Seeking How To How daunting is the work for lowering springs?

[narsnail]

I'm still on the fence with doing this. On one hand I like to do things myself and save myself hundreds of dollars from the mechanic. Then the thought of having my car up on jack stands in my apartment parking lot doesn't seem like the best haha. Once I start traveling for work again and start bringing in some overtime I'll definitely help with that decision.

I used to do a lot of work in my apartment parking lot ; never again. Personally not something I would attempt in a parking lot.

 

[Ulikefishsticks]

Got a quote today for the work on doing the just the springs. $875 for the labor @ $109/hour, 6.3 hours. Includes two alignments. One after the springs settle and one 500 miles later. That would put the total to get it all done including the springs at around $1200.

$875 is steep. Figure I need like $150 max in tools to do it myself. And 2-3 days of cussing and sweating.

 

[narsnail]

The fronts are difficult and the first front wheel will take way longer, half of the time I spent was on the first wheel, the other half was all the other wheels. Just plan on it taking two days so you're not stuck if something goes wrong. Maybe you can use a friends garage/driveway?

 

[Ulikefishsticks]

I luckily have a second vehicle incase I have to leave the car on jackstands even though I will definitely make sure I don't do that. Should I do the rears first to get a little experience then attack the fronts?

 

[narsnail]

The rears are stupid easy, took 30 mins for the first one and like 15 for the second. I started with the fronts to get the hard ones out of the way but I guess its up to you.

 

[narsnail]

I dont want to mess with that, as I said the cv is jumping under load. It create a noticeable shake. I will source a good one and just swap it. The car doesnt even have 10 000 kms on it yet.

Could you go into more detail on this? I am starting to get a weird vibration @ ~65km/h until 75 or so. It doesn't act weird under hard accel, only under light throttle it feels like an out of balance wheel. I don't get it at high speeds or low speeds, only that specific range. I assume it's the car being AWD and out of alignment + the axles at a different angle.

Anyone else whose lowered get weird vibrations?

 

[Frenchy_418]

Your description sounds more like a wheel out of balance. the way its only from a certain km to km. the shaft issue I had vibrates each time you step on the pedal and induced load onto it.

 

[Zener2.0]

We did NOT cut the boot (whateveritiscalled) seen at 2:20. I have heard some people do, we decided not to. How do they know how much to cut off?

After install was complete:

View attachment 41423

I would say she has dropped maybe another quarter of an inch (probably over estimating a bit) since Saturday's install.

How does Eibach know how much to cut the bump stops?

I think shortening the bump stop travel may have a negative impact on the overall design of the travel of the stock Shocks/struts/suspension.

I hope Bilstein builds a proper shock/strut coil spring combo for the Stinger.... When they do that will be the day I feel comfortable about upgrading the coil springs and shocks/struts.

 

[sting me]

How does Eibach know how much to cut the bump stops?

I think shortening the bump stop travel may have a negative impact on the overall design of the travel of the stock Shocks/struts/suspension.

I hope Bilstein builds a proper shock/strut coil spring combo for the Stinger.... When they do that will be the day I feel comfortable about upgrading the coil springs and shocks/struts.

I really hope Bilstein does dampers that work with the electronic suspension system. I had some in my GTI before this that worked with the OEM system and they were perfect.

 

[Stinger90735]

We did NOT cut the boot (whateveritiscalled) seen at 2:20. I have heard some people do, we decided not to. How do they know how much to cut off?

After install was complete:

View attachment 41423

I would say she has dropped maybe another quarter of an inch (probably over estimating a bit) since Saturday's install.

Did you paint the wheels yourself or get them powder coated?

 

[Luminary]

Did you paint the wheels yourself or get them powder coated?

Painted with wheel paint. 1 can per wheel, plus a clear matte top coat, then I ceramic coated them after the paint cured for about a week.

 

[narsnail]

Vibration after lowering

Mentioned it in another thread and did some searching, couldn't find much info. I have my alignment booked for Monday, hoping this will fix it. Went out for an hour drive today, it starts at around 65km/h and goes away over 80. Once its starts vibrating it seems to happen at a different variety...

stingerforum.org

Just want to stress the importance of being VERY careful with the inner CV joints if you're AWD. Post #42 in that thread shows pictures of one of the rollers on the tripod coming off and the bearings going everywhere in the boot.

Either remove the axle or be extremely careful when pulling on the axle so you can tilt the strut out.

If you damage the joint you will get vibration during light throttle sometimes and random vibration, mostly at lower speeds. Used axle go for $200 or more and new probably twice that.

 

[Frenchy_418]

I would say a good used will be more in the 300$cdn range (I paid 395$ canadian for mine) and new will set you back close to 1000$cdn all said and done.

 

[87and66]

Finished installing H&R springs on AWD GT
. Rear springs were a piece of cake. Front springs were a nightmare. Without those axles, it would have been a much easier job. I followed Ark’s how-to thread. And their how-to for the rears has a lot of extra steps. I only had to remove the 2 bolts on the lower control arm to do the job.

My advice for anyone who may read this like I did when taking on this task:

-things you will need outside of standard tools: short spring compressors (I had to cut one of mine to get it to work), a Torx T50 socket and a 19mm OFFSET box wrench for the top hat, time, patience, and determination.

-When taking the struts out, compress the springs and take the strut out, leaving the the top hat on the car, then remove it afterward. When replacing, compress spring, put the top hat on, remove spring compressors, and force the strut in (carefully)

-put tape o your fenders to avoid scratches

-pray that your tie rod end doesn’t get stuck like one of mine did because it makes the job even harder

-don’t be afraid of breaking your axle. It’ll stretchpretty damn far without causing a problem. I was extremely worried that I had broken something because of how far it was stretched, but it wasn’t a problem. That being said, don’t be an idiot.

