Hey guys, my dad and I just picked up a civic to work on for the summer, details in my sig. It was lowered when we bought it with an adjustable coilover setup, but it drove like a dump truck and was loud as hell, probably because of the springs rubbing against the adjusting threads on the struts. Anyway we're replacing all four with stock struts and springs (the old man refuses to let me lower the car at all, and we couldn't find any aftermarket kits at stock ride height). We're having a tough time getting the struts in place, though. Is there a way to make it easier? We rented spring compressors, but even if you compress the spring enough you still have to compress the shock absorber to get it to fit in place. So far the only way we can do it is to use a pry bar to push the control arm down and man-handle the strut in place, which seems like it might be kinda hard on the car. I don't want to break anything. Should we be removing any other parts that will let us slip the strut in place without using all our strength? Thanks for your time.

 

its the exact same process as installing aftermarket suspension. look in the DIY section.

 

Oh I probably should have looked there first, my bad. However, for actually installing the struts and springs all it says is "Wiggle the new stuff back in and line the 14mm's up and get it back together." My problem is that I can't fit the struts and springs in place, even with the spring compressors. It's like they're two or three inches too long. Perhaps the previous owner put some sort camber kit in? I'll take pics tomorrow.

 

Aha! I figured it out. You don't even need spring compressors, you just have to unbolt the upper control arm where it bolts to the chassis (two 14 mm's). Then all the suspension parts will drop down for you and give you plenty of room to fit in the new struts. To bolt the upper control arm back in place just jack up the control arm until you can line up the bolts. Thanks for the help guys

 

unless u bought new mounts, bump stops, bolt, washer, etc...u'll need spring compressors to take those off and use on ur new setup

 

yeah I bought new everything... got a deal, all four for $200. installed everything and it rides WAY better than with those coilovers.