Coilovers (rear)

Last Updated on Monday, 01 February 2010 00:38 Written by Rob Friday, 20 November 2009 17:00

Now that the front is done, lets tackle the rear. It's only fair to let you know that the rear is more difficult to do than the front. Even though there is less to undo, the lower control arm is tricky to get back in and get the bolt through. Having two jacks helped a lot.

Jack up your car and remove your wheel. Secure the jackstands and ensure you are working safely.

Don't tap on threads with a hammer to push these balljoints out. Use a puller. You can rent them for free at most quality auto parts stores.

	Start by removing two upper bolts for the rear shock.
The bottom of the shock is held in place by a single bolt. Once you remove it, the entire shock can be removed.
	Next, we need to start removing the bolt that holds the end of the lower control arm to the rear cradle. You'll only be able to get it out so far before...
You run into this- the rear exhaust is in the way. So we'll need to either drop it, or do what we did- raise it just enough for the bolt to *almost* clear. This is where the second jack came in handy. We simply raised the exhaust enough for the bolt to come out. It's still tight, but a bit easier getting the bolt out than dropping the exhaust.
	This picture doesn't show it too well, but the top arrow shows how the lower control arm is seperated from the cradle, the the lower arrow shows how the control arm is actually dangling down. Once it is down, you can remove your old spring in preparation for your new one.
Remove the old lower spring rubber. In this photo, we used some spray lubricant and ran the new spring inside it. It was a bit easier getting it on this way.
	Now install  the upper collar into the spring, and then the spring into the car. With this kit, there was also a rubber gasket that goes between the collar and the body. You'll need to remove the rubber spacer that the stock spring was sitting in because you won't need it.
With the spring installed, you can install the rear shock.
	Now that the spring and shock are installed, you can install the lower control arm.

Some tips on installing the lower control arm.

• It might be easier to put back into place without the shock installed. It can go in last if needed.
• Using two jacks may help. In our case, we kept the exhaust raised up for the bolt to be pushed back through the lower control arm.
• You might need a pry bar to help maneuver the control arm in place. Just be careful, remember you are probably on jackstands.
• Use a screwdriver or something to put through the hole, so if you need to lower and re-position the jack, you won't have to start from scratch.

blog comments powered by Disqus