Ok seeing as I have dropped my 3rd SVT, I thought I would write up the instructions on how to do it in your garage, yourself, in less than 4 hours!
Maybe the powers that be can make this into a FAQ so it doesn?t get lost in the archives.Before I go on I want to spout out the usual legal jargon:
I accept no liability or responsibility for injury and/or damage to persons and/or vehicles through use of this information. It is here for guidance and help, and is NOT gospel or endorsed by anyone or any company.
Read all instructions thoroughly from start to end (a few times) to familiarize yourself with the job. Make sure you have METRIC tools (using imperial tools on metric fasteners will damage them and then you?ll be SCREWED, pardon the pun!) and arm yourself with a Liquid Wrench/WD-40 type spray to spray all bolts and nuts at least 1 hour before you start work. It?ll make it easier trust me! Also before any reassembly clean all accessible threads and machined bores with a wire brush and the spray lubricant to aid in reassembly. Use new bolts where supplied. Never reuse damaged bolts. Also don?t try and do this alone. At least have one person to help you with the ?tricky? bits and another to run down the store to buy you tools/beer/pizza as you go.
First thing to do once you buy your springs and struts is to get hold of good MACPHERSON STRUT SPRING COMPRESSORS (these compressor are usually in two separate assemble to mount on either side of the spring you are compressing). Anything else won't do and you'll be pissed trying to jerry-rig any other type of spring compressor into working. The compressors are only needed to remove the springs from the struts, not to remove the struts from the car (once again trust me on this one, I know what I am talking about). The lowering springs go in without the need of compressors and the front NOR rear struts DO NOT NEED TO BE COMPRESSED TO GET THEM BACK INTO THE VEHICLE. Read on and you will see how to do this.
Also a can of WD-40 or similar (Liquid Wrench) is a BIG help to spray on all threads before you start work. Did I say that already. Well I can?t stress the use of this stuff enough. It rocks!
FRONT SUSPENSION
1. Starting at the front of the car, break the tension on all wheel nuts and open the hood and loosen the top bolts on the struts (leave the nuts on the struts). You do not need to hold the strut shaft with an Allen key, it won't turn at this point in time.
2. Next using a floor jack, place the lifting point of the jack under the raised box-section rail running under the car (behind the skirts) at a point a little forward of halfway, using a thin piece of wood as a pad so you won't damage the rail.
3. Jack up the car enough to get the wheel about 2? off the ground and then place a jack stand under the rail, in front of the floor jack (closer to the front of the car). You?ll probably be able to lift the whole side of the car off the ground but don?t worry the back will settle down once you jack the other side the same way. Remove the floor jack from under the vehicle.
4. Jack up the other side in the same manner.
5. Remove the wheels off the car and begin to unbolt the brake hose clip for the strut, and the sway bar bolt also. Both nuts (facing you) are 15mm, although you need a 17mm open-end wrench also to put on the sway bar tie rod bolt from the back side to stop it from turning.
6. Unbolt the steering tie rod from the knuckle and tap the rod out from the knuckle. Don?t worry about striking the end of the bolt, its dog pointed and so direct impact should not damage the threads.
7. Remove the Pinch bolt holding the strut to the knuckle and 18mm socket or box wrench is best here. Some ?persuasion? with a hammer or breaker bar may be required. Once the bolt is out, spray some lubricant around the top of the knuckle to aid you later in sliding (pounding) the knuckle off the strut.
8. Next undo the lower pinch bolt from the lower ball joint (found under the knuckle). You will need a METRIC Torx-Bolt set to hold the pinch bolt form turning. Remove the bolt totally and then use a LARGE screw driver or pry bar to separate the ball joint stud from the underside of the knuckle (place the screwdriver in the gap between the A-arm ad the bottom of the knuckle, but DON?T damage the ball joint boot). If it doesn?t come out all the way, stand up, place you foot on the lower A-arm and step down hard, swinging away the strut and knuckle as it clears the ball joint.
9. Now you can remove the knuckle from the strut. Using a large hammer, pound away on a flat section on the top of the knuckle to slide the knuckle off the strut.
10. When the knuckle falls off the strut try not to let it pull on the Tripod CV joint coming out of the Transaxle. To do this place it close to the A-arm and sit it on top of some bricks or wooden blocks. If the drive shaft comes away from the inner CV joint, don?t worry, it?ll go back in without fuss.
