ACR-Mark

I took the time to re-write the previously posted instructions that are all over the forums. I just installed Konis on my 2009, and noticed some differences in the strut tower bolts, upper control arm bolt sizes, and a few other things, so I thought it would be worthwhile to provide yet another DIY guide. ### Front ### Tools needed: 9, 12, 14, 17, 19, 24(15/16) mm sockets 5 mm Allen wrench 14, 17, 19 mm wrenches 12 mm drill bit & drill Torque Wrench Spring compressors Jack Stands Floor jack 1) Jack up the front of the car, I slide the jack under the front cross brace and jacked up there, install jack stands to secure the car (at designated jacking points on side). 2) Remove front wheels. 3) Pop the hood, and remove the engine cover. 4) Remove the strut tower bar (2x14mm on each side and 2x14mm in front of wipers). 5) On the lower control arm remove the 17mm bolt that holds the base of the strut on. 6) Remove the two upper control arm 17mm bolts. 7) Remove the 3 upper hat 14mm nuts, pull bottom of strut out a little bit, after this the strut assembly should drop down a bit and you should be able to angle it out (top first) by moving the control arms out. 8) Use a paint pen to mark the top plate, rubber isolator, and the spring before you disassemble the strut. Make 1 continuous line, then you don't have to guess where to align everything up...I marked it in 2 places on 1 side, then 1 place on the opposite side. This way, there are 3 reference points to help get it perfectly aligned when putting it back together. 9) Use a spring compressor while dis-assembling the struts. 10) Carefully undo the 17mm at the top of the strut assembly. The strut shaft can be kept from spinning with a 5mm hex. Take note of the assembly order, or the stackup of parts as you pull them off of the original strut. The order in which they get put back is very important. 11) You will need to drill out the hole in the stock bump stop cap to 12mm. 12) Reassemble the front strut using the new parts that Koni supplies, and the rest comes off the original strut. Do not re-use the large metal washers that came off the original strut. First slide the white plastic washer on, then the bump stop, the cap (which was drilled out), then the black rubber donut. You can put the new metal sleeve inside the donut now. Slide the spring on, then the strut top plate (with rubber isolator). Next comes another black donut, the new large metal washer, then the new lock washer and nut. Torque top nut to 37 ft/lb. New top nut is 19mm, and the Koni shaft can be held from spinning with a 9mm wrench on the hex (near the rebound adjuster). 13) The reinstallation is the opposite of the removal, first slide the strut assembly back through the upper control arm and under the fender. 14) Screw on the 3 14mm bolts for the upper hat, torque to 34-46 ft/lb. 15) Reinstall the 17mm bolt through the base of the strut, torque 65-87 ft/lb. 16) Screw in the 2 17mm upper control arm bolts but do not tighten them all the way. If you tighten them now when you rest the car down the front will be excessively high and the rear will look squatted like in a weight transfer. 17) After both sides are complete reinstall the strut tower bar and the 6 14mm nuts (TQ 20 ft/lb), and reinstall the engine cover. 18) Reinstall the wheels. 19) Lower the car down and let the car settle on the front suspension, I took a quick drive around the block. 20) Rotate the wheels so you can tighten the upper control arm bolts. Torque to 65 ft/lbs. ### Rear ### Tools needed: 12, 14, 17, 19, 24(15/16) mm sockets 5 mm Allen wrench 14, 17, 19 mm wrenches Torque Wrench Spring compressors Jack Stands Floor jack 1) Jack up the rear of the car, I jacked under the rear camber bolts (using a wood block) and placed jack stands under each side of the rear (at designated jacking points on side). 2) Remove the wheels. 3) Under the car mark the lower control arm alignment bolt so you can return it to the same setting, mark the front and back of the bolt (bolt and nut side). 4) For driver's side, remove the 10mm nut that holds the lever to the headlight adjustment control. Note: Not needed on all RX-8s as my car did not have the self-leveling lever... 