putting new springs in struts - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

xm250 · 05-17-2005, 18:50

Hi guys im currently lowering my car ive done the back no worries but ive never done struts before ive got a fair idea on how to do it but i was just wondering if there was anything ive gotta look out for or any tips to make my life a bit easier.
CHEERS!

Ghia5L · 05-17-2005, 19:15

If you're doing it yourself, there's a bodgy (read: dangerous) way to do it. A mate of mine lowered my car for me, and I stood back & watched

while he did the bodgy part. We made sure that the springs were seated properly, and did a few "tests" on his driveway (start/stop, rocking the car, etc) to make sure they were firmly in place.

This method only works if the springs you are fitting are pretty damn low (ie Superlows). If the replacement springs are taller than the shocks you are putting them onto, you will have great difficulty trying to compress them!!!

Also, this was performed on a '91 Falcon, so it might not apply to your XM. If the step descriptions "make sense" regarding when you look at your XM's front setup, then by all means, have a bash :D

1) Undo strut from arm (arm has disc brake on the end of it + studs for wheel to bolt onto) <-- I'm not good with terminology!

2) Undo strut from shock tower (under bonnet). DO NOT undo the centre nut!!!1!!11!!1111 Only undo the three nuts that surround it.

3) Apply force to arm and move strut around until it comes out. Strut & spring should come out as one unit. Spring will be compressed!

4) Beer.

5) Place spring + strut in a wood vice & do up bloody tight. Make sure the nut holding the spring onto the strut is facing somewhere that isn't breakable (ie not facing a window, or a shelf full of expensive tools)

6) Cover spring/strut with a heavy blanket, except for end with nut.

7) *Gingerly* undo the nut with a long armed spanner. Continue until the nut comes loose and the spring uncompresses. This is the dangerous part. When my mate did his own EA, the spring shot off violently and nearly went through a door! When he did my EB's struts, the springs made a little "pop" noise and didn't go anywhere, due to the vice being wound up TIGHT and the blanket "muffling" the decompression.

8) Slowly undo vice, so that spring & strut don't drop out.

9) Replace old spring with lowered spring

10) Replace nut & "washer" or whatever it is that holds the spring in. Make sure the rubbers from both ends of the strut are seated properly into the spring.

11) Reverse steps 4, 3, 2, 1.

12) Repeat 1 to 11 for other spring!

Finally, ONLY do this if you're a risk taker. Personally I wouldn't have done it myself, but since my mate thrives off doing things the wrong way, I was more than happy to watch him risk injury

Good luck!

-Dave-

xm250 · 05-17-2005, 19:44

Cheers ghia5l, I probly should have also said that its in my ED not my XM sorry bout the confusion. Ive got some spring compressors so i dont have to worry bout the "dodgey" part but all the other stuff was a good help CHEERS!

Ghia5L · 05-17-2005, 21:16

Ahh beautiful, the ED will be the same then :D And it's good to know you've got a spring compressor!

There might be a couple of more bolts to undo but once you have the ED up on axle stands & the wheels off (I can't remember exactly, I was under the car doing other stuff half of the time), but you'll be able to see what connects to what under the guard

-Dave-

Post up pix of the results!

xm250 · 05-17-2005, 23:33

heres some pix with the back done they arent that good cos these are the only ones small enough to fit in, fronts have sagged that much its pretty much where its gonna sit. Hopefully ill have an update soon with the fronts done

Ghia5L · 05-18-2005, 03:17

Very nice! BA mags?

Depending on how low you're going (low vs superlow), it might sit a little lower. My superlows were 15,000km old when I got them - at half price - and because they were off an EA, the V8 in my EB made the front sit a little lower than what the EA sat at. The rear looks the same as mine does, so I'm guessing you've got some superlows :D

You won't believe how much better your car handles mate! I had a car try & chase me up a dirt road & I managed a bit of opposite lock at 70kph! I wouldn't have been game if it still had the std suspension. That car backed right off...

Just be carefull when doing a full-lock turn at carpark speeds, the wheels might bite on the guards

Mine have done that a few times, but it won't wreck your guards. Mine just feel "ripply" when you run your fingers under/inside the guards. Paint is fine though! I now try to stick to 80% lock when turning hard. Anyhoo, full lock isn't good for the PS pump...

-Dave-

PS I wish I had a video camera for that dirt road!

xm250 · 05-18-2005, 05:31

yeah the wheels are BA xr8 copies suit the car nice i reckon. The springs are Pedders comfort riders I think, I dont know how low exactly all i did was ring pedders and said i want about 2" lowered springs and thats what i got, all i know is the better ones i think which are sports riders would have sat too high for what i wanted from memory its about 10mm difference. woul have been nice to get the really good ones but wouldnt have the same effect.

Ghia5L · 05-18-2005, 18:30

So are the fronts done yet?

My car is 2" lower than before, however I think mine was lower than normal to start with (either due to sagged 300,000km old springs, which I don't think was the case, or some slightly-lower-than-normal-spec springs that the previous owner had fitted)

I'll stick with my 15s for now coz tyres are cheap for them :p But those BA copies look mad! A nice change to the AUII XR8 mags (which I also love, but it seems that every 2nd E-series has those mags now)

-Dave-

xm250 · 05-19-2005, 05:53

nah the fronts havnt been done yet. maybe if i get off my arse tomorrow they might get done but see how we go hey. But i might even put that on hold and get someone to have a look and see why shes burning too much juice, i might just be getting paranoid but it seems to be getting worse.

Cheers bout the rims mate, I was gonna go the BA xr6 originally and also the guy was trying to talk me into the AUII xr8 for some reason, but im glad i finally decided to go the BA xr8. Im yet to see these on an e series yet (hopefully it stays that way lol)

Ghia5L · 05-24-2005, 23:18

Fronts on yet? Here's a shot of mine lowered...

-Dave-