Lowering Springs

Discussions relating to MX5 Tyre choice, Wheels, Brakes Suspension components and other items to keep you going around corners, stuck to the ground or stopping on a dime.

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MrGrey
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Post by MrGrey » Tue Sep 17, 2013 6:46 pm

This thread exemplifies why I love this forum and its members.

you all rock sooooo much!

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Post by warrior » Tue Sep 17, 2013 8:30 pm

I agree, this is a great forum with 99% of the people just here to learn and help others out.
warrior

MrGrey
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Post by MrGrey » Sun Sep 29, 2013 3:49 pm

I had no luck today trying to remove the front springs, I could get the shock unbolted easily enough but could not remove the top wishbone to actually get the shock itself out.... the wheel side of the wishbone had one bolt (only the bottom of this bolt is accessible and is locked in with a splitpin) and I could not get it to pop out once I took the nut off.

I will have a try again later on this week (I need the car for work on mon/tues) but was I barking up the wrong tree or is that how it should be done?

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Post by marcellarius » Sun Sep 29, 2013 4:00 pm

You may be able to compress the springs and get the strut out that way.

If you've got a 1.6, you should be able to remove the springs with the wishbone attached, if you lever it down with a prybar. Loosening the upper pivot bolt will make it MUCH easier to push the wishbones down. You'll need a 21mm socket and breaker bar, and you'll need something to hold the nut on the other side when doing it back up (adjustable spanner works well). The torque spec is 87-102 ftlb, so it takes a bit of muscling, make sure the car is safely supported!

Disconnect the anti-roll bar from the lower control arm on both sides so that you can pull down on the wishbones.

If you still can't get the struts out, even when levering the wishbones down as far as possible, you can slide the pivot bolt back which will release the upper wishbone (take note of the order of the washers!) . This leads to things flopping all over the place so a second pair of hands is useful but not essential. I had to back out the front anti-roll bar bracket bolts in order to slide the pivot bolt past.

Some people suggest that you should jack up the lower control arm before torquing up the upper pivot so that the bushes aren't overly stressed. Also makes it really easy to check bumpstop clearance...

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Post by MrGrey » Sun Sep 29, 2013 4:23 pm

we had a crack at compressing the spring and it was close (oh so close) but the pistonshaft was impeding that progress. Thank you for the suggestions tho' it is greatly appreciated and I will take some photos to show what I am dealing with when I have attempt #2 later on this week :)

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Post by MrGrey » Sat Oct 05, 2013 2:04 pm

Ok, take 2 :wink:

heres a pic of what I am looking at, its that middle wishbone thingy that is being a stymie to my plans for global domination (eg stopping me getting the shock out)

Obviously I undo the bolts at A & B (as well as the ones on the top hat)
now, if I undo C I cannot get it to separate so should I be undoing D and its sister bolt that is hidden in the photo behind the shock and loosening the wishbone from the engine side of things?

I have read up a bit about it but things are not altogether clear and I don't want to screw anything up. Any help is appreciated. Oh, and those wet patches are remains of CRC from the first attempt, the shocks aren't leaking :wink:

Image

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Post by MrGrey » Sat Oct 05, 2013 2:26 pm

or is it these 2 marked E that I should undo?
Image

-=edit=- or should I be leaving the upper wishbone alone and instead be dropping the lower wishbone via the bolts marked F & G in this pic?
Image

BRM
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Post by BRM » Sat Oct 05, 2013 2:53 pm

The two top bolts 'D' and the other one,
And what ever is in the way of getting them out.
Sway bar linkage will help too

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Post by BRM » Sat Oct 05, 2013 2:55 pm

Also leave F & G alone, they're camber / castor bolts.

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Post by MrGrey » Sat Oct 05, 2013 3:11 pm

thank you very much, as it would happen, D is a 21mm and my set only goes up to 19mm .... so its off to bunnings I go.

marcellarius
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Post by marcellarius » Sat Oct 05, 2013 6:45 pm

It's also really tight, so if you're using sockets you'll probably want a breaker bar or else you may end up with a broken ratchet.

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Post by Mr. Shine » Sat Oct 05, 2013 10:15 pm

BRM wrote:The two top bolts 'D' and the other one,
And what ever is in the way of getting them out.
Sway bar linkage will help too
This.

This video should help.

Basically you need to remove the long bolt (which is a bitch to undo) which also requires loosening (but not removing) from memory the front swaybar chassis mount bolts.

That'll allow you to pull the upper wishbone away and with a solid kick/pull down you should be able to pull the shock/spring assembly.

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Post by MattBRG » Sat Oct 05, 2013 11:08 pm

just to throw a bit of a mix in here, i undid bolt/nut C and smacked the ball joint until it came off. then just lifted the wishbone clear. it thought it would have been a simpler way than taking the long bolt out.

if you use a balljoint separator then it would have been way easier but i never thought ahead and got one.
i thought it was a really easy way of doing it, just remember to detach/attach the sway bar mount first!

feel free to correct me if the way i did it was wrong but just throwing my 2c in.

