So after waiting for about 6 months of looking at my beautiful box of 350z H Tech springs. I give my good old buddy TENGAI a call. Step .5 @ 10am was to break the torque on all wheels, to include locks....more to this later.

Step two jack up car
Step three remove wheel
That’s where I went wrong!

Keep in mind that we attempted this twice already, but because of tools or time constraints we did not get to it.

So we go to break the torque on the lower shock fork. Hmmm. By some act of God it was completely fused!
Side bar:
Back ground on our technical abilities. I built F-111's and F-15's for 6 freggin years. Im talking about complete overhaul and rebuild type of work. X ray the frames type of shizzil.

Ryan has built his car about 10,000 times in a week. He has a tranny hanging over his bed and his wife actually likes it. (It doesn’t drip any fluids anymore).

So we are competent to say the least. We think.

deep breath...

After the nut was completely rounded, two or three sockets stripped, various ratchets broken, we decide that we need some serious nut and bolt removal tools:
1. WD40 attempt was a joke
2 Liquid wrench attempt was a joke

3 requires the 3rd trip to a store (Lowes, Advanced Auto, and Ace Hardware) for the day which yielded some super industrial strength break away crapola...Hmmm That didn’t work either. Im starting to get upset.

4. Enter THE ALMIGHTY DREMMEL AND CUTTING WHEEL.

video for your viewing pleasure


Its safe to say that we are committed at this point!

time check: 4pm Just starting the passenger side. Note: Driver side now has many shinny new nuts and bolts.

5 ten minutes into the passenger side and the DREMMEL is called upon again.

My wife has called me like 14 times because I said I would go to lunch with her...DOH! I thank God I got that new micro fiber couch!

6. We did plan ahead and ironically had many replacement bolts on hand.

7. It only took about 1 hour to get the passenger off because they are only seized by the weak hand of God and not his strong hand. Still a half inch drive, extension, and the pipe EQUALIZER from the jack was needed to break the torque.
7.5 is for the old schoolers (remember me dremmeling my shift **** off?) I wonder if they had extra glue the day they built my car....???hmmmm.
8. 630pm everything is done, but the car is still on jacks. I am scrammbling because I have to be downtown DC by 730 and I am out near Dulles airport. I am African American but I am beyond black from the drit and metal shavings....I need a serious shower...

9 remember me breaking the torque on all the wheels... Step .5? stay tuned...

I rushed out of there trying to help roll up the hose from the Impact Gun and various other "we aint taking no shizzil" tools. I sweep up the shavings and jump into the car....

stop..quick look to see how it stands...
insert pic

not bad for just the front two springs. Only took 8.5 hours!

At this point I aint touching the back...lol.

more pics.








Thanks to Ryan for helping me out....ohh yeah wait...one more thing...

So Sunday I head out to take some pictures. The ones above. My car starts shaking and making this clunky clunk sound. I pull over. I just knew I had a flat....Hmmm scratch my head...no flat.

Get back in to drive home (I am only around the block from my house).

I say, let me check the lock lugs, because I remember not tightening all of them because I was scrambling to get out of Ryan to get out on time.

The PASSENGER SIDE WHEEL WAS ONLY HAND TIGHT! OMG!

I torqued the screwed down and called it a day.

Stay tuned for 6 months, when I decide to do the rears.

 

Not bad. Sucks that you guys were having trouble. I guess you would think it's a cinch workin with them hi tek military aircrafts and all. Maybe I'll pay you guys to do my Z haha!

 

And to top off today. The DMV says my plates were deleted since April of 2006...GEEEEESCH! My registrations says 08...whatever cars are a pain when you are me.

 

LOL

C.. the back springs are a joke .. VERY VERY easy.

 

Man... even me warming my car up in the monring could have major complications...I dont know what it is about my car, but EVERY FREGGING bolt is literally seized on my car! cant wait for a light bulb to go out.

 

I know the feeling, everytime I do work on my brothers 05 TL some bolt gets stripped or is totally seized. Thankfully his car is finally done (HFC, Exhaust,Intake,Kit,Wheels,etc)

 

I feel the pangs of frustration as I read your rendition. Its like there is something that doesn't want you to have any success with this car, some super natural force that just loves to mess with you. And its only after you are about half way through a project that you get shafted haha

I always say: "If it ain't one damn thing, it's another".

 

geesh! that took foreva brotha, glad to see you tamed the beast though and didn't give up. I do all my bolt ons myself, it saveS so much $ and it's nice to just do some damn work every once in a while.

 

hey man ive done the back springs on my Z in under 18 min.. there the easiest.. the fronts are also fairly easy its crazy how u ran into so many dagunnit probs..

next tim tho hit me up bro, sundays the shop is closed so thats when me and my cronies do most of our wrenching...

lowering the Z has become as easy as an oil change for us haha.... 3 down 2 more to go.

 

Can't wait to see the rears! They're 10x easier btw, you can probably swap both out in 30 mins, no joke.

 

yea literally al u need is if ur doing it without a lift a jack and a 17milly deep 17 wrench and jack stands with a 1/2in impact gun,. paul walker helps too if u can get him to come.

 

It takes 20 mins to cut one nut off a bolt....lol

We will see. I like it as it is for now. I am still beat down from last weekend...lol.

 

hey 4shizzle if ur not busy sunday were dropping my friends Z and putting headers on.. putting my exhaust on mine, and fixing my friends Y pipe leak... if u wanna stop by and throw on ur rear springs feel free! we wil most likely be at the shop all day..

 

\

I am going to have a SUPERBOWL COMMERCIAL WATCHING PARTY because no one gives a crap about who is playing..lol.

I at least thought I would get some cheesehead with my wine (Dallas Fan) this year...lol.

But I appreciate the offer. I know I can do it easy...just the superman gripped bolts wear me down.

 

No invite for meeee? I'm thinking of doing headers, mind if I tag along and learn a few things? Regardless, I can always take pictures

 

GL with the headers, have your flex ends and extentions ready!

 

FTMFW dude, I learned that when putting my test pipes on. That one bolt was a B!TCH.

 

+1000.

I installed my Tein S-Tech by myself in my garage. If you got the front done, which BTW it looks very good, the rear springs are an extra 20 mins for both, remember thet they are separate from the shocks.

 

yea snap on swivel sockets FTW!

yea we did headers on my friend armandos black Z "MONDI" and it took us 10 hours... after being stumped by the steering linkage and the TCS lights we realized after 5 phonecalls to dave and juan that if not PERFECTLY aligned it will throw lights and TCS and after fixing that up everythign went smooth..

this time, we have learned that marking **** is good and dont rush through important ****!
haha....

yea eric def swing on by.

 

Just for future reference, I have a garage with lift and all tools for anything at my disposal. If a drive is not a issue, I can have it done in 1.5-2hrs and I will only charge you lunch and the rental fees for the lift which is about $4 and hour.


See!!! read sig.