Trouble installing struts
 

Hey guys, I'm trying to install my Konis and I'm having a problem aligning the top 3 studs and the bottom where the strut bolt goes though. The studs will go in but then the bottom will be off and I can't get it around the bushing nor can I put the bolt through, what am I doing wrong?

You have to work to get the top bolts lined up and through the holes. It helps to have someone else put nuts on them to hold the strut. Then you either need to push down on the hub/rotor or use a jack to lift the hub for that bottom one to line up. Perhaps it's easier to get the bottom first then jack it into place? It takes a little bit of magic.

Shocks. And yeah it helps to have a hand.

You need to rotate the shock body and the top hat.....

Often you can put the top in...and then turn the lower part of the shock with a big screwdriver or bar through the lower holes

Yes this can be a lifesaver as well

I actually solved the problem I was having, but I'm having a new problem, the lower mount sits right under the bolt hole, so the bolt cannot slide through. The top is in all the way and we even put the nuts to secure it. Would pushing down on the hub like you said help J86? The bottom is angled correctly now, it's just a matter of either raising it to line up with the bolt hole or lowering the hub.

Yes that and pushing the strut towards the center of the car if needed (for clearance from the hub). Neither should require Incredible Hulk forces.

Just use a jack to raise it...or pull down to lower it until it fits on.

Remember to use a jack to raise the hub assembly until the car just slightly lifts off the jack stand on that corner ( or till it is approximately at the correct static height) to make sure you aren't adding stress to the bushings before you tighten the bolts up

People call this "pre-loading " the suspension...even though it isn't really correct :)

Haha of course, I printed off the Racing Beat DIY sheets and they say to lower the car itself, but I read that raising the hub does the same thing, so I would rather do that.
Ah okay okay I see, can the hub go any lower than it currently is? I mean the car is on jackstands so I would assume it's hanging at its lowest point. Of course I'm probably wrong lol, the 8 is so different from any car I've worked on.

Have you tried at all? It is not at it's lowest point. Me and dannobre have said you can push it down lol.

Lol I didn't even think to try, would it go down another half inch or so? I think that's about how much I need so the hole lines up flush.

Should be able to push it down more than an inch easily. if you are close and it won't go...loosen the top nuts until they are just holding on and that will give you 1/2 inch extra or so :)

Thanks a lot guys :) Hopefully I'll get the fronts in tomorrow and get the rears done, shouldn't take too long now that I know these few tricks haha.

Oh one more question, the rubber covering towards the bottom of the spring, do I need that? I have H-techs by the way.

Trick for the rear....just undo the upper rear link....and remove the upper mount bolts and you can drop/swing it out...that way you don't have to touch any of your alignment bolts

You will still need an alignment because of the ride height...but it won't be out as far as if you screw with the camber adjuster link :)


You should re-install the dust boots...it helps keep the shock from degrading from dirt in the shaft seal

Oh thanks man, by upper mount bolts you mean the ones I undo in the trunk? Or do you mean the swaybar endlink bolts? And haha I wasn't talking about the dust boot, I put those back on, I mean when you get an aftermarket spring usually it has a rubber covering on the part of the coil that sits on the lower spring mount on the shock.

If you want it to be quiet....re-install all the OEM rubber crap....even the thin plastic gasket that is between the upper and the body is there for a reason

You will need to undo one end of the endlink.....and the headlight leveler on the drivers side to get the shock assembly out....it also makes it much easier to move the hub up and down ;)

Ooooh haha thanks man, this'll be useful, I wish I knew all of this today xD
And noooo lol, I mean these right here:
[IMG]http://i879.photobucket.com/albums/a...ng_springs.jpg[/IMG]

You can leave those on...won't hurt anything ...i added something like that to the top to quiet down a set of coileovers

Oh okay lol, my friend and I were debating today whether to keep them on or not, we took them off the front, but I could keep them for the rear I suppose.

Don't need them either :)

Haha I was worried I did, now I know :P

Okay this sounds like a really noobish question, but are the bump stops supposed to be narrow side up and wide side down? Or vise versa? I heard with the konis the caps aren't necessary, but what I'm worried about is whether I installed the bump stops correctly lol.

They are wide end down when they sit on the shock body like the RX8 and wide side up when they mount on the top like some cars. Really wont matter though

Oh awesome that's how I put them lol, wide side down with the white ring underneath them. For some reason though, the rear bump stops were narrow side down.