-you will need another person to put the nuts on when you raise the strut back into the tower. No way you can do that alone

If you’re not much of a wrench turner, I wouldn’t suggest doing this. If you don’t have a garage and somewhere you can leave the car on jack stands overnight if needed, I wouldn’t recommend doing this. Also, if you don’t have plenty of time set aside, don’t do this. Don’t get into this after work on a Tuesday, thinking you’ll be driving to work Wednesday morning. Probably not gonna happen. Overall, it was worth doing myself because of how much money it saved. Good luck!

 

[SKStinger]

Finished installing H&R springs on AWD GT
. Rear springs were a piece of cake. Front springs were a nightmare. Without those axles, it would have been a much easier job. I followed Ark’s how-to thread. And their how-to for the rears has a lot of extra steps. I only had to remove the 2 bolts on the lower control arm to do the job.

My advice for anyone who may read this like I did when taking on this task:

-things you will need outside of standard tools: short spring compressors (I had to cut one of mine to get it to work), a Torx T50 socket and a 19mm OFFSET box wrench for the top hat, time, patience, and determination.

-When taking the struts out, compress the springs and take the strut out, leaving the the top hat on the car, then remove it afterward. When replacing, compress spring, put the top hat on, remove spring compressors, and force the strut in (carefully)

-put tape o your fenders to avoid scratches

-pray that your tie rod end doesn’t get stuck like one of mine did because it makes the job even harder

-don’t be afraid of breaking your axle. It’ll stretchpretty damn far without causing a problem. I was extremely worried that I had broken something because of how far it was stretched, but it wasn’t a problem. That being said, don’t be an idiot.

-you will need another person to put the nuts on when you raise the strut back into the tower. No way you can do that alone

If you’re not much of a wrench turner, I wouldn’t suggest doing this. If you don’t have a garage and somewhere you can leave the car on jack stands overnight if needed, I wouldn’t recommend doing this. Also, if you don’t have plenty of time set aside, don’t do this. Don’t get into this after work on a Tuesday, thinking you’ll be driving to work Wednesday morning. Probably not gonna happen. Overall, it was worth doing myself because of how much money it saved. Good luck!

Haha it sucks! Been there. I’m 6’6” with long arms so I was able to thread the strut nuts on myself but it wasn’t easy!

 

[DoctorStiches]

When i get around to ( when the wife allows it) ill make a little write up on the springs.
Its probably a 4 to 8 hour garage job but shouldnt be considered and harder than a 6 out of 10 job. Alignments are something i always do myself and my tires do just fine. Get a micrometer and measure the inner tire rod (or count threads on the tire rod itself like i did in highschool) after you get it close to really make it smooth

 

[narsnail]

Just wanted to share this.

I replaced my front right axle and redid my spring install on the front end. My front right axle was toast and I had the bump-stops upside down. But, by removing the hub from the strut, tie-rod and lower ball joints so I could pull the axle, it game me a LOT more room to work with and you don't have to fiddle around with spring compressors to get the strut assembly into the wheel well. Then you can re-attach the hub to the strut, get the axle into place, and then attach the ball joints. I placed the hub/caliper/rotor on my jack just to the left, as to not damage the brake line.

You will need an impact gun to remove the axle nut, but it comes off rather easy. You don't need to pull the axle from the transmission, but if you remove the axle nut it leaves the outer joint free to move out of the hub so this eliminates the chance of you damaging the inner cv joint like a couple of us have.

You can leave the rotors/brake caliper on the hub but you will need to remove the screws holding the brake line to the hub so don't pull the line and damage it. Be aware the hub with the rotor/caliper is HEAVY. So if you have weak up body strength, you may need a jack or to remove the rotor/caliper.

Probably more useful for AWD folks.

 

[ephone]

Just wanted to share this.

I replaced my front right axle and redid my spring install on the front end. My front right axle was toast and I had the bump-stops upside down. But, by removing the hub from the strut, tie-rod and lower ball joints so I could pull the axle, it game me a LOT more room to work with and you don't have to fiddle around with spring compressors to get the strut assembly into the wheel well. Then you can re-attach the hub to the strut, get the axle into place, and then attach the ball joints. I placed the hub/caliper/rotor on my jack just to the left, as to not damage the brake line.

You will need an impact gun to remove the axle nut, but it comes off rather easy. You don't need to pull the axle from the transmission, but if you remove the axle nut it leaves the outer joint free to move out of the hub so this eliminates the chance of you damaging the inner cv joint like a couple of us have.

You can leave the rotors/brake caliper on the hub but you will need to remove the screws holding the brake line to the hub so don't pull the line and damage it. Be aware the hub with the rotor/caliper is HEAVY. So if you have weak up body strength, you may need a jack or to remove the rotor/caliper.

Probably more useful for AWD folks.

Did you use an electric impact wrench (vs Air). I am wondering if my Dewalt would have enough torque. I think your method is probably a lot easier on AWD.

 

[narsnail]

Did you use an electric impact wrench (vs Air). I am wondering if my Dewalt would have enough torque. I think your method is probably a lot easier on AWD.

Yes, I used electric. It was rated for 250 ft lbs.

 

[StingertimeNC]

I did mine a few months back and I swore the whole damn time. It was like the 5th car I've done it on and this time I said I will never do this again. I'm RWD too but the fronts just suck!