1st Time Lowering

[Mark51]

Going to be fitting new springs tomorrow using THIS GUIDE, ive got all the bolts soaked in WD40. Is there any other tips before i jump in with both feet tomorrow?

Once ive unbolted the strut do i need to be caerfull of the driveshaft falling out of the box and leaking gearbox oil everywhere?

 

[James.f]

Going to be fitting new springs tomorrow using THIS GUIDE, ive got all the bolts soaked in WD40. Is there any other tips before i jump in with both feet tomorrow?

Once ive unbolted the strut do i need to be caerfull of the driveshaft falling out of the box and leaking gearbox oil everywhere?

Nah dont worry about it, the shaft wont pop out the box because your not going even close to removing it,

 

[Mark51]

any other tips james?

 

[James.f]

Urm hope you have spring clamps,

It's literally 3 nuts in total to remove the old suspension, so you cant go wrong doing it,

 

[Mark51]

yeah got them today from screwfix. touch wood it will all go smooth. from looking at the guide im aiming for 2 hours to get it all done.

 

[James.f]

2hours to do the front and back sounds allright, best if you have 2 people though, as you can do it much quickers, rear is easy peasy to do

 

[guysy]

Is it only the non sports that have the problem of the driveshaft popping out? Or all models?... A bit confused on this, Or is it just unfortunate if it does?

Only tips ive gained is WD40, Check the front struts undo by hand before planning the job, Otherwise will need air gunning off and hand tightening.

 

[st3ve]

No chance, and then some, as a first time DIY'er I'd allocate at least double that amount of time.

The bolts on the rear holding the dampers in at the bottom are difficult to get at and I found I needed a breaker bar, depends how strong you are though I guess.

The front struts I found wouldn't go in unless compressed slightly.

All I'm saying is make sure you have all the right tools and take your time.

 

[Mark51]

2hours to do the front and back sounds allright, best if you have 2 people though, as you can do it much quickers, rear is easy peasy to do

just me im afraid, will be doing it in the morning (as long as the spring come early enough) so most will be at work. another disadvantage of working one night shift a week

Only tips ive gained is WD40, Check the front struts undo by hand before planning the job, Otherwise will need air gunning off and hand tightening.

ive gone through the two bolts on each front strut and the rear bolts on the dampers this morning and made sure i can get them off. took ALOT of WD40 and ALOT of hammering the spanner with a big hammer but they came loose in the end.

Sounds pretty easy, so touch wood it all goes to plan.

 

[James.f]

If you only disconnect the 2 bolts on suspension were it connects to the hub then the driveshaft shouldnt pop out, its the same for non-sports & sport models, both work the same way.

Btw Passenger side driveshaft is also bolted to the box via 3 10mm bolts,

 

[guysy]

^ Ok so as long as the 2 bolts (top and bottom) are being undone:

are undone the driveshaft shouldnt pop out?

My top mounts undo easy but i havent checked the bottom 2 bolts.

Sorry OP for threadjacking.. Suppose all these little questions will help some people though

 

[DrR]

The drivehsafts do pop out, well can pop out, just puch em back in though.

 

[Rob]

THE biggest tip is what that man above me says, if the shaft pops out, don't panic, and pop it back in.

Don't do what most (including myself) do, put your hands on your head and shout "f**k" as you lose all your gearbox oil for no reason at all, other than being an idiot.

 

[Mark51]

^ Ok so as long as the 2 bolts (top and bottom) are being undone:

are undone the driveshaft shouldnt pop out?

My top mounts undo easy but i havent checked the bottom 2 bolts.

Sorry OP for threadjacking.. Suppose all these little questions will help some people though

i the guide it says that these bolts should be 18mm, they are the same size as my 13/16 which is the same size as the top strut bolts (21mm)

The drivehsafts do pop out, well can pop out, just puch em back in though.

cheers

THE biggest tip is what that man above me says, if the shaft pops out, don't panic, and pop it back in.

Don't do what most (including myself) do, put your hands on your head and shout "f**k" as you lose all your gearbox oil for no reason at all, other than being an idiot.

lol

 

[Rob]

You may laugh but I wasn't actually joking....

Its about the only thing that can go wrong and as long as you are quick it'll cause no problems.

 

[Mark51]

im sure i won't have any problems finding the hole if it falls out, i don't normally have problems when that happens

 

[Laura]

yup i had a drive shaft pop out on mine, gear box oil all over the floor... yummy

tip... dont let pikeys fit your coilies... id do it myself these days

 

[Mark51]

Springs arrived this morning but its still hammering it down with rain

 

[Mark51]

does anyone know the torque settings of the bolts?

 

[guysy]

I've readied myself for fitting the springs (just got to find some now ha!), Seems pretty easy.

If the drive shaft falls out, It literally just pushes back in?

Mark51, Let us know how the fitting goes.

 

[James.f]

^ driver side just push back in, its splines so will just slide off abit,

Passenger side like i said has 3 bolts holding the shaft in place, the end to this shaft has 3 ball type ends, which needs to be in oil every time, but be carefull on the passenger side and it will be easy

 

[Mark51]

No chance, and then some, as a first time DIY'er I'd allocate at least double that amount of time.

The bolts on the rear holding the dampers in at the bottom are difficult to get at and I found I needed a breaker bar, depends how strong you are though I guess.

The front struts I found wouldn't go in unless compressed slightly.

All I'm saying is make sure you have all the right tools and take your time.

3 hours, one nearly broken finger and they are fitted.

 

[widdo]

well done, how id u find it? i didnt bother with spring clamps with mine, was easy enough. pics?

 

[Mark51]

no pics until it has settled widdo.

It wasnt actually that hard, however, the hardest bit was getting the strut-to-hub bolts out and then back in again. i found that a hammer came in handy lol probs also didnt help that i was doing it on a slant . Needed the spring compressors, would have been stuffed without them.
begining to thing that i should have got some dampers/shockers aswell now, will see how things go. I only got the car as a run around but seem to be spending money on it an enjoying it now.

 

[widdo]

I use mine as a run around probs 3000 miles a year, only got apex 40mm springs on, and its fine for me.

 

[Fred@BTM]

spring compressors!

 

[Jonny1*2]

to stop the DS popping out just suppose the hub with something to stop it from falling away from the car. Renault jack or something similar would do.

Yeah refitting the hub bolts is a pain to be fare. Just have to keep wiggling and hope it goes in.

 

[Mark51]

i never had a problem with the driveshafts popping out, paniced at one point when i saw a puddle on the floor but realised that this was the half can of WD40 i had sprayed on one bold to get it out lol

 

[James.f]

See i said the shafts wouldnt pop out

Did you get any problems with the rears atall?