Fitting Suspension -- US URL/photos etc???
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Joined: Apr 1999
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Colin.
Following is the contents of an email I sent to a guy who wanted some instruction to change his springs only.
Much of it applies to changing the whole struts, plus a bit more for the stripping/re-assembly stages. Incidentally, I did not find the need to remove the brake banjos and hence lose any fluid as the hose holders on my struts were slotted.
Hope it's helpful....
"I found the procedure pretty straight forward to be honest and I'll try to summarise it for you.
I don't know what model you have; mine is an STi4 although there shouldn't be much difference, if any, in the process.
Starting with the rear springs:
Remove the back seat; STi is non-foldable, so 2x12mm bolts release the base which is kind of hooked onto the seat "back" at the bottom. At this hook point there is another 12mm bolt. Remove this and you lift/unhook the seat back exposing the strut tops.
For a UK car, you should be able to fold the seat forward and remove 2 plastic covers (I'm not sure how but it can't be hard) to expose the strut tops. Much easier than STi in theory. (NB: This turned out to be easy peasy)
Raise the rear of the car and support on axle stands, remove the road wheels.
Unmount the brake hoses from the struts by removing the retaining shim with a screwdriver (no need to separate the line or drain the fluid).
Undo the 3x12mm nuts at the strut tops; a bit fiddly but not that bad.
Undo the 2x19mm bolts where the strut mounts the hub assembly. NOTE: You may wish to score or mark the positioning of this mounting point for re-assembly reference. In theory this point is not adjustable (unless the holes have been "opened up" by a specialist to allow camber adjustment) but there may be a small degree of tolerance.
Your strut is now free and can be (carefully!) removed from the wheelarch. Simple!
Replacing the Springs:
Take a moment to notice how the spring sits in the cradle and cap and how damper leg sits off centre inside the spring. If possible take some reference points and marks to aid re-assembly as the spring may try to bias the seating and position of the cap when re-fitting.
I didn't need a spring compressor, although I did rent one for the day, but either way you now need to release the spring cap from the top of the strut.
There is a 19mm nut on top which holds it all together and the only tricky bit is that the damper shaft will turn in the assembly as you try to release it.
There is an allen key (I can't remember the size) to hold it still but this means that you cannot use a ratchet/socket to undo the nut as it would cover the allen key!
You have 2 options; either use a steep thin walled ring spanner in conjuntion with the allen key (steep and thin walled because the nut is recessed) or you could improvise by using a 19mm socket with the allen key passed through the "ratchet hole" and use mole grips or similar to hold and turn the socket. (This is what I did until I realised that I had a steep thin walled ring spanner that fitted!).
Once you've removed this nut you basically lift the cap off, remove the old spring and put in the new one.
In true Haynes manual style, re-assembly is reverse of removal!
The front springs:
These are in fact easier to do than the back as the strut tops are accessible under the bonnet.
The procedure is exactly the same as with the rears with just a couple of points to note:
The "marking up" of the strut to hub mount point is a little more critical here as this is where the infamous camber setting is done.
You will find that the top 19mm bolt is in fact a "cam" bolt and if turned it will rock the hub assembly over to increase or decrease the camber.
You should have your geometry checked after changing springs anyway but with some careful marking and assembly I managed to save myself £20 as the camber settings were OK when checked, only toe in needed adjusting.
I would also mark 1 of the three 12mm studs on the strut tops (under the bonnet) with a dab of tippex or paint to ensure that they go back on in the same way, because the front spring caps have the "steering" bearing on them. It probably doesn't matter, but I'm a great believer in components "bedding in" to their position.
Again re-assmble in the reverse order and your done!
The only other tips I can think of are that the front springs are the shorter ones and the writing should be the "right way up".
Don't worry if you have a strut brace fitted, it simply lays in place during the swap over process.
Take apart/re-assemble 1 strut unit at a time so that you can compare it to the other one.
Finally, as they say a picture paints a thousand words, so if this all reads a bit daunting, don't worry, it will become clear as soon as you get the wheels off.
Feel free to drop me a line if you have any problems or if any of this doesn't make sense.
