Fancy lowering your car but not sure how to do it? This guide will hopefully this guide
will help you to accomplish the front end of your car.
In this guide we will show you how to remove your suspension strut,
then the spring and how to refit it so your car sits lower.
Tools Needed:
Spanners
Hex key bits
Torque Wrench
Rubber Hammer
Trolley Jack
Axle Stands
Spring Compressors
Parts Needed:
Front Springs (1 pair)
Front suspension strut(Optional)
Rubber top mount(Optional)
Brake Cleaner
Rags
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Brakes!
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Springy
Bounce!
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Firstly you will need to remove the wheel trims if fitted then slacken the front wheel
nuts on both sides of the car then chock the rear wheels to stop it from rolling away whilst you jack it up.
Place the trolley jack under the rear of the gearbox cradle and proceed to jack up the front of the car,
you may notice that the car will drift slightly, this is normal so don't worry too much,
but as always keep your hands and feet well clear just in case.
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With the front in the air you will need to support the weight of the car with the axle stands for safety.
Place these under the chassis legs just after the lower arm mounts.
Slowly lower the car down onto the stands, make sure they are secure and the car wont fall.
If that's fine, just make sure you pump the jack up so its just touching the gearbox cradle,
this is for added safety, if one of the axle stands gets knocked then the weight of the car would still be supported.
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Now that the front of the car is in the air you can completely undo the wheel nuts and remove the wheels.
You will now see all the steering and suspension gear within the wheel arch
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Identify the hub carrier and spray the securing bolt that holds the shock absorber with WD40,
then open the bonnet and find the suspension turrets. Unscrew the little plastic cap from the top of the turret and place to one side.
This will reveal the top mounting nut, give it a blast with WD40 and leave to soak.
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Go back to the hub carrier and proceed to undo the mounting nut. With the nut remove,
gently prise the back open with a flat chisel and gently push the hub downwards,
use a rubber hammer if it needs persuading. DO NOT hit it hard,
or use a normal hammer as the hub carrier is cast metal and could crack.
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With the shock absorber free from the hub carrier you need to move back to the engine bay.
Place a ring spanner over the nut and then an Allen/hex key into the top of the suspension strut shaft.
Hold the Allen key still and undo the nut with the spanner, this will be stiff, so be patient, it will move.
Keep turning it until it is nearly to the top (past the nylock part of the nut), then stop.
Using one hand, grab the suspension strut from under the wheel arch and use the other hand to continue to undo the nut.
Once the nut is off you will feel the strut drop, be warned it is quite heavy so please expect it.
Withdraw the strut from out of the wheel arch.
Now the strut is out you will notice that it is one hefty bit of kit!
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To remove the springs you will need to use a set of spring compressors,
these are not too expensive and save a lot of time and injury.
Position these one at each side of the spring and start to tighten them up in a diagonal pattern.
Only do this until you can feel the spring move on its mount.
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With the spring slack you can now undo the inner retaining bolt in the same method as described above,
this will make the set up come to pieces.
From the picture below you can see that the shock is made up of (from left to right)
The strut, spring, dust cover, bump stop, spring cap, ball bearing race, top mount plate, and a nylock nut.
The bump stop fits over the silver ram part of the shock absorber.
Clean all the parts with brake cleaner or something similar.
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At this point may we recommend that you check the condition of the top rubber mount that stays in the suspension turret,
as this may be perished or stretched, if so please replace it, it simply pushes in from under the wheel arch.
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Reassemble the shocks with the new springs(Use the compressors), but we recommend if you are lowering your car you
upgrade the shock absorbers to get a more comfy ride. Refit the completed strut back to the car
Reassembly is the above but in reverse, taking note of the following torque values.
| Part |
Torque Value |
| Front suspension strut spring retaining nut |
52 to 65NM |
| Front suspension strut top-mount retaining nut |
40 to 52NM |
| Front suspension strut to hub carrier pinch-bolt |
80 to 90NM |
I spotted a problem here; as you cannot use a torque wrench, as the Allen/hex key will be in the way,
so just tighten them as tight as you think.
Refit the road wheel and lower the car to the ground, tighten the wheel nuts up fully
and the car may appear to sit higher now, but this is due to the new springs/shocks, allow them to settle over time.
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That's it, job done, and hope this guide is some help
Guide Written and © On 14 April 2006 by Andrew Whiteman (AW3K)
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