Time for another update:
First off, here is a pic of my battery maintainer:
Tools for Suspension Removal
Since I’m installing coils eventually, I need to remove my current damper and spring setup. I’ve never done this before, but I think I’ve got a good handle on mechanical things, so I printed the 6 pages from the FSM and off we go!
Front Suspension
First thing, take a pic of the three top mount nuts and the two bottom mounts nuts and bolts:
Before you begin, don’t forget to remove the clip for the line to the ABS sensor and the clip for the brake line.
Alright, time for the impact gun to get some use:
After removing the two bottom bolts, we are left with a front unit with some play. Don’t yank it around yet, we’ve got the top three nut/bolt combo’s to undo.
After removing the top three nuts (no impact gun needed), the damper and spring should be removed as a whole unit. If you can’t remove it, it may be that your jack point is on the lower control arm. That arm must be able to drop in order for the shock and spring combo to be removed.
Same thing for the other side and you are now left with two front units and an empty wheel well.
Rear Suspension
I found this to be much easier. Only three nuts/bolts to remove per side, versus the five per side on the front.
First things first. Jack up the torsion bar under the car. I used a piece of wood in order to not damage the rear axle. While it looks like I have jackstands holding up the axle, that’s not the case. The jackstands are supporting the car, and the jack is lifting the torsion bar.
This take some stress out of the rear suspension components and make removal a lot easier.
Quick picture of the driver side rear assembly:
Now it’s time to remove the upper mount nuts. Only two:
Time for the impact gun again. Used to remove the big bolt on the bottom:
After doing the same with the other side, I lowered the jack under the torsion bar, and pulled out the rear spring/damper assembly.
Here is what I’m left with. These are slightly dirty, but they will be given a cleaning before being picked up by a buyer.
All in all, a pretty easy job. I’ve still got to borrow a spring compressor to remove the tophats with the bearings on all four corners.
I’ll be waiting for a bit before installing coils, so I’m going to do some cleaning off the components, and I have to replace the passenger side axle. I might do that next, or I might start on the electrical components.
LED’s and HID’s vs. more greasiness? I think I’ll start on the electrical stuff.
