Logo

Well here we go with another article for all of you Honda lovers out there. I am going to tell you how to install coilovers or aftermarket lowering springs in your ride. I have installed about 3 kits and all of them were on civics so if you have a different make of Honda it should follow the same guidelines but may not be exact to specs for your ride. Ok here we go, the first thing you are going to have to do is make sure you have a spring compressor if you want to be done in at least 3 hours. They sell them at the local car parts stores for around 20 bucks, they look like a bolt with two hooks on them and you just tighten the bolt once its attached to the spring and it compresses it. The kit will come with 2 of the bolt looking things and it works pretty good considering it only costs 20 bones. You can do this without a spring compressor but you have to know how to remove the drive shaft to get the strut assembly out once the spring is uncompressed.



I'm going to set this up in steps so I don't confuse anyone:

1. Loosen all of the lug nuts on the vehicle

2. Remove the 8 nuts from the strut tower assemblies (2 can be found on each tower) The top of the rear strut tower is located under the trunk carpet and may require plastic carpet clip removal to access them.

3. Jack up the entire car or just one of the wheels or just two of the wheels whichever you prefer.

4. Remove the wheel or wheels from the raised portion of the vehicle

5. Take a look at the spring assembly do you see where it is connected to on the control arm?? This is the bolt you are going to remove. You may need to hammer it out once the nut is off with a screwdriver like I do.

6. Once you have this bolt removed the strut assembly should be loose. Now comes the tricky part

7. The ones on the front are the hardest to get out because of the fork that straddles the drive shaft. You have two options here; you can loosen the strut clamping bolt on the fork and hammer on that until the fork comes loose from the strut or you can get the stock Honda scissor jack out and use it to push the fork clear of the drive shaft and then kick the strut assembly out. I usually loosen the clamp bolt and take the strut out first then I remove the fork. Whichever you prefer. The rear ones are pretty easy to get to clear of the control arm with a little elbow grease.

8. Once you have the assembly removed now would be a good time to attach the spring compressor and tighten it down to release the 300 plus pounds of force that are on the spring. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE TOP HAT WITHOUT THE COMPRESSOR!!!!!! I tried this once and it shot my Allen wrench through the side of my garage. Not to mention how long it will take you to find the nut that was attached to the strut piston. Just hate to think how that would've affected my body if I would have been in the way. Anyways, once the compressor is attached remove the top hat with an Allen wrench and the proper sized open end wrench.

9. Now that you have the top hat removed we come to the point of are you installing coilovers or are you installing aftermarket lowering springs?? If you are installing coilovers go to step 10. If you are installing lowering springs go to step 11.

10. Ok so now you've got the assembly apart and your thinking "Jeez I hope I can finish this today" right? HEHE! Ok the coilover assembly should consist of the threaded collar, the adjusting "hats" that go on the threaded collar, the adjusting wrenches, the springs, and some of the kits come with three rubber grommets. Take the three grommets and slide them over the strut, next comes the collar. You want to ensure the collar slides over the top of the grommets, this prevents squeaking coming from the metal to metal contact on the strut. Next comes the "hats". Thread them onto the collar about halfway and leave them loose. The spring goes on next and finally the top hat but wait, do you see that rubber grommet that was on top of the stock spring?? Get rid of it and thread some rubber or silicone hosing over the top of the spring where it will make contact with the top hat. This will save you frustration of trying to line the big rubber washer up when you are adjusting the height of your ride before you lower it down to the ground. Now reattach the top hat to the strut and you have your complete coilover assembly ready to be reinstalled.

11. Ok so you have the springs anxiously waiting to be installed right?? Just slide the spring on, compress it, place the rubber grommet on and then bolt the top hat on, uncompress the spring and your ready to reinstall it.

12. Getting the coilover strut assembly on is a piece of cake since there is no tension on the spring. Just stick it back up in the tower and pull up on it to get it to clear the drive shaft. To get the lowered spring assembly back on you may have to use a jack or a buddy to get enough force on it to clear the drive shaft. The rear ones are pretty easy to get in regardless of the assembly. Hammer the bolt back through the control arm and tighten the nut onto it.

13. Put the strut tower nuts back on.

14. Reattach the wheels to the vehicle.

15. Check to see if you still have your fingers!

16. Remove the jack.

17. To adjust the coilovers you just have to raise or lower the hats on the collar, I can get to mine with the wheels on but some of you with the 19 inch wheels may have problems getting enough room to get your arms in to adjust them.

18. Once you get it set to the height you want it at, definitely go out and get an alignment unless of course you have big bucks for tires and enjoy how your vehicle pulls all over the road.

Article source : http://www.purehonda.com
By: Sean Fillner" HYPED1@peoplepc.com