Replacing Rear Shocks

[Nickshu]

I need to replace the rear shocks on my SC.
Planning on Bilstein sports.

I was wondering how hard it is to get the top bolt off the passenger side shock with the engine in the car. Looks darn tight in there with the airbox and all.

Anyone have any tips on getting on that bolt?

Thanks in advance.

Nick.

[Vipergrün]

Yep, it's darn tight, but it can be done. I recently did it.

To make things worse, you gotta keep the spindle from
spinning while you tighten the nut. I took a large towel and basically found a way to get comfortable with both hands back there.

best of luck

-Brad
80SC

[don911]

It's a PITA on the passenger side. I don't know if the airbox on an SC is the same as a carrera, but I took the air box off. 4 bolts on the airbox if I remember correctly. After the airbox is out of the way, the top mount is less of a pain.

Good luck!

[autobonrun]

Finished installing 4 Bilstein sports on my 79 SC yesterday.

The driver side rear was easy to reach once the air blower and hoses were removed. I loosed the A/C and pulled it back so the hoses allowed more room to get my hands in on the passenger side. I also removed the air filter housing but not the air box and removed the hose from the oil filler neck to the airbox. It is directly in the way. It was still a reach and I could only make a 1/4 turn at a time. I had to use a wrench as my ratchet head would not fit with the soundproofing so close. Long arms definitely help.

The Bilsteins I purchased use a 5mm hex key in the shaft to keep it from turning. Place a piece of metal up against the fire wall to give the hex something to rest against as your turn the nut. The old shocks had a flat surface that I held with vice grips as I loosened the nut.

I was not able to get a torque wrench in the rear, so I had to tighten it as best I could until it felt snug. During removal, loosen both top and bottom bolts but remove the top one first. Also, put your floor jack under the rear shock and lift as much as possible to remove some of the tension from the top bolt then use the jack to lower the shock out of the tower. Do not lift past the point where it is supporting the car rather than the jack stands.

I talked with Bilstein and was told, at least for the fronts which have a 11mm shaft, that the torque on the top bolts should be 54 ftlbs. If the rear shaft is similar size, I would expect the torque to be similar.

Make sure you retighten the bolts once you lower the car and all the weight is pressing the shocks upward.

By the way, if you are installing fronts, the Bilstein shocks come with a nut and a small rubber washer. According to Bilstein, the rubber washer is only used to hold the dust cover in place during shipping. It is not part of the installation. I had to buy a spanner wrench ($42 to hold the front's shaft) although you may be able to get by with a pipe wrench or something similar.

Did my first test drive this evening and boy is this car tight. Really feels great. Fortunately, the height came in just right; 25.2 inches to the front fender and 24.5 inches to the rear.

You should go for it. Good luck.

[Joeaksa]

If you have a DME car, take the airbox off so you can get in there and work with the nut. Then put a MSDS air filter on the thing so that there is some room in the place when you change spark plugs. Did the same six months ago and works well.

Joe