DIY 6th gen Civic suspension

[IanB]

This is one of the best DIY threads I've ever used! The only thing you didn't touch on was broken bolts and how to deal with them, lol. I had 3 break, ended up having to get new LCA's.

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[chimchim]

Originally Posted by korrapat

Dear, Chimchim.
I want to see you rear sway bar installtion? Could you please show me the picture of fixing. Now i got sway bar from EK9 and want to install in my car; Civic Vti 1999.

Thank you fro your share

I don't have the car anymore... but seriously you just bolt it up. Connect the endlinks to the bar while the bar is off the car, the bolt the mounts of the bar to the chassis, then the endlinks to the control arms. Easy.

[chimchim]

Originally Posted by goldex420

i didnt use a compresion tool i just but the air ratchet on it and ziped it off but be careful that fucker will shoot. it shot across the shop about 10 feet i hightly dout it would stick in a tree homie. slamin civics since 92

I don't like this method because you can potentially bork the threads of the strut shaft and the nut (although the nut is replaceable). Plus, it's just dangerous.

If you don't want to use a spring compressor, then you should use the "leave the top hat bolted to the car and jack the knuckle/arm" method. If I had to do this again, I think I go this route as I think it keeps things aligned better.

[emad_taha]

i like that

[randomtask77]

I don't have access to air tools, so I was just curious about loosening bolts.

Could I loosen the top bolts before I jack up the car? I don't know how tight these bolts would be and I don't know if I want to be trying to break bolts loose inside the car while it's up in the air.

[lkailburn]

Originally Posted by randomtask77

I don't have access to air tools, so I was just curious about loosening bolts.

Could I loosen the top bolts before I jack up the car? I don't know how tight these bolts would be and I don't know if I want to be trying to break bolts loose inside the car while it's up in the air.

they are only torqued to 25 or 30 some odd ft/lbs. nothing crazy tight so you'll have no prob knocking them off with the car in the air

-Luke

[randomtask77]

Originally Posted by lkailburn

they are only torqued to 25 or 30 some odd ft/lbs. nothing crazy tight so you'll have no prob knocking them off with the car in the air

-Luke

Thanks, I appreciate the help. I'm gonna try and tackle changing out my suspension myself. The rear seems really simple. From what I gather, it seems like three bolts (maybe four) to remove the entire shock/strut from the car.

[lkailburn]

both front and rears are VERY easy. two bolts on top, two bolts on the bottom. the problem is rust, depending on where you live.

i just installed my koni/gc setup. very happy with the quality of the parts. very unhappy with the total lack of shock travel at any decent amount of lowering. time for some modifications (top hats, fork trick)

-Luke

[randomtask77]

Originally Posted by lkailburn

both front and rears are VERY easy. two bolts on top, two bolts on the bottom. the problem is rust, depending on where you live.

i just installed my koni/gc setup. very happy with the quality of the parts. very unhappy with the total lack of shock travel at any decent amount of lowering. time for some modifications (top hats, fork trick)

-Luke

Did you end up needing an alignment after you were done installing the new suspension?

Reason I ask is because I just had an alignment done to the car after I got the P/S rack installed about a month ago and was wondering if I need another one after I install my own suspension.

[lkailburn]

rule of thumb is yes.
i sort of skipped that on the last suspension install but even daily driven i really didn't notice any out of alignment for the few years i had that setup. even camber wear was on the mild side. i should take it in and have it done this time for safe measure, also need to get the tires rebalanced(my calipers didn't clear the wheel weights :P )

-Luke

[randomtask77]

Originally Posted by lkailburn

rule