hey all, finally the day has come. i just received the last of the parts for my car

parts:

enkei performance ES6 16x7 rims
205/45/16 kumho ast tires
KYB gas shocks
H&R sport springs 1.75f, 1.5r drop
strut boots


Car: 1996 civic EX (but Si here for Canada)


Now I've been a civic owner for just over a year, and my knowledge and experience so far has been minor changes to the engine such as header, CAI, and spark plugs (also front and rear upper strut bars have been installed already). I have never worked on suspension before and I would really like to save the 700 dollars on quoted install prices. So my question would be, is this something that me and a friend could tackle over a weekend with neither of us having done this before? I have a haynes manual and i know that we need to rent a spring compressor. His dad was a mechanic for 8 years, and we have a garage to work in with all the necessary tools, but he also has never done suspension either. If anyone has any tips or DIY links or anything that would help me at all, it would be greatly appreciated!

 

the front suspension will be a breeze with a spring compressor! BUT the rear can be a PITA if any of the bolts/bushing seize!!!!!

if your lucky like some people are your rear LCA strut bushing will be easily removed.....
and if your outter or rear LCA bushing does seized up dont worry to much... remove the upper camber arm and unbolt the strut from top and bottom. then have a friend grab onto the strut assembly and you put your foot onto the spindle and simply push it down enough for the strut assembly to be pulled out and then simply let go. just do the same when instaling the new strut assembly
thats how i did my 99 when one side was seized up. saved me alot of work cutting/replacing the seized bushings and bolts!

the front will be a breeze so IMO do that one first to get comfortable with it. and then do the rear...
seized bushings are the only typical problem when changing suspensions out!
and also after the instal drive on it for a few days and then take it to get a alignment done and HOPEFULLY your rear toe adjusters wont be seized either and it will be a very simple alignment. otherwise they have to be cut out and replaced. again hopefully youll be lucky and wont have any seized bushing/bolts!

 

yeah you can do it, especially with a friend, and the tools. something that made my suspension install a lot easier was spraying everything down, especially the rear stuff, with a penetrating anti-sieze or something similar, i used freeze-off, but whatever floats your boat. that will help a lot with those s.o.b. bolts and siezed bushings and stuff of the sort. just spray it on there every day for a like 3 days or something before you are going to do the install. and you don't NEED a spring compressor, its nice to have but not necessary. i just loosened the bolt and when it got close had my brother squeeze it just with his hands and it was pleanty to keep the bolt from going anywhere. ghetto? dangerous? meh.. do whatever you feel comfortable with.

 

ya dont ever do it without a spring compressor! come on you can LOAN A TOOL from autozone and when your done take the tool back and get all your money back!

 

Spring compressors are garbage. We dont even use them at honda. We use some clamps to clamp the coils together and remove all of the retaining hardware and then put the new stuff in.

 

Check this out, it might help you a bit
http://www.civicforums.com/forums/44...info-pics.html

 

hey macbeth18288, this DIY seems really helpful, but i have a '96, and the DIY said for 2001+ models... suspension system is different isnt it?