Swapping struts - tips and tricks?

[sobanoodle]

Swapping struts in like an hour or so, seems to be pretty straightforward according to YouTube.

Any tricks? I.e. put marks on bolts to put them back in the same position, what about the tophats (stock, not coilovers) do they go in any way or in some certain way? Heard something about undoing swaybar links to make life easier when putting the struts back in?

Cheers

[loner]

if both front wheels are off the ground there should no reason to undone the sway bar... it\'s a very simple job, nothing to worry about.

edit: you may want to mark the camber bolt position... not that it will mean your alignment is not screwed when you\'ve lined the bolt back up.

[funkytown]

However:

*For the effort it takes to undo one swaybar bolt its entirely worth it.

* Don\'t assume you have play in the rear end (no tension on the sway bar) , i\'ve had to space down one side on a few cars to get a neutral bar with no suspension load on it

[sobanoodle]

Done the front - bloody easy, stuck at the back, cannot undo the bolts :-[

[funkytown]

which bolts? would assume 19mm strut bolts..

a wee strong arm is what you need, and jam a 19 spanner on the other side against the hub / rotor

[Darkdax55]

I recently did my rears and unbloting the swaybar helped more than you could imagine

[funkytown]

^ bet you there was preload on it

spacing the mount down on one side does wonders for the car balance. (as an aside)

[sobanoodle]

Angle grinder is a wonderful thing, all done now ))

[funkytown]

 sobanoodle said:

Angle grinder is a wonderful thing, all done now ))

:o :o explain!?

[Marky]

That one bolt at the bottom of the strut can damn near weld itself to the hub, I ended up with a powerbar and 6ft of pole being stamped on to crack the bolt on one of mine

Remember BE/BH has the single bolt at bottom of the strut at rear

[sobanoodle]

 funkytown']

[quote name='sobanoodle said:

Angle grinder is a wonderful thing, all done now ))

/quote]

:o :o explain!?

Not much to explain really - after a few hours of struggling I pulled a grinder out and cut the bloody things off (luckily I had some spares).

Very (I\'d say damn bloody) happy with the outcome - those pink struts and springs are awesome, completely new driving experience now. I reckon I\'m done with the underbody mods:

- Cusco 22mm front/rear swaybars + nolathane bushes

- Cusco front "K", rear underbody braces

- pink STI struts/springs 4-way damper adjustable

- maybe some more nolathane goodness at some stage

Tried a few damper settings - when set on the highest it gives you a nice firm, a bit bumpy ride (really liked that one, not sure if missus would think the same :)

The lowest one is much more comfortable cruisey setting, still slightly firmer than stock Bilsteins.

Some tech info for those interested:

Not to mention that the wagon sits lower now, just low enough for my likings and no knocks or funny sounds are coming from the back anymore . Win.

[paulngui]

What sort of torques should be used for doing up the strut bolts? Looking to attempt this in the near future.

[loner]

 funkytown said:

However:

*For the effort it takes to undo one swaybar bolt its entirely worth it.

* Don\'t assume you have play in the rear end (no tension on the sway bar) , i\'ve had to space down one side on a few cars to get a neutral bar with no suspension load on it

Preload on the swaybars is not good. You can get adjustable attachment "things" to get rid of preload.

I don\'t know what they look like or are called, I\'m just repeating what I was told at Macbilt when getting my car corner weighted.

[funkytown]

so we agree then?

[loner]

 funkytown said:

so we agree then?

oh yeah. didn\'t notice... it\'s like I didn\'t even read your post :

[funkytown]

the \'adjustable things\' you are talking about is as simple as removing the swaybar mount , see below, and placing spacers between the mount and chassis rail. costs you nothing.

and im talking about the far outside bolts, not the small clamp that holds the sway bar bush.

space down with washers on one side till you can do put the bar on and off without needing to jack one wheel up or down.

[Guest]

Benefit of spacing it down?

[funkytown]

\'most\' factory cars end up with some preload on the sway bar, this is evidenced by trying to remove the sway bar and the bolts wont come out or go in nicely with out jacking up one wheel.

preload on the bar does odd things to the suspension during its normal travel under driving conditions, its undesirable with out trying to speak technically and getting it wrong. its just not good.

[Guest]

Does lowering have an impact on it? Cant be arsed thinking about it easier to ask.

[funkytown]

noting a swap bar really only controls the relative differential between each sides ride height in an attempt to keep the car flat... it shouldn\'t make any difference lowering it, as lowering should drop each strut the same (and therefore the lateral arms position) relative height to the chassis pick up point.

if though.. you have height adjustable coil overs and you corner weighted the car including driver etc.. then yes you might expect there to be a slight difference as a result of the lowering.. but thats only because you\'ve deliberatively set different heights at each corner.