Changing Front Shocks

[BurnyC]

I've had a few handling/steering issues with the car recently, and will check out the front shocks in the week - now, if they're gone, how easy is it to replace them? I tried to find a guide on here but no luck so far?

I changed the rears easy as anything, but understand with the fronts the springs come into play - anyone know of a guide/tips etc?

Cheers!

 

[barker22]

There is a guide in the guides section for changing to h& r coilovers. Its pretty much exactly the same as that except all you need to do is take the springs and other bits off your old shock and put them on the new one. A good tip would be to soak the strut top nut in the engine bay with some wd40 or similar the night before, will make it a bit easier to get off. A helping hand is also extremely beneficial.
All you need tool wise is a simple ratchet set and spanners,, allen key set, and a torque wrench. Not forgetting axel stands. Oh and probably a big hammer when you realise the old strut bolts wont come out without a bit of persuasion.

 

[TimR26]

Here is the guide
http://www.cliosport.net/forum/show...ruts-springs-(with-pics)&highlight=suspension

 

[Dave H]

Make sure both front wheels are off the ground to make refitting the struts easy....and don't pull your driveshaft out !

 

[James28]

Fubar's guide is excellent too:
http://www.cliosport.net/content/guides/fubar/spring_guide.pdf

I've literally just done this this morning. You DON'T need spring compressors on sports. I undone the nut and it was practically under no stress at all, so don't worry about it flying off.
Its an easy job. Sometimes the top mount under the bonnet is really hard to undo. I use a spark plug socked and adjustable spanner. Easy peasy.

Oh and when putting the bottom bolts back in, it helps to have an extra pair of hands, one push down on the hub, the other slide the bolts in!

 

[Dave H]

Just looking at the two different guides...where does the bearing go? Under the spring cup or on top of it ? If you look at Fubar's guide you can see that the spring cup is fitted before the bearing goes on. On Andi B's guide you can see that he has removed the spring cup and the bearing is under it. Which is correct ?

 

[BurnyC]

Thanks a lot guys...I guess I wasn't searching far enough back! Appreciate the links.

James28, that was the bit that was worrying me mainly, haha! In that case seems pretty straightforward, although Dave makes a good point if anyone can clarify it! Love how helpful CS is tbh, I'm sure I've got way more than my moneys worth in genuinely useful advice!

 

[Keith185]

Just looking at the two different guides...where does the bearing go? Under the spring cup or on top of it ? If you look at Fubar's guide you can see that the spring cup is fitted before the bearing goes on. On Andi B's guide you can see that he has removed the spring cup and the bearing is under it. Which is correct ?

Bearing goes on top of the spring cup/top hat.

 

[James28]

Top hat thing, Bearing, Rubber thing, little metal thing, little nut.
In technical terms ha!

One of the pictures in the guide atouba posted is slightly misleading, with the picture of the bearing just sitting on the strut like that. It goes after the top hat/cup thing and under the rubber thing. Just follow Fubar's and you can't go wrong.

Here's how I used the spark plug socket to loosen the top mount I was talking about, its a 14mm spark plug socket.

 

[BurnyC]

Thanks guys, excellent advice as usual.

Is there an easy way to check if my handling issues would be my front shocks? As mentioned, I replaced the rears last year and it sorted out the back end, but the car still feels like the front end skips over rough ground and generally doesn't feel particularly confidence inspiring! Also the car likes to drift to the left.

With the rears there were signs of leaking on one, and it's easy enough to pop off one end and see how it compresses...anything quite as easy for the fronts, or would it be a case of replace and hope?

 

[James28]

You can see how the front compresses too once the spring is off exactly the same as the rears.

Another possibility is wheel alignment. Mine felt very jumpy and drifted when I first fitted my coilovers until I got my wheels aligned.
Although don't know if this would be the case on standard suspension.

Could be a number of things though. Jack one side up at a time and check for play in the each wheel

 

[BurnyC]

You can see how the front compresses too once the spring is off exactly the same as the rears.

Another possibility is wheel alignment. Mine felt very jumpy and drifted when I first fitted my coilovers until I got my wheels aligned.
Although don't know if this would be the case on standard suspension.

Could be a number of things though. Jack one side up at a time and check for play in the each wheel

Cheers...alignment has now been ruled out, as it's been to a couple of places and they've all said it's aligned fine. I'm going to have a poke around this week when I get a spare moment...although I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to get them replaced anyway! The rears have been done, and with it on 80k with no paperwork for any shocks ever being done, it's probably about time!

 

[BurnyC]

Bit of a bump...had a crack at this today. Only had the time to do one in the end (rain stopped play), and ran into a problem I was hoping someone could clarify?

Getting the strut off was a bit of a hassle...it sprung down a little bit and there didn't seem enough room to wiggle it out...eventually forced it out. The real problem was getting it back on again! Obviously it was completely uncompressed, so was naturally too long to line up the bolt holes again!? I had to try and compress the spring as much as I could with the spring compressors again (not a lot of room when the things in the arch) and do a lot of wiggling and eventually forced it on.

The only piece of advice I missed was to jack up BOTH sides - is this just to make changing both sides a bit quicker, or is there some other advantage? Can't think what it is though!

 

[Tony Hunter]

You can get the strut in and out alot easier,plus you can lever the arb to get the strut in. You do not need spring compressors at all.

So yes you do need both sides off the floor.You may find having a screwdriver at the ready to put in one of the holes to help line it all up.

Should take you about 30mins start to finish.

 

[James28]

Can be a pain to wiggle them out and get them back in once assembled. Not that hard though!
just get someone to push down on the hub to line the holes up

 

[BurnyC]

Cheers tony, I just assumed people said that because it made doing both sides a bit quicker...does jacking both sides up drop everything down so it lines up without needing compression then?

 

[James28]

Takes the stress off the anti roll bar or something iirc, so easy to line up yea.

 

[Tony Hunter]

Yes, no tension on arb.