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Post by Snapfrozen » Sat Oct 05, 2013 11:11 pm

C is a balljoint. You remove the split pin if it has one, undo it and whack it with a hammer. Google "How to break ball joint hammer"

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Post by MrGrey » Sat Oct 05, 2013 11:37 pm

Thank you for the help guys but once again I had not much luck today. With my available workspace, I am starting to get a bit disheartened and am thinking this may be a bit beyond my abilities at the moment.

I have not given up, but it is a little frustrating....

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Post by Snapfrozen » Sun Oct 06, 2013 7:27 am

Try this way - Not sure if it will work due to length of the shock.

Undo A, undo strut bolts. Let hub drop and pull shock out the top of it on an angle.

BRM
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Post by BRM » Sun Oct 06, 2013 8:10 am

MattBRG wrote:just to throw a bit of a mix in here, i undid bolt/nut C and smacked the ball joint until it came off. then just lifted the wishbone clear. it thought it would have been a simpler way than taking the long bolt out.

if you use a balljoint separator then it would have been way easier but i never thought ahead and got one.
i thought it was a really easy way of doing it, just remember to detach/attach the sway bar mount first!

feel free to correct me if the way i did it was wrong but just throwing my 2c in.
This is doable to, I've done this way and the long bolt, I think the long bolt is easier.
And i'm just going off Mygrey has a lack of tools etc..

Snapfrozen wrote:Try this way - Not sure if it will work due to length of the shock.

Undo A, undo strut bolts. Let hub drop and pull shock out the top of it on an angle.
You'd still need to at least crack the top bolt to do this, because of the type of bushing it is, to get it to swing down.



What're you stuck on Mrgrey?.

Toolbox
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Post by Toolbox » Sun Oct 06, 2013 8:16 am

I have just done this job 2 weeks ago on a NB and had to undo bolts A,B and C and used a bar to pull the top wishbone down to get the strut out on a angle (it does work but I didn't say it was easy)
I didn't make a mistake. I gave you a observation test and you JUST passed.

Toolbox
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Post by Toolbox » Sun Oct 06, 2013 8:21 am

Double posted again, does anyone know why it is doing this?
I didn't make a mistake. I gave you a observation test and you JUST passed.

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Post by MattBRG » Sun Oct 06, 2013 8:25 am

BRM wrote:
MattBRG wrote:just to throw a bit of a mix in here, i undid bolt/nut C and smacked the ball joint until it came off. then just lifted the wishbone clear. it thought it would have been a simpler way than taking the long bolt out.

if you use a balljoint separator then it would have been way easier but i never thought ahead and got one.
i thought it was a really easy way of doing it, just remember to detach/attach the sway bar mount first!

feel free to correct me if the way i did it was wrong but just throwing my 2c in.
This is doable to, I've done this way and the long bolt, I think the long bolt is easier.
And i'm just going off Mygrey has a lack of tools etc..
i might try this way then when i take my coilovers out next, but as for tools, a standard socket set and a large hammer worked really well for me :D

Best of Luck Mr Grey!

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Post by marcellarius » Sun Oct 06, 2013 12:57 pm

Long bolt seems easier to me, and less likely to damage your ball joint boots in the process.

The wheel nuts on the car are 21mm, so the wheel brace in the tool kit should fit. Even just loosening it will make it significantly easier to push the suspension arms down and that might be enough to lift the struts clear of the bodywork.

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Post by Donovan » Thu Oct 10, 2013 3:59 pm

I take my suspension off and on all time making changes. Removing the long bolt (D) is defiantly the way to go, you don't need to undo C, as the whole top A arm will move loose along with the wheel hub assembly.

I'm a bit rough, so alway end up knocking the shock body against the A arm and scratching the paint work on the shock, so if you don't want to do that, handy to have another pair of hands around.

You may need a long bar as well, to push the bottom A arm down enough to get the shock out.

Also, don't undo bolts E, they hold the engine subframe to the body of the car. Mind you that would be one way to change the suspension, remove the body from the subframe :lol:

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Post by marcellarius » Thu Oct 10, 2013 4:46 pm

I scratched my shiny green Teins doing that :'( If you don't have a second pair of hands, wrapping a rag around the shock body seemed to be effective.

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Post by MrGrey » Thu Oct 10, 2013 6:20 pm

I had a thought today about minimum height today (I was contemplating ground clearance) and my car is currently a fraction above the 100mm mark. From what I have read, If I put the springs in I would have to get it certified to go below the 100mm threshold. Does this sound right?

The idea of getting defected by the police does not sound appealing.

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Post by chris » Fri Oct 11, 2013 8:50 am

In theory yes.

It's quite easily argued.

I wouldn't be to phased by it!
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