RON

Hi all,
I'm a pretty competant diyer, I've changed springs before, but not sure whether the same procedure would work on a scoob, I've done all the brakes and the d/p and system, obviously the geometry would need doing, but d'you reckon I could change the springs myself?
Ron.

bruce

iTrader: (5)

Ive been thinking about this myself. There was a post recently from somebody who was having trouble installing, but I don know what the outcome was.

RON

Bruce
The trouble the other guy had was related to getting to the bolts for the rear struts, seeing as a garage can presumably get to them, I'm sure I could. Although saying that, I think the chap who was trying eventually did it on the car!
So maybe it can be done that way!
Ron

stevie c

I havent done it personally,but there have been a few people on here who have done the job in an afternoon.

Tho' like you say,let the pros see it to do the geo.

Steve

RON

Let me see,
Shall I pay someone £150 to fit them?
Or;
Shall I spend maybe up to a whole day fitting them for free........................................
Not a difficult choice!

RaymondH

I did mine at home with help from a mate who is a qualified machanic. The rear strut top nuts are a swine to get out and I was struggling until a 3/8 drive stubby ratchet was produced and that made things much easier. Main points to watch for (as far as I remember!) are to punch mark the camber adjusting bolts at the bottom of the struts before removing them to make sure that you put them back correctly and also to make very careful note of where the spring pans are sitting before dismantling - the pans are not round and will rub on the inner wings if not put back correctly and guess what...mine rubbed making the most alarming noise Other than that it's pretty straightforward. HTH

Raymond.

mutant_matt

RON,

But spending a whole day doing it means it's not free is it? How much is your time worth? Work it out and you may be surprised.....

Matt

P.S. I watched Nick @ Powerstation do mine and with all the proper tools and ramp and stuff, I'm certain I made the right choice and got someone else to do the hard work.....(and I'm in no way spanner shy!! )

mega_stream

I'd agree that its well worth paying £150 or whatever it is and letting someone else do it!

Every time I pick a spanner up I end up scraping my knuckles on something Not to mention having oily finger nails for the next week

Life in IT eh, baby soft hands

RON

One thing that you don't know Matt, is that I'm not working at the moment, and therefore my time is FREE!!!!!!!!
And whats more I for one actually enjoy working on cars, I rebuilt a Mini from new shell a few years ago, and actually sold it when it was done cos I had nothing to do! How sad is that?
Ron
Stil thinking about getting the eibachs.

mutant_matt

RON,

Fair do's then m8

Matt

GraemeC

Yes it is possible as a DIY job, I did mine. Suspension geometry will need doing afterwards though, however carefully you mark the camber bolts etc.

Special tools advised are a 12mm ratcheting spanner or a deep-throat, 12mm, 1/4" socket and stubby ratchet for the top mounts of the rear dampers.

Without experience then I would expect 2 guys to need 1 hour per corner + 1 hour if brake lines are disconnected & then re-bled. With experience I would expect 3 hours tops.

See another topic www.scoobynet.co.uk/bbs/thread.asp?threadid=71668 for advice on removal of brake lines.....

RON

Graeme,
thanks for that, it looks like i'll be doing the job myself if I get the springs then.
Cheers all.
Ron

GraemeC

Oh and make sure that ALL the components of the strut are in the same orientation when you rebuild as when you take apart. The top mounts look concentric but they aren't! The strut is off centre in the top mount and its crucial that they are correct.

Apparently (according to PowerStation) there is a mark on the top mount that needs to be outermost when the strut gets put back in. I did mine by taking care to replace things the right way and didn't know about this mark until afterwards!

POC

I did mine myself.... easy job!

Took me about 4-5hours by myself, enjoyed every min of it too (apart from alarming moment when I trapped my hand on top of the rear struts!!!!)..... v satisfying completing the job yourself too!

My WRX dampers with pre-fitted Eibach springs are for sale in the other section!!!! Easier than just changing the springs, change the whole struts!

Paul

Neil F

Hi RON.

I also changed mine and have sent you some instructions that you should find helpful.

