so yesterday i decided to take the stance coilovers off and reinstall stock since im trading my car in the upcoming month and i ran into so much trouble trying to get the stock suspension back in!! no matter what i do the damn spring and strut assembly is too long...i even stuck a jack between the upper control arm and the fender and used that to jack the whole assembly down but that still didnt work (dont worry i didnt damage anything haha) now my questions are:

1- do i need to compress the spring on the strut to put it back in?
2- how do i do this??? it was so much easier installing the coils

oh and before anyone says...i did jack up the whole front end so the sways had less tension and i did take off the sway bar end links off the control arms...thanks

 

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....springs+struts

you can thank me later..

 

Yes, you will need to compress the front spring on the strut to get it in. I don't know if they have Autozones in NY but out here, you can rent the compressor tool with a 30 dollar deposit. Once you return it, they give you back your 30 dollars.

--Sam

 

lol i went through that already...i used that for my coilover install but didnt have to use a spring compressor...ive done a lot of suspension swaps on 240sx and what not but never fork type coils...this one confused the **** out of me when putting it back on...ill go to autozone and pick up that spring compressor thanks for the help guys!

 

Make sure to use the spring compressor exactly like they show in the illustration or you'll never be able to compressor it enough. I learned the hard way, by attaching one of the clamps to a coil instead of the base of the spring. After not being able to compressor that SOB enough, I had to pull the whole thing out, loosen the compressor(which takes forever), then reattach it correctly.

VO(ownd)

 

haha thanks for the advice...illl def keep that in mind when i go through with the install thanks again!

 

Just release the upper ball joint from the spindle, letting the bottom arm fall further and drop it in from the top being careful not to scratch your fenders.

You'll need new cotter pins though.

Chris

 

^ easy way

ncdoc

 

What kind of cotter pins do I need, and how much easier is this.

 

For people looking for pics I found this
http://www.*********.com/zwiki/Sprin...lation_(Eibach)

 

Or look here
https://my350z.com/forum/brakes-and-suspension/198279-tein-s-tech-springs.html

the cotter pin is a 3/32" by 1"

Chris

 

I can't remember what the ball joint looks like, but won't he have to use a ball joint wedge to separate the joint also?

 

Not normally, and whatever anyone does, do not use a generic pickle fork, the boots will get trashed.

If it is in good shape it will pop just by removing the bolt. If not, a single sharp hammer blow on the outward facing edge on the flat spot of the top arm should do it (at the yellow arrow). Although I have not seen it on the Z, if that still does not work, two hammers hitting the sides of the arm simultaneously on the flat spots should make it pop (pink arrows). There is no need to beat the crap out of it though and if it is really stuck, you'll need the proper service tool.

Chris

 

+1. I've done this before. Once the boot is severed, all the inner grease oozes out.