Looks like I got my work cut out for me Saturday!

[klavender1]

This is probably gonna be fun.

[Sagaris]

Yes you certainly do! Your Saturday will consist of 1.5 hours of wrenching on your car then the whole rest of the day spent trying to explain to r3v why you just put cheap dampers on your car.

[Sagaris]

I'm kidding, they're just fine for stock springs. Holler if you need any tips 8-)

[klavender1]

Yes cheap because I'm poor. :D I guarantee you it will take me longer because anything I do to this car takes 3 times longer than it should and always (ALWAYS!) requires a blood sacrifice. It's just for stock replacement shit. Sadly, 99% of my driving is commuting.

[Sagaris]

Enjoy the comfort! I miss having stock suspension. The grass isnt always greener on the other side. If I knew how harsh my current setup would be on my long commute on dumpy roads I would have waited until moving out of Wisconsin to install it. You will love how easy the rears are, just remember to support the trailing arm while removing the bolts, otherwise the spring will make the trailing arm shoot down. The fronts aren't a big deal. An impact gun goes a long way in making the strut nut easy to install/remove, but im sure you already know this :D

[jlevie]

The easiest way to do the rears is to compress the the springs by lifting the trailing arms with a jack, remove the two nuts that secure the upper strut mount, and lower the trailing arm before removing the lower bolt. Installation is the reverse of that. Well, that is if the shock and strut mount have been correctly assembled with the upper shock mount beow the shock tower.

Enjoy the comfort! I miss having stock suspension. The grass isnt always greener on the other side. If I knew how harsh my current setup would be on my long commute on dumpy roads I would have waited until moving out of Wisconsin to install it.

On other than on a track or race car the only thing wrong with the stock suspension might be looks. But the last time I checked I can't see wheel gaps from behind the steering wheel.

[Wh33lhop]

Rears are cake. I swapped mine out to Konis over the course of about 40 minutes during a local meet.

[TG Goose]

I run the exact same KYB's with JOM springs. Nice firm ride, not harsh at all. KYB are great dampeners, dont let the haters tell you otherwise!

[GOT8SPD]

I was gonna get some KYB GR-2s because they're cheap and i have them on a Honda Accord...they've lasted years and are good...it's not a performance shock, but i don't think you can beat the value. Name brand for cheap...

[klavender1]

Thanks for all the encouragement and advice. KYBs have gotten good reviews that's one reason I went with them. That and they were only about $37 each. Also got the mounts (front and rear), bump stops (fronts are missing), and front coil spring shims. Several threads here mention you can run 1"-1.5" drop using them. And I may go that route in the future. Right now, the shocks and struts are shot! And I'm actually ok with my wheel gap right now. I'm closer to 40 than 30 so no need for a slammed ride for me. :D

[klavender1]

Just as I suspected. Took a lot longer than it should have. Although the rears were pretty easy and the second strut insert went a lot better than the first. I ended up using the old front mounts (which weren't too bad). The new ones I bought didn't fit. I don't know if I bought the wrong ones or they just suck. I re-greased the bearings in the old ones. Busted my lip using the end of a ratchet. So there was my blood sacrifice. Also did the rear sway bar links while I had it on the lift. The right side wasn't too horrible but the left was a bitch. The muffler was in the way to really get a tool in there. But with one of the mechanic's help we got it on. Old suspension was shot. You could easily push in the shock and it wouldn't return. Ride is better but not life changing better. Steering is a lot tighter and brake dive is a lot less. But all in all I'll just pay someone to do it next time, if the car lasts that long. It didn't help it was 123,000 degrees outside. The saying goes, the only thing that separates Columbia from hell is a screen door!