a little suspension recon

**shady milkman** · 02-12-2010, 06:31 PM

hey guys..well my koni and strano springs just came in..i am not going to install here until at least the beginning of march. So i have plenty of time...

so i want to know gentlemen.

since my car is a 98 and DD'd all year. are there any parts i should replace while i am at it ?
any tips or tricks regarding the install that the ls1howto guide doesn't cover ?
i will get my settings from strano if he ever answers his phone

so i am good on that stuff.
I will also start to soak "the bolt" a few days before the install.

so any pointers etc will be greatly appreciated

**9T8W66** · 02-13-2010, 04:32 AM

The rears are cake and should take you less then 30 min to swap both shocks and springs, the fronts however are way more involved. If you don't have access to any air tools I suggest taking the spring shock assembly up to a local shop to have them seperated. Don't forget the to reuse the lower spring seats, and don't throw anything away until the job is done.

**pajeff02** · 02-13-2010, 05:01 AM

Take a look at your sway bar bushings. Our fronts were pretty whipped at just over 70,000 miles. I had a spare set of poly bushings from another project that I swapped in when I did my front end recon last spring.

**MrMasterCraft** · 02-13-2010, 10:03 AM

Can someone please explain "soak the bolt"?

**35th-ANV-SS** · 02-13-2010, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by MrMasterCraft

Can someone please explain "soak the bolt"?

From what I have read, the upper nut on the front shocks tends to get rusted up and is difficult to remove. By design, there is a "bowl" type dip up top that basically acts as a pool where water will sit. In most cases you have to torch it off.

I assume that by "soak" they mean spray it with WD or something alike and let it sit before trying to break it loose.

**pajeff02** · 02-13-2010, 12:11 PM

Originally Posted by 35th-ANV-SS

I assume that by "soak" they mean spray it with WD or something alike and let it sit before trying to break it loose.

Anytime I am going to work on something that I think may be a problem, I will start shooting it a few days ahead of time with a penetrating oil -- WD40, PB Blaster, Liquid Wrench, or whatever. I shot the exhaust bolts on our car a couple of times while I was working on the rear axle.

A real cool trick is to warm the nut or bolt up with a propane or oxyacetylene torch and then press a candle against it after removing the flame. The combination of the heat and melted wax, which will wick into the threads, generally works quite well. I do this a lot on our older cars during restoration work.

**shady milkman** · 02-13-2010, 01:51 PM

Originally Posted by pajeff02

Take a look at your sway bar bushings. Our fronts were pretty whipped at just over 70,000 miles. I had a spare set of poly bushings from another project that I swapped in when I did my front end recon last spring.

My front sway is removed..the bushings were shot etc. So I just said screw it

**pajeff02** · 02-13-2010, 03:03 PM

Originally Posted by shady milkman

My front sway is removed..the bushings were shot etc. So I just said screw it

Nice. I have thought about unbolting mine for future track days.

**35th-ANV-SS** · 02-13-2010, 03:25 PM

When I talked to Sam about removing it, he was really against it...unless of course you plan on only driving in a straight line.

**Hi-Po** · 02-13-2010, 03:43 PM

Yea, mine will be going back on when the car gets road worthy again. I did it just to test it. Don't know how much it helped as I changed a few things at the same time. All you have to do is remove one side if your looking to hit the track.

It definitely hurt turning performance a very noticeable amount.

**pajeff02** · 02-13-2010, 04:37 PM

I would only do it at the track. My understanding is that it helps with weight transfer to the rear as the front end can rise easier without it on launch.

**shady milkman** · 02-13-2010, 07:41 PM

as i dont take corners fast i have not had a problem..it however does have that great feeling of weight transfer ..but once i get sam's sway bars i will go back to running the front.

**redracer1** · 02-17-2010, 06:55 AM

Couple of things on the front the back is cake.
1.On the drivers side it's difficult to get to the torx bolts because of the brake resevoir. Remove the two nuts holding it to the master cylinder and loosen the 2 nuts holding the brake ABS in place, lift up carefully and move everything towards the motor.
2.You can't get to the top nut until the shock/spring assembly is removed but could let it soak overnight I guess.
3.Tape up the spring compressor mounting points or they could damage the powdercoating on your new springs.
4.Make sure to transfer the lower spring isolator to the new shocks.
5.Don't forget to install the large washer that comes with the koni's between the top of the shock and upper isolator
6.Make sure new springs are compressed enough to tighten top nut fully as the top nut cant do it.
7.Make sure to take your time and line everything up and adjustment is facing out.
8.You can do this yourself but having a friend lend a helping hand is always a good idea.
9.Take your time, it's not a race and you won't lose any laps.lol.
10. On the rear. Once the old shocks are removed install the new shocks at the top mount only and let them hang. Have the car high enough on stands to be able to lower the rear diff. supported by a floor jack and remove the stock springs. When installing the new springs make sure they are properly seated in the isolator using a flashlight when raising the rear diff up, then mount the lower shock point. Done.

**shady milkman** · 02-17-2010, 07:02 AM

Originally Posted by redracer1

Couple of things on the front the back is cake.
1.On the drivers side it's difficult to get to the torx bolts because of the brake resevoir. Remove the two nuts holding it to the master cylinder and loosen the 2 nuts holding the brake ABS in place, lift up carefully and move everything towards the motor.
2.You can't get to the top nut until the shock/spring assembly is removed but could let it soak overnight I guess.
3.Tape up the spring compressor mounting points or they could damage the powdercoating on your new springs.
4.Make sure to transfer the lower spring isolator to the new shocks.
5.Don't forget to install the large washer that comes with the koni's between the top of the shock and upper isolator
6.Make sure new springs are compressed enough to tighten top nut fully as the top nut cant do it.
7.Make sure to take your time and line everything up and adjustment is facing out.
8.You can do this yourself but having a friend lend a helping hand is always a good idea.
9.Take your time, it's not a race and you won't lose any laps.lol.
10. On the rear. Once the old shocks are removed install the new shocks at the top mount only and let them hang. Have the car high enough on stands to be able to lower the rear diff. supported by a floor jack and remove the stock springs. When installing the new springs make sure they are properly seated in the isolator using a flashlight when raising the rear diff up, then mount the lower shock point. Done.

thanks for the tips!

**redracer1** · 02-17-2010, 01:21 PM

No problem and enjoy.

**LSCyaL8R** · 02-19-2010, 11:25 AM

While YMMV I was able to get the factory spring/shock combo disassembled using the autozone loan a tool macpherson strut compressors. It's a PITA but if you play around enough you can get it to work. going the other way i didn't even need the tool. The Strano springs are short enough that you can just assemble and tighten everything. have fun on the install and get ready to be blown away by the handling once it's done!!!