94 ex suspension plan and questions
 

Hey homies, another n00b here.

So ive been researching a new sus. setup for my civic and have decided on some KYB AGX shocks and Eibach Pro kit springs. I would like to lower it as well, but not too much (1-1.5"). Stock wheels :/

Its been sitting for a few years before I bought it and when i hit a bump the front left sus. squeeks like hell! Is that the bushings? I plan on getting Energy Suspension's master bushing kit. hard to install?

oh and i plan on replacing the fork bolts and the rear lower shock bolt. I have a bad feeling they are gonna be rusted to hell. i have found some from a parts store online, but the price is CRAZYYYYY!! and they dont give the size...... so does anyone know the size of the bolt/ thread pitch? I can just order some grade 8s from mcmaster-carr.com for like half the price...and some new locknuts.


uumm yeah, thats all i can think of for now

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...SHOCK+ABSORBER <== thats ur shock bolts, and i dont fee like finding the fork bolts but yah that website, has all stuff u should need, and if u r taking apart most of ur suspension installing the energy suspension bushings is jsut amatter of changing out the bushings

ps sorry about typing errors

welcome to the forums! :D

Anywhoo, a 1-1.5" drop should be what you're looking for; a 1" drop will pretty much cut your wheel gap in half, and a 1.5"-ish drop should almost eliminate the wheel gap.

Anyway, the squeak could be caused by a number of things... my guess would be either a bushing, or maybe the rubber isolator on top of the spring is damaged or missing (when I removed the isolators, there was an audible squeak from the suspension while going over bumps). Bushings aren't really hard to install, I did a write-up when I replaced my rear LCA bushings. It was easy, just kind of time consuming; I doubt any of the other bushings would be much harder. Personally, if you have the money and want to be safe, the three most commonly seized bolts on the suspension are the two (on each side) LCA bolts, and the rear shock-mount bolts. The bolts themselves will run around $30 at a dealership. Since you plan on getting a full bushing kit, I wouldn't worry too much about the bushings, since you'll be replacing them anyway.

Good luck :D

KYB=poop in my book

ES Bushings are a mofo to install and youll want to keep some...whats it called?...some of that jelly ****...god damnit i cant think of the name...but w/e youll want some of that to lube them every once in a while

And a 1-1.5" drop will leave you craving for more....

Just my 2 cents

I have Eibach Pros springs and shocks and it is actually a relief not having to slow down for every bump, dip, or slope. While the lowriders are braking, I'm blasting by em, while still looking far better than factory.

I remember that you have said this before. I know you talked about their shock dyno, but do you actually have any hands-on experience with KYB AGX's?
I have some and they're great.



OP: I think a 1.5" drop should be perfect.

well its always better to slow down on big bumps no matter what you drive! the suspension only takes out so much bump... the harder ya hit the more it effects the balljoints,axles, tierods, bent rims, busting belts in tires. and also bending control arms....
i know.... my old 66impala i floored it over large school speed bumps racing other kids out of the parking lot and after 2 years of doing that the whole front end had to be rebuilt!

hardest part about swaping out bushings is getting the old ones out ;)
defiantly helps alot to have access to a strong press!!!!!
and the front bolts are almost always ok.... alittle rusty sure but with alittle penatrating oil will clean right up. now the rear bolts is highly likely to have problems with seizing!!!!! sometimes its not.... just depends where you live and where the cars been most of its life..... road salt is a huge factor!

Slow down - yes, but crawl to almost a complete stop? Nah - too much time wasted! Even backing out of a moderately-sloped driveway can scrape an exhaust system in a slammed car, even at a severe crawl.

And you are right about road salt, although I have to say that I don't miss the CT snow at all. Where I am, it doesn't even rain from April until November.

hey, driving slow over bumps is the sacrifice you gotta make to drive a dumped car. And it's completely worth it :D

LOL u guys are crazy. where i live, the roads are pretty crappy. every time i see a bump, im hoping my sus. doesnt take a dump! (hey i rhymed!) and i dont want to lower it too much (slanted driveway, ect...) oh yeah, lots of salt here in WI (although the car was registered in IL so not too certian about their road conditions.) i remember the sus. bolts, ect. on my mom's car were rusted pretty badly (ie. pulling out the torch to cut bolts).

i have a puller i can use to press the bushings out with. are there 3 bushings in the rear LCA? and do i replace all of them? it looks like it. and the Energies just slide in?

do i need to get upper mounts for the shocks? or do i reuse the stock ones?(i have a feeling im not going to want to) any recommendations for some that arent really expensive? buy now stock ones..... ebay.....

66impala (droooooooolllll :b.......... )

oh yea, bought new headlights from NOPI.com on Fri. hoping to get them this week?.... my stock ones are pretty much useless and its BAD driving with all this rain lately... :(

ehhh, bad roads aren't terrible with a slammed civic... the roads in PA pretty much suck, and my civic had about 4 inches from the ground to the frame. But I love lowriders, so for me the sacrifice is worth it.