Best of luck,
Neil.
Following is the contents of an email I sent to a guy who wanted some instruction to change his springs only.
Much of it applies to changing the whole struts, plus a bit more for the stripping/re-assembly stages. Incidentally, I did not find the need to remove the brake banjos and hence lose any fluid as the hose holders on my struts were slotted.
Hope it's helpful....
"I found the procedure pretty straight forward to be honest and I'll try to summarise it for you.
I don't know what model you have; mine is an STi4 although there shouldn't be much difference, if any, in the process.
Starting with the rear springs:
Remove the back seat; STi is non-foldable, so 2x12mm bolts release the base which is kind of hooked onto the seat "back" at the bottom. At this hook point there is another 12mm bolt. Remove this and you lift/unhook the seat back exposing the strut tops.
For a UK car, you should be able to fold the seat forward and remove 2 plastic covers (I'm not sure how but it can't be hard) to expose the strut tops. Much easier than STi in theory. (NB: This turned out to be easy peasy)
Raise the rear of the car and support on axle stands, remove the road wheels.
Unmount the brake hoses from the struts by removing the retaining shim with a screwdriver (no need to separate the line or drain the fluid).
Undo the 3x12mm nuts at the strut tops; a bit fiddly but not that bad.
Undo the 2x19mm bolts where the strut mounts the hub assembly. NOTE: You may wish to score or mark the positioning of this mounting point for re-assembly reference. In theory this point is not adjustable (unless the holes have been "opened up" by a specialist to allow camber adjustment) but there may be a small degree of tolerance.
Your strut is now free and can be (carefully!) removed from the wheelarch. Simple!
Replacing the Springs:
Take a moment to notice how the spring sits in the cradle and cap and how damper leg sits off centre inside the spring. If possible take some reference points and marks to aid re-assembly as the spring may try to bias the seating and position of the cap when re-fitting.
I didn't need a spring compressor, although I did rent one for the day, but either way you now need to release the spring cap from the top of the strut.
There is a 19mm nut on top which holds it all together and the only tricky bit is that the damper shaft will turn in the assembly as you try to release it.
There is an allen key (I can't remember the size) to hold it still but this means that you cannot use a ratchet/socket to undo the nut as it would cover the allen key!
You have 2 options; either use a steep thin walled ring spanner in conjuntion with the allen key (steep and thin walled because the nut is recessed) or you could improvise by using a 19mm socket with the allen key passed through the "ratchet hole" and use mole grips or similar to hold and turn the socket. (This is what I did until I realised that I had a steep thin walled ring spanner that fitted!).
Once you've removed this nut you basically lift the cap off, remove the old spring and put in the new one.
In true Haynes manual style, re-assembly is reverse of removal!
The front springs:
These are in fact easier to do than the back as the strut tops are accessible under the bonnet.
The procedure is exactly the same as with the rears with just a couple of points to note:
The "marking up" of the strut to hub mount point is a little more critical here as this is where the infamous camber setting is done.
You will find that the top 19mm bolt is in fact a "cam" bolt and if turned it will rock the hub assembly over to increase or decrease the camber.
You should have your geometry checked after changing springs anyway but with some careful marking and assembly I managed to save myself £20 as the camber settings were OK when checked, only toe in needed adjusting.
I would also mark 1 of the three 12mm studs on the strut tops (under the bonnet) with a dab of tippex or paint to ensure that they go back on in the same way, because the front spring caps have the "steering" bearing on them. It probably doesn't matter, but I'm a great believer in components "bedding in" to their position.
Again re-assmble in the reverse order and your done!
The only other tips I can think of are that the front springs are the shorter ones and the writing should be the "right way up".
Don't worry if you have a strut brace fitted, it simply lays in place during the swap over process.
Take apart/re-assemble 1 strut unit at a time so that you can compare it to the other one.
Finally, as they say a picture paints a thousand words, so if this all reads a bit daunting, don't worry, it will become clear as soon as you get the wheels off.
Feel free to drop me a line if you have any problems or if any of this doesn't make sense.
Best of luck,
Neil.
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