the ABS sensor plug (if you have one) from the spindle
drop the jack down so you can remove the spindle from the strut tower
cover your CV joint boot with a thick rag in case PB Wrench drips onto it
spray pb wrench or WD40 onto the seam where the strut and spindle meet.
let this soak in for 10 minutes, spraying a little more on there every 1-2 minutes while you're waiting.
put your ear plugs in... there are several techniques for removing the spindle from the strut but this is mine and this is how I've done it on 5 other cars.
cover the rotor and calipers with a towel
start banging on the cast part of the spindle... doesn't have to be a monster bang... just hit it good and the spindle will start dropping... you may have to hit it a bunch of times... don't give up.
you can also try putting a heavy duty flat head screwdriver in between the joint at the back of the spindle and spread the joint... this worked on my Cobra... but didn't do much on the Mazda
there is also a tool but it's not readily available at auto parts stores... your dealer probably has one
once the spindle gets to the very end of the strut, move the spindle around and the strut will come out
now you can remove the strut
open the hood
take a 14mm socket with an extension and remove the 3 bolts on top of the strut tower - hold the tower for the last bolt so it doesn't fall
remove the tower
compress the spring using a set of spring compressors
compress them well... you don't want to remove the top nut and have the assembly pop out and shoot someone in the fase.
lay the assembly on the ground and point the both ends away from anything you value (just in case)
using a 17mm open end wrench and a 6mm allen wrench, remove the nut on top of the strut assembly
remove the spring comressors (EVENLY) do one side for 20 turns the other for 20 and repeat until they come off
put the spring compressor on the new spring and compress
mount the spring onto the strut assembly and place the top late back on, snap the strut boot back onto the top plate
per Eibach, you do not need to cut down the factory bump stops
put the nut on top and tighten down
remove the spring compressors
mount the strut back in on the top
jack the spindle up, put the strut in and align the tab at the back of the strut so that it slides back into the spindle notch
jack the spindle WAY up, then lightly tap on the spindle and majically the strut will work it's way into the spindle... but again, you have to have the spindle jacked way up for this technique to work
put your 17mm bolt back in and tighten
mount your sway bar link and the brake line/clip
repeat the process on the other side
DOUBLE, then TRIPLE check your bolts... this is the front end (the end that'll really make you crash if something comes loose)
mount your wheels
drop the car
take it out for another SLOW test drive
No Rattles???? Good... throw it through the turns and enjoy the killer handling.
not totally necessary but the next day I would jack each side up one at a time and just quadruple check every bolt you touched.
go get an alignment... come on... you paid $15-20k for the car... spend the $50... you think it handles well now, wait till you get it aligned!
Hope this helps - Oh and since this install involves some potentially dangerous stuff (i.e. spring compression), I take no responsibilty for your own actions.