11. Remove the bolt holding the strut in the tower, then lower the strut and spring out of the car.
12. Repeat for other side
13. Mount a spring compressor on either side of the spring and clamp down on each side evenly. There is enough compression when the spring moves freely in the strut. (Even if it doesn?t compress enough you can still remove the spring CAREFULLY by pointing the top away from you and undoing the top bolt with a socket in you hand. It may spring, but most of the recoil will be held by the compressors).
14. Using a METRIC Allen-key place it into the top of the strut and then using an 18mm box wrench, break the tension on the nut. Then remove the nut form the strut.
15. Remove the top ?hat? and plastic bearing (you may want to clean the bearing with brake cleaner and then repack it with grease or heavy oil) remembering how the strut assembly all comes apart. Notice how the top hat is profiled to follow the coil and the ?step? at the end of the coil.
16. Unclip the rubber boot from base of the strut and pull off the boot and bump-stop assembly. Remove the compressed spring.
17. Remove the bump stop from the metal plate and cut the bump stop in half. Reassemble the boot and bump-stop onto the top plate.
18. Install (UNCOMPRESSED) new spring onto the strut (or new strut), lining up the end of the spring with the step in the strut spring seat. Reassemble the remainder of the strut assembly. You may have to push down a little on the top spring hat to get the top nut on, then tighten down with the box wrench and Allen key.
19. Install back into vehicle in reverse order of disassembly.
20. Bolt the strut into the strut tower enough to hold it in place, don?t tighten down fully. Clean out knuckle with wire brush/fine sandpaper and coat the bore for the strut, lightly, with oil. Guide the knuckle onto the base of the strut and tap the under side of the bore with a hammer. Once it is located jack the knuckle assembly a little at a time (place the jack under the boss for the wheel or under the rotor itself), hammering up all the while on the underside of the bore. Watch to make sure the tab on the strut goes into the slot on the knuckle and then watch to make sure the hole in the tab lines up with the hole for the knuckle pinch bolt. Once lined up slide in the pinch bolt.
21. Then reinsert the lower ball joint stud into the knuckle and tap up, with a hammer, into place making sure the groove in the stud lines up with the pinch bolt bore. Insert the pinch bolt.
22. Tighten both pinch bolts and reinstall all brake line clips, steering rod and the sway bar onto the strut.
23. Tighten top nut holding the strut in the tower. Double-check all hoses, cables and bolts to make sure they?re secure and tightened.
24. Replace wheel and hand tighten the wheel nuts. Lower the vehicle and tighten wheels nuts.
NOW TO THE REAR!
1. Release tension on rear wheel nuts and jack the drivers side of the vehicle from under the frame rails, a little further aft than was used earlier to jack the front.
2. Place a jack stand under the flat box section of the rear subframe adjacent to where the exhaust runs to the back of the car (when on the left side of car) and just in the wheel well area. Look at the underside and you will see what I mean.
3. Repeat for passenger side of vehicle placing the jack stand in a symmetrically similar place to the driver?s side.
4. Remove the wheel and set aside.
5. Remove the brake line clips and ABS clips from the shock bracket and unbolt the through-bolt from the rear swaybar. 13mm and 15mm box end wrenches work best. Remember to use the lubricant spray to make bolt/nut removal easier.
6. Next remove the strut pinch bolt from the knuckle, an 18mm socket and cheater bar or 18mm box-end wrench and hammer will be required here also. Slide bolt out from the hole and set aside. Spray some lubricant around the top edge of the strut bore in the knuckle.
7. Next take the ?ol? persuader?, your 20lb mallet (or large hammer), and pound down on the flat section on the top of the knuckle until it slides off the end of the strut.
8. The whole knuckle and control arm assembly should swing down and out of the way. Clean and prep the strut bore with a wire brush and some spray lubricant liberally around the inside of the bore.
9. Using a 10mm socket and an 8? extension bar, remove the two retaining bolts up inside the strut tower. You will have to crawl into the wheel well and look up to see them. Clean the bolts and set aside.
10. Normally here, other people and/or manuals would tell you to compress the spring to remove the strut assembly from the vehicle. But you don?t have to do this. My way is still safe and will save you about an hour in the removal process. Sit on the floor with a leg on either side of the strut. Grab the strut around the base with both hands and with short tugs, pull the strut towards you until it pops off the mount on the rear subframe. It?s hard but it WILL come off. Make sure the ?family jewels? are under the strut when you do this as a little of the stored energy in the suspension makes it jump down a about 2 ?, once free. Remove the strut assembly from the vehicle and set aside. You will probably notice that a flat plastic clip may have come off the strut seat replace it onto the subframe seat now so you don?t forget.