But yeah, there are three bushings in each rear LCA; one on either end (the actual LCA bushings) and one in the middle (the shock-mount bushing). If you get the master bushing kit, it should come with all the bushings you need, and yes, you replace all three in each LCA. But for the upper shock mounts, are you talking about the bushing? If so, then yes, you'll replace it (your bushing kit should come with the replacements). Energy Suspension bushings sort of slide in... in place of each single stock bushing is a three-piece bushing. To be honest, it's a bit of a PITA to get everything pressed together, but there's a trick to it. I'll take a look and see if I can't find the thread I made when I replaced my LCA bushings.

ya bad roads arent to bad if ya get the right spring and shock combo.... best IMO are adjustable struts...
since the fronts dont have alot of travel i have the front struts set to full FIRM setting.... and the rear struts since they have alot of travel i have them to soft... and the rides not to bad at all.... tho i need to get some GC extended top hats for my front at least! ill buy the new tophats before i put the suspension on my 96dx for sure! and this time im not going to reuse the front camber kit. but i will reuse the rear camber kits. i want to go even lower with it and ive heard camber arms on the front can really hit the tower and punch holes in them alot easier... so ill just rock some negative camber up front. shouldnt be to bad....
the rear looks the worse with negative camber!

yeah, it's all in the setup. Also, extended tophats should help smooth out the ride quality a little bit. I'd assume they'd help extend the life of shocks on slammed cars, too, but I really have no facts to back it up.

But to the OP, if you want between a 1 and 2" drop, check out Tien S-techs (just under a 2" drop) and Tien H-Techs (just over a 1" drop). Tien makes some pretty quality stuff.

so i finaly got my new headlights!! :D and just installed them in this freeeezing weather. i guess the previous owner had several ppl back into it and kinda messed up the front end. the bumper doesn't fit very well and the hood is all kinds of effed. but the old broken headlights are out and the new ones look so much better!! ill adjust them tonight. installed some luminics ultra white, and the blue coating looks awesome when their off. :)

while i was out there i took some pics of the front sus. it doesn't look good :( i figure out what the squeaking was. it looks like the bottom rest on the damper for the spring is rusted pretty bad and the spring is all crooked (see pic)

and the bushings are shot, good thing i plan on replacing them.

bolts look rusted to hell. ugh this doesnt look like its gonna be easy :(

headlights look great :D

And honestly, you'd be surprised at how easy the front bolts usually come off. They usually look pretty rusted, but they don't (usually) give you much trouble coming off. It's the rears you have to look out for since the front wheels kick up water and salt (if you live in a climate with snow) on the rear suspension.

DITO IM SURE IT WILL ALL COME APART EASY!!!!!!!

and ya definatly replace that spring at least... but chances are the strut might be bent also.... also replace that lower strut bushing... it looks like its torn loose, might just be the angle but it looks seperated from the rubber and shaft.

and the inner tie rod boot i dont believe makes any noise... my old 94 had both bad and it didnt make a noise at all.
id say most of your issues are from that strut and spring and LCA/strut bushing.

lol wtf?

dvdcup gtfo

Update

ok so last monday (6-1-09) i had the car stolen! :( filed a stolen car report, reported it to my insurance and was goin to file a claim, BUT it was found on monday several alleys down in some bushes. :)) THANK GOD!! no damage, but my aftermarket radio (i have the faceplate, i dont know what they are goin to do with the body) and cell phone was stolen, they left the stock radio (had it behind the seat). the battery was dead, so my dad jumped it.

no damage was done to the column, or lock. so they must have had a filed down key or something?

still had a half tank of gas....

oh yea i was pretty pissed off all last week, but who wouldnt be.. damn punks!!

my dad gave me his Club, how well do these deter thiefs? its on right now.

im still wanting to put a new suspension on it. im thinking of goin with KYB AGX shocks and tein s techs for springs, good setup? i think the front left shock/spring is getting worse..... :(

well if you just had your car stolen then dont do the suspension just yet. GET A ALARM ;)
or at least do a kill switch on the car.
they already know they can steal your car when ever they want!

im gonna do a keyed starter cut off switch

well if its a manual the starter can simply be bypassed. its not much protection at all. i suggest killing the fuel pumps power. thats your best kill idea. no fuel and the car cant run no matter what they chop and bust up.LOL
but the starter can just be jumped with a piece of wire with the hood open or if a manual a simply push start and drop the clutch in first or reverse. ;)

thats what in my civic i didnt even bother with the starter kill since its useless on a manual tranny!

interesting... its an automatic, but i may do the fuel thing instead. where are the wires located, go they go through the dash? wheres a good place to put a switch?

oh and my battery was severely drained, ive jumped it a couple times and have let it run for several minutes, but it still barely starts. am i gonna have to recharge it overnight?

its best to charge your battery if its fully drained.... your alternator will only charge so many dead batteries until it wants to die!

and just remove the lower rear seat and get to the wires right off the pump.