Help fitting BC Racing coilovers

[ph1ls1]

Hi All,

I've been getting through jobs on my 172 and have some BC racing coil overs on their way, top mounts and full set of bushes. Also a set of 15" wheels and some A048s and plan to be at Rockingham on the 12th to try it all out.

I'm very very out of practice with doing any mechanical work and will be attempting it on my own, so if anyone has done this job recently and can lend any advice i would really appreciate it I plan to start it on Wednesday/Thursday and take it in for a full geometry setup on Friday afternoon, the garage is within limping distance.

I'll take a look in the guides but any suggestions welcome!

 

[bozothenutter]

spray everything liberally with penetrating oil...best the day before.
do one side at a time ( so you can peek at the other side how it should/was)
get some spare nuts and bolts in case you have to saw things off
take your time
if it doesn't fit, don't make it fit (I do that alot....)

jack up the rear high enough so the original springs will just drop out
fit the rear schock at the top first, then drop the car slowly to fit the at the bottom.
same for the fronts

tighten everything up with the wheels on the ground (if possible)

safety first : axle stands, wheel shoved under the car, phone easily reachable, others knowing what you are doing

 

[sbridgey]

I wouldn't do one side at a time,

I'd jack the front up and do both sides individually

then jack the rear up and do both sides probably at the same time due to the beam.

 

[JamesBryan]

Either get it on 4 stands if you can or 2 stands doing it sbridgey's way of front then back.

The front top mounts can be really stuck on and most require a quick buzz with an impact wrench.

Have a jack under the front hub when removing the 2 hub to shock bolts, saves it dropping down too much.

Same with the rear beam when you undo the 2 lower shock bolts, have it supported with a jack as it will drop down and hit the floor otherwise.

On the rear upper shock nuts you'll need a pair of grips to hold the middle piston rod thing whilst you turn the nut.

Once everything is back on, drop it down and have a look at the height and play about with the height adjustment. It will settle down in height within a few days.

 

[Rob]

Can't believe no one has said this yet.

Undo the top mount bolt with the wheels on the floor. It could well need a buzz gun anyway, but with the wheels on the floor you at least have a chance.

Oh, and careful not to pop the driveshaft out on the wet side on the front. Gear oil stinks and is a pain to clear up.

 

[JamesBryan]

Good points Robert!

 

[Steven103]

Can't believe no-one has suggested just spending £10 on the right tool for the job...

I'd much rather use a few pence of penetrant spray and be patient than put a few thousand miles of wear on the damper rod in 2 seconds by letting it spin around at 2000rpm with a couple of hundred impacts per second.

 

[JamesBryan]

But the shock is coming off anyway, so a quick shock with the gun won't do any harm.

 

[warwickstingray]

You'll only undo it with a spanner if someone else has been there recently. Passenger side on mine went with out a fight. Drivers side is waiting for me to get round to removing the previous owners Allen key that has snapped off in the strut.

 

[JamesBryan]

Had an allen key shatter when doing my mate 182 a few years ago.