11. Repeat for other side of vehicle.
12. Using spring compressors like before, compress the spring on the strut, with a compressor on either side of the spring. Pay attention to the orientation of the mounting ?tab? on the strut top and how it is 180° opposed to the ?seat? on the lower section of the strut. You have to reassemble the strut and spring like this later, while also making sure that the spring hat has the ?step? located over the end of the spring. Everything will make sense when you LOOK CLOSELY at each end of the spring and how it sits in the strut assembly, BEFORE you disassemble it.
13. Once spring is compressed, remove the top-retaining nut using the 18mm box wrench and METRIC Allen key. Remove the spring, paying attention to the order and orientation of all components.
14. NOTE: The bumpstops do NOT need to be cut in the rear. I know of more than 3 cars with FULL bumpstops in the rear (including mine) and the ride quality and drop height have not been compromised. Cut at your own risk as it makes reassembly of the boot onto the bumpstop difficult.
15. Remove anti-squeak rubber/plastic sleeves from the old springs and mount onto the new drop springs. If your using the same struts, leave the bumpstop and boot ?as-is?, otherwise transfer the boot and bumpstop over to new strut. Place spring onto strut, aligning the end of spring with the notch/step in the spring seat.
16. Replace top spring ?hat? onto the spring, orientating the step with the end of the spring as required. Reattach the top-mounting tab and ensuring the top-mounting tab is facing the opposite direction of the lower tab/strut-seat on the strut.
17. Push down on top hat and replace top nut and tighten. Check to make sure everything is assembled correctly, compare reassembled strut with UNASSEMBLED strut from passenger side.
18. Repeat for passenger side.
19. Insert the spring/strut assembly into the wheel well and fasten to strut tower with the two 10mm bolts. Two people are required here, one to hold the strut up and the other to crawl into the wheel well, look up, orientate the strut tab holes to the holes in the strut tower and insert and tighten bolts.
20. Next place a thin piece of wood and the bottom of the strut, then swing the knuckle and control arm assembly up until it hits the underside of the wood and strut. While holding it there, place the floor jack under the knuckle and start to jack the whole assemble up SLOWLY. Once the bottom tab of the strut is above the seat on the rear subframe, push the strut in towards the center of the car, so the lower tab is over the strut seat. Lower the jack and the remove the piece of wood. The strut should be sitting in its normal position. WOW, no need for a spring compressor!
21. Next, make sure the strut bore in the knuckle is clean, smooth and well lubed. Get one person to lay under the car with a hammer while the other person swing the knuckle up again and lines the bore up as close as possible with the base of the strut. Make sure the locating tab on the back of the strut is lined up with the slot cut into the bore of the knuckle. While holding the knuckle up against the strut, the person under the vehicle lightly taps up on the underside of the bore to get it started onto the strut.
22. Once the knuckle is suitably located onto the strut, get the floor jack and jack up the knuckle (A LITTLE AT A TIME) via the bottom edge of the brake rotor while tapping the under side of the strut bore with the hammer. Watch to make sure you stop when the pinch-bolt hole lines up with the hole in the tab on the strut.
23. Reinsert the strut pinch-bolt and tighten. Reattach the hoses and cables to the strut and reconnect the rear sway bar.
24. Repeat for the passenger side of the vehicle.
25. Once everything is reassemble double check all bolts and cables then replace wheels and nuts. Hand tighten the wheel nuts, then lower the vehicle.
26. Tighten wheel studs as required.
27. Step back and marvel at your new dropped ride!
28. Test-drive and listen for squeaks and clunks. There shouldn?t be any (maybe a few squeaks will be noticed while the suspension settles, but there should be none that are to loud or discerning) , if there are, you assembled something incorrectly. Check and adjust as necessary.
If you have questions email me. Good luck, be safe and have fun. Oh and enjoy that $250+ you just saved doing the job yourself!
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Regards,
Anastazi sarigia@aam.com "Computer games don't affect kids. I mean if Pacman affected us as kids, we'd all run around in a darkened room, munching pills and listening to repetitive music."
2000 Silver Frost SVT #1126 of 2150
SHO Shop UDP's
Aerospeed Pod/High-Energy Intake
YoDude Y-pipe
Twin 4" Supertrapps
2.5" Dynomax Bullet Resonator
Bosch +4's/Taylor Spiral Pros
ES Motor Mount Inserts
APR 53" DTM Spoiler
H&R Springs
Pioneer DEH-P7000R, TS-6975's, TS-6855's, Ultimate SB10BS, MTX Blue Thunder PRO502
http://www.geocities.com/qikslvrsvt [This message has been edited by ATCC SVT (edited April 24, 2001).]