Neil.

motomc1

HI THERE JUST FITTED THEM ON MY MY98 WAS NOT THAT BADE ONCE I GOT THE BACK SEATS OUT.GOT IN ALL DONE IN ABOUT 5 HOURS ...BROKE ONE RACHET.THE REAR SEAT ARE HELD IN BY TWO BOLTS AT THE FRONT BY YOUR FEET THEN THERE THREE BOLTS FOR THE BACK PART OF THE SEAT..THEN REMOVE THE SEAT BELT MECS WITH A 14M SOCKET.THEN ALL THE TOPS OF THE REAR MONT ARE EASY TO GET TO..YOU DO HAVE TO TAKE OF THE BRAKE PIPES ONE BY ONE .BLEED EACH ONE AS YOU GO .MAKE SURE YOU MARK THE TOP BOLT ON THE FRONT STRUTS .AT THE WHEEL END OF THE UNIT.AS THESE BOLTS AJUST THE CAMBER OF THE FRONT WHEELS.ONCE YOU HAVE MARKED THE TOP BOLT ..AND A MARK TO MATCH IT TO YOU CAN THEN UNDO THE BOTTOM BOLT ..A SPING COMPRESSER IS A MUST HAVE...

JKJ2

So there we have it, 5-6 hrs work under the car, if you are lucky, split knucles, hyperthermia, and grazed fingers, or £150 for some grease monkey to do the job for you. Mmmmmm, let me think.

Neil F

For a small 3 wheeled robot that survived having his head shot open while riding on the back of a Rebellion X wing and went on to help conquer might of the Empire, your not very adventurous in the car department are you......or is that R2D2 I'm thinking of?

Neil.

motomc1

could do it in 4 hours now ...no problem

Dyney

I've finally finished fitting mine.

A mate and I fitted them in a bit of a rush on Monday (before I read this thread or spoke to TSL)

Fitted them in about 4.5 hours and that includes a trip to my lacal garage to use their air tools to get the top nut on the rears off.
But I didn't align the top plate on the front, so I have just spent 2 hours resetting them.
NOTE: You can spin the top plate on the car with the use of some spring compressors, some WD40 and a "little" brute force

The car feels so much more taught and I haven't even had he suspension set up properly yet

Iain.
PS. I think this shoud go BTTT

[Edited by Dyney - 3/15/2002 9:34:19 PM]

RT

As said before, the rear strut bolts are a real pain. A straight box wrench will definitely not fit. You need a socket or one of those z-shaped items. I've seen a "custom bent" one which my mechanic uses to make life easier (he does lots of rex'es).

The springs require a spring compressor. And the bolts holding the strut bottom to the suspension knuckle can be tricky too if you don't have a pneumatic hammer wrench. Also, make sure you mark the orientation of the strut components before disassembly.

I have changed all 4 struts myself in something like 4 hours. And thats without touching the springs! Not an easy job for a single pair of hands.

Neil F

I think it must depend on which struts you have as to whether you need a spring compressor or not. I didn't need one for mine, but regardless of that, I would expect that so long as the spring lengths are the same (and I'm talking Eibachs with Eibachs here) then they should fit in any strut the same.
Realistically you should expect the struts to have a comparable free open length unless they are part of a specifically matched unique spring-damper combination.
If the free open was shorter then the spring length than the potential for over-extending the damper is considerable (flying over a crest for example ).
The only other time you may need compressors are if you decide to change the springs with the strut swinging under the arches; something some people do to avoid having to disconnect the brake hoses.

Neil.

[Edited by Neil F - 3/18/2002 2:05:44 PM]

Butty

iTrader: (2)

Anyone know if all bolts undone can be reused with Loctite, or do you have to renew everything?

Nick

RON

Butty,
Just done mine a couple of weeks ago, no-one said anything about replacing all the nuts and bolts, I for one, would not like to drive around in a car that had stretch bolts on the suspension, I am 99.99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 9999999999999% sure you can just re-use all the bolts, not even necessary to loctite!
Ron

MattRus

Go on give it a try. My first set took about 5 hours max. but second attempt took only 3 - 4 hours. You really need an air tool for the strut top mounts though. Struts can be left attached at the bottom if necessary. Spent the £150 saved on other bits for my car!
Also it is best to use a spring compressor, actually makes the job easier!

[Edited by MattRus - 3/19/2002 2:07:16 PM]

Butty

iTrader: (2)

Thanx RON,
I have come across bolts on other cars which are recommended to be replaced.
It may not be 100% neccessary but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Nick