springs?

[2ManyZs]

From where you are at right now, the easiest thing to do is to unbolt the driveshaft at the flange on the backside of the hub as it will let the control arm swing down even further and be a lot easier than trying to stand on the brake drum to extend the driveshaft at the slip joint.

Then go inside and just loosen the nut in the middle that is on the top of the strut cartridge, don't take it all the way off, just loosen it. Then remove the 3 nuts that are holding the top hat of the strut to the mount in the body, then let the whole thing just swing down when you remove the last of the 3 nuts(be careful of your shins as it will drop quickly) and then you can take off the top hat by removing the center nut after you compress the spring. You shouldn't have to compress the spring just to drop the strut housing, but if you want to, you can just put two clamps on as well as you can and compress it as much as possible.

The only time you want to mess with the spindle is if you are going to be replacing the spindle pin bushings.. and you'll probably find this to be a nasty, rotten job.. there are numerous threads about it if you search for them.

[echocluster]

i will try that stuff when i get off work today. thanks a million!

[echocluster]

i got everything ok but the drive shaft. i undid the 4 bolts and went on to do the other things. when i tried to take off the spring it will not come down far enough to fit under the wheel well edge. the driveshaft is not coming apart. it is like the bolts are still there. should that not just come apart. is there something inside that i have to worry about. how do you get it to come apart. it is soooo close but i cant get it off.

[Royce]

Yeah that is normal. They just need a little encouragement to separate them. I usually use a punch or a screwdriver, the finer the blade edge the better, and a medium size hammer. Put the blade end in between the half shaft flange and the flange end of the axle, the parts the nuts/bolts were holding together. Give it some wacks with the hammer and then rotate the half shaft 90 degrees and give it some more hits. I keep working my way around, you'll probably see it start to separate by the time you get back to were you started. Keep working you way around all four sides until it finally comes loose.

[echocluster]

so the flange didnt come out but i got the spring out. the new one is a lot taller than the old one. is that right? has anyone installed these ibach springs. i am having trouble compressing the spring enough to get it to go back in.

[echocluster]

how would i get the shock off. it looks like it is connected to the shaft and that is connected to the hub?

[echocluster]

so i was putting the spring back together, but i ran into a problem. the top spring seat has a bushing that is disintegrated. do i need that? do i have to get a new seat or can i just get a bushing?

[tanny]

I have a similar question. There is an upper strut bearing on the front struts and a spring spacer on the rear struts. Should these automatically be replaced when you put in new cartridges, or are they usually durable enough to reuse? Also, in the pictures these parts look similar. Do they perform the same function? Is the only function of the bump stops to prevent hard bottoming out of the cartridge? I also found a bunch of crumbled plastic like chunks(hardened, brittle rubber?) of material at the bottom of the springs. What is that? Thanks, Victor. Don't mean to steal this thread, just thought this was closely related.

[Royce]

echocluster said "how would i get the shock off. it looks like it is connected to the shaft and that is connected to the hub?"

Remeber these are struts not shocks. Generally speaking the original struts consist of the strut rod, cap nut, and strut housing (the part attached to the axle housing. You don't need to remove the strut housing, just replace the strut rod with a strut insert, which looks similar to a shock but doesn't have a bottom mount point. So you need to remove the nut with a large wrench or use a pipe wrench if needed. But try not to damage it because you will need to reuse it and it creates the seal to keep in the strut oil. Your replacement strut cartridges should come with instructions for adding oil to the strut housing before putting in the strut cartridge. If not contact the manufacturer for that info.

Hope it makes sense! Have fun!

[Bambikiller240]

Originally posted by tanny

I have a similar question. There is an upper strut bearing on the front struts and a spring spacer on the rear struts. Should these automatically be replaced when you put in new cartridges, or are they usually durable enough to reuse? Also, in the pictures these parts look similar. Do they perform the same function? Is the only function of the bump stops to prevent hard bottoming out of the cartridge? I also found a bunch of crumbled plastic like chunks(hardened, brittle rubber?) of material at the bottom of the springs. What is that? Thanks, Victor. Don't mean to steal this thread, just thought this was closely related.

There should not be a need to replace the bearing or the spacer IF they are in good condition. You may want to grease the bearing, but that is probably all you need to do. The spacer in the back strut assembly just takes up the space where the bearing would be.

Yes, the bump stops prevent bottoming out the strut catridge and ruining them. The material you found at the bottom of the spring is what is left of the old bump stops that are glued to the "Hat" that holds the top of the spring in place. I don't think that the rubber stop is available separately, they only come with the Hat, but you can get Polyurethane ones to replace the rubber ones. I think I got mine from MSA.

[tanny]

Carl,

Thanks for the reply. I ordered four cartridge boots with the bump stops attached for the KYB cartridges. Hopefully those will work. Victor.

[Bambikiller240]

Did you order those from Victoria British? I haven't used those, but they should be fine. Next time I take the suspension apart I'll probably get a set. I like the boot idea, but may keep my Poly bump stops.