A good present

[CJFusco]

For Christmas, my girlfriend got me a pair of 200lb Weltmeister autocross springs!

Now I'm just gonna have to find someone with the right tools to help me put them on... is this a labor-intensive job? What do you think the difficulty level is, from one to ten? I'm a mechanical moron, but many of my friends are do-it-yourselfers.

[Scott R]

It's very easy, but also very dangerous. Find someone with a good pair of spring compressors, the kind with the saftey latches come to mind.

Once your done you'll need an aligment, do forget to budget that it.

[AFJuvat]

Agree completely with Scott - Invest in a good set of spring compressors (around $75)

If you don't want to fork out the cash for a limited use tool (how often are you really gonna change your springs?), pay to have them mounted - a mistake with springs can be fatal.

Also, do not, under any circumstances remove the large center nut on the shock absorber with the suspension under load (wheels on the ground)

AFJuvat

[Cebu]

If there is an "Autozone" parts store in your area, you can rent the Spring replacement tools and various other special tools as needed. My experience are of very reasonable rates.

[97XRAY]

Actually, I think AutoZone is currently renting for free (deposit) for short periods of use. They are in Willimantic, CT anyway.

[Lawrence Coppari]

I'm missing something here. I have removed the shock absorber nut a number of times with the car on the ground. The weight of the car holds the shock shaft in position. Guess my springs are shorter. I can unscrew the nut by hand once loosened initially with a wrench.

[David McLaughlin]

Make sure you know what you're looking at if you rent a spring compressor. I rented some at a local rental company and they told me that some pieces got lost and replaced with a similar piece. Well, that wan't the case and I could have been killed when one bolt broke causing the compressor to shift. I bought a useable set at sears for around $35. Only slightly more than renting and I now have piece of mind.

CJFusco, if you need a hand, give me a shout. I've done the suspention on two 914s and one GTI. All I need is a manual for torque settings.

[Scott R]

Originally posted by Lawrence Coppari
I'm missing something here. I have removed the shock absorber nut a number of times with the car on the ground. The weight of the car holds the shock shaft in position. Guess my springs are shorter. I can unscrew the nut by hand once loosened initially with a wrench.

That would be a bad thing. It should not be loose enough to remove by hand. I would never touch that nut under load, if the load were to shift, and the spring plate moved you could end up dead.

[CJFusco]

Hmmm I might wait until spring or summer to do this... I wish I knew I'd need an alignment, I just had one done about 2 weeks ago

Does the suspension get that 'out of whack' that you really need an alignment?

[Scott R]

When you pull the struts out the camber is instatnly lost.

[CJFusco]

Damn damn damn I really wish i knew this before I got my steering aligned. Sigh. Such is the luck of a Porsche owner.

[Scott R]

I was in the same boat, I had just had a complete alignment including corner weighting, and balancing. Then I installed my coilovers. So not only did I have the cost of the coilovers, but then the added cost of a 4 hour alignment.

[Lawrence Coppari]

I have camber balls in my car. I don't believe there is any way anything can pop up and hit you when you remove the shock absorber shaft nut with the shock installed in the car and the wheel on the ground. It seems to me that all the nut does is keep it from falling out when the car bounces or if you raise the wheel off the ground. The upward force is on the underside of the shock tower, not the nut.

We are not on the same sheet of music. Nothing moves when I take the shock nut (which is quite puny) off the shock shaft. My camber does not change. I measure it a couple of times a year. It remains negative 1.5 degrees.

If you take the shock off or unbolt it at the bottom, you lose your alignment.

[Scott R]

yea, I meant when he goes to remove the actual strut assy from the spindal he will have to remove the accentric (sp) bolt therefore adjusting the camber position.

I am trying to find a picture, but we had to watch a GM training film in GM tech school where a guy removed the center nut while still in the car. He bumped into the car shifted the weight a bit, and the spring slipped out of the upper plate. It then shot through the strut mount and into his head! It was pretty graphic, I have hated unloading springs every since.

[CJFusco]

So let me get this straight... there IS a way to install new springs without screwing up the camber?

[Scott R]

No, sorry its kind of a side bar conversation.

You need to remove the entire strut assy to remove the spring. That involves removeing the 4 12M bolts on the tower, and the two 17M bolts on the spindal. You can then just slip it out. Once you slip it out you need to safely compress the spring then remove the damper bolt. Once you have the damper bolt off you can remove the stop spring plate and slip the compressed spring off. As soon as you remove the two 17M bolts you loose the camber position. You need to at least mark the position of the strut to the spindal so that you can get it close enough to drive to the alignment shop.

[Dougster]

Congrats on the present, sounds like quite a girlfriend you have there!

[Scott R]

Sorry, here is a link to the removal procedure. This is from "fletch944t's" web site. He shows howe to remove it, but not how to unload the spring. This will get you half way home.


http://www.clarks-garage.com/shop-manual/susp-02.htm

[CJFusco]

Thanks, Scott! I think I might have to bookmark this thread; I will probably be doing this procedure in spring or summer. I will have time to save up for rear sways by then... that will balance out the handling a bit.