DIY: Aftermarket Spring Install

BigRussia wrote

About to install my Swift springs over the long Thankgiving holiday weekend and have a question. I plan on installing the front springs first...is it better to have the whole front end of the car jacked up or only jack the front corner I'm working on? I was thinking it'd be better to have the whole front up to release tension on the sway bar but not sure?

Yes, you're exactly right - best to jack up the entire front.

The Father wrote

Took 2.5hrs for passenger front.
Took 2hrs for drivers front (with medical break for busting thumb)

Started rear. The spring isn't close to being able to drop out and no way to get a spring compressor up there. So I'm quitting.

It ain't worth the effort...its not even fun. I could do 4 corners on my RSX in about 45 min once the car was in the air.

I'm really surprised you're having this much trouble. I've done H&R springs on my car and my cousin's M3 as well. Less than 5 hours each time, and that was with running into an issue with a stripped bolt... All in my garage with hand tools, brute force, and an electric impact gun.

Is there a trick to removing the M14 bolt that goes through the rear camber arm? Ive been trying to get the drivers sides one out for the last hour now and it doesn't want to come out. I'm even hammering it from the other side with a screwdriver and mallet and it still doesnt want to budge! Ive even raised the camber arm to different heights with a jack and nothing is working!

Are you using hand tools? I found it very difficult with just a socket wrench. I just used my DeWalt electric impact driver. Came out in 2 seconds.

the6M3 wrote

I'm really surprised you're having this much trouble. I've done H&R springs on my car and my cousin's M3 as well. Less than 5 hours each time, and that was with running into an issue with a stripped bolt... All in my garage with hand tools, brute force, and an electric impact gun.

Yeah, after having the camber bolt on the driver rear go instantly in, I even started taking pics when I did the passenger rear to help the forum...

Well, after several hours....the pics were meaningless...

And I would consider myself mechanically inclined. Definitely not a mechanic. I did about 5 full suspension swaps on my RSX (one on my lunch hour....and I had time left over to eat), including trying to fix the geometry with inverted tie rods, roll center correction, etc. Intake, Exhaust, Cam swap, motor mounts, remote start/alarm. The only thing I can think of that I had somebody do was Final Drive/6th gear swap/Quaife and Hondata intake gasket. I even did all the tuning on Hondata myself. Yeah for me!

After completing it, my suggestions would be:
1. Front: drop the entire strut. Seems like it would be more work, but you'll save a ton of time cuz you'll have space to work. If not, grab a buddy!

2. Rear: remove the inboard LCA bolt (leave the shock bolt and outboard LCA bolt intact). This will eliminate ALL alignment of that stupid LCA bolt!). The inboard bolt/bearing is cammed....but you'll need aligned after the spring swap anyway. So I wouldn't even worry about getting it situated correctly. Tighten under load. Use a sharpie if you want it close.

I did start getting some noise over RR tracks on my passenger rear. I couldn't remember if I had tightened with the suspension loaded. I think I was sooo done and just tightened everything. So I went back and loosened, loaded, tightened and the noise went away. Which kinda tells me that bearing controls wheel hop and has nothing to do with maintaining geometry.

BTW, getting aligned tomorrow....need it before the snow tires go on. Supposed to snow Thurs!

BigRussia wrote

Is there a trick to removing the M14 bolt that goes through the rear camber arm? Ive been trying to get the drivers sides one out for the last hour now and it doesn't want to come out. I'm even hammering it from the other side with a screwdriver and mallet and it still doesnt want to budge! Ive even raised the camber arm to different heights with a jack and nothing is working!

Are you talking about the outer one or the inboard one? If outer - I'm pretty sure it's threaded inside the carrier as well, you can't just hammer it through.

I just did this last weekend by myself. 5 hours total (I could do it again in 3 hours)

Here are my thoughts.

Fronts - No problems

Rear - Yes the wheel carrier bolt is truly a pain in the ass. Jack up the arm 1/2 way up, wheel carrier swings in an arc - so this ensures the holes will align. Then Put the bolt in and place a screwdriver between the strut and wheel carrier - wiggle the bolt and screwdriver and push the bolt. Went in no problem.

Other side went in 3 min.

Good Luck Y'all.

Thanks to Bill webspace for the step by step.
http://billswebspace.com/M3HRSpringInstallation

Springs - Swift Spec-R
Spacers - 18MM Front 12MM Rear

Stronie wrote

I just did this last weekend by myself. 5 hours total (I could do it again in 3 hours)

Here are my thoughts.

Fronts - No problems

Rear - Yes the wheel carrier bolt is truly a pain in the ass. Jack up the arm 1/2 way up, wheel carrier swings in an arc - so this ensures the holes will align. Then Put the bolt in and place a screwdriver between the strut and wheel carrier - wiggle the bolt and screwdriver and push the bolt. Went in no problem.

Other side went in 3 min.

Good Luck Y'all.

Thanks to Bill webspace for the step by step.
http://billswebspace.com/M3HRSpringInstallation

Springs - Swift Spec-R
Spacers - 18MM Front 12MM Rear

This is probably the best advice regarding rear springs lol

I just spent 2 hrs doing the rear, and 80 percent of that was spent on getting the m14 bolt in on the driverside. I found the above post, and jacked it up until the hole aligned. Luckily I had a 2nd jack. Passenger side took a few min to get lined up and in. I'll be tackling the fronts tomorrow as that should be pretty straight forward.

Great guide!! Saved me a lot of time.

Did the fronts on my own today, about 30 mins each side once the car was in the air with the wheels off.

Definitely don't need a spring compressor!!

That was the best part, just load up the suspension, take the top nut off and slowly lower it.

I'll be doing the rears tomorrow

Followed OP's instructions and got the rears installed!

Went super smooth, few minutes each side.

For the "trouble" bolt, you just need tot jack up the arm a tiny bit and wedge a wrench in-between the strut and the hub thing, just like in OP's pic. Bolt slides right in!

Because I got stuck on it again years later... For the rear lower camber arm, do not torque down the bolt holding the strut in place. If you do, it will compress the end of the arm and it will not go over the wheel carrier's rubber mount. Loosen the bolt just enough to release and it'll be easy to line it all up.

Ximian wrote

Because I got stuck on it again years later... For the rear lower camber arm, do not torque down the bolt holding the strut in place. If you do, it will compress the end of the arm and it will not go over the wheel carrier's rubber mount. Loosen the bolt just enough to release and it'll be easy to line it all up.

Since this got bumped, I'll also add that the bushing in the knuckle articulates, so moving and positioning it to help the bolt go through makes things a lot easier.

Ximian wrote

Because I got stuck on it again years later... For the rear lower camber arm, do not torque down the bolt holding the strut in place. If you do, it will compress the end of the arm and it will not go over the wheel carrier's rubber mount. Loosen the bolt just enough to release and it'll be easy to line it all up.

Thank you SO much for this reminder!

I knew not to do the final torque until the car was on the ground, but I had snugged the shock bolt anyway to keep everything tidy. After reading your post, I loosened it back up and had the bolt into the bushing within minutes. Laughably easy.

My first clue should've been that I spent an hour trying to figure out how to get the fork around the bushing initially. I had to use a brake caliper spreader tool to get the fork open enough to let the bushing drop in, let alone get it lined up right. I feel like a doofus now!

The bushing and control arm are kind of gouged up since I had to use power tools to get the bolt out originally. It caused a nice tap effect from the bolt threads. With a new bolt, let's hope it holds up and isn't noisy. Now that I know how to get it in there, I should be able to relieve the binding to get the other side out more easily.