5) Undo the 14mm nut to the swaybar link on both sides. Swivel the links and sway bar out of the way. If the threaded shaft on the link spins, you can use a 5mm hex to hold it in place. 6) Remove the 19mm alignment bolt for the control arm. 7) Wiggle the control arm until it drops out of its bracket. 8) Undo the 17mm bolt at the bottom of the strut. 9) Remove the 12mm bolt near the top of the strut where the strut goes into the trunk area. 10) Pop the trunk and undo the tabs holding the side carpet, pull the carpet back to expose where the strut is. If you have the spare tire kit, remove it first. 11) remove the 2 14mm nuts at the base of the strut and the 2 14mm bolts into the gold bracket. Remove the 2 14mm nuts on the bracket and pull the bracket off. 12) You can now pull the strut out; if it seems to get caught on the suspension you can try rotating it like a screw until it becomes free. It helps to push the bottom of the shock toward the center of the car. 13) Use a paint pen to mark the top hat, rubber isolator, and the spring before you disassemble the strut. Make 1 continuous line, then you don't have to guess where to align everything up...I marked it in 2 places on 1 side, then 1 place on the opposite side. This way, there are 3 reference points to help get it perfectly aligned when putting it back together. 14) Use a spring compressor when dis-assembling the struts. 15) Carefully undo the 17mm at the top of the strut assembly. The strut shaft can be kept from rotating with a 5mm hex. Take note of the assembly order, or the stackup of parts as you pull them off of the original strut. The order in which they get put back is very important. 16) Reassemble the rear strut using the new nut that Koni supplies, and the rest comes off the original strut. First slide the white plastic washer on, then the bump stop, then the black rubber donut. You can put the metal sleeve inside the donut now. Slide the spring on, then the strut top hat (with rubber isolator). Next comes another black donut, the large metal washer, then the new nut. Torque top nut to 37 ft/lb. New top nut is 19mm, and the Koni shaft can be kept from spinning with a 5mm hex. 17) The reinstallation is the opposite of the removal. Loosely screw in the 2 14mm nuts from the top to hold the strut in place for the next step. 18) Slide the bottom of the shock on to the hub assembly. I had to use a floor jack to help compress the shock. Torque the bolt to 65-87 ft/lb. 19) Torque down the 2 14mm nuts from the top (TQ 34-46 ft/lb) and then the 12mm from the bottom (TQ 18-24 ft/lb). 20) Reinstall the gold bracket and its 2 14mm nuts (TQ 28-38 ft/lb) and 2 14mm bolts (TQ 28-38 ft/lb). 21) Reinstall the side carpeting. 22) Reinstall the control arm in its bracket and slide the alignment bolt back in place, tighten this back down to where your original alignment marks were (TQ 87-101 ft/lb). 23) Reinstall the swaybar links and tighten its 14mm nut (TQ 32-44 ft/lb). 24) If driver's side, reinstall the arm to the headlight level control and secure with its 10mm nut (TQ 15 ft/lb???). 25) Reinstall the rear wheels, remove jack stands and jack.

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wazup_shorty

Excelent write-up, im installing coils springs tomorow so the procedure stays the same, but is there any pre-load in the rear?

Moby

I preloaded my rears. Pretty simple and its good insurance to get the drop.

wazup_shorty

so basically, when re-installing, don't tighten completely the bushing that connects to the frame, drop to the ground (or support weight on the wheel not frame) and then tighten.

Moby

There are four control arms in the rear, and I loosened all the nuts connecting them to the chassis. I then put a jack under the point where the bottom of the shock connects to the hub. Then all you have to do is jack up the strut assembly until you see the car lift off the jack stand. Basically, you just loosen all the connections that move with the hub, and tighten them when you put a load on the strut (via the jack). I wouldn't recommend allowing the weight of the car to preload your springs. Feel free to PM me if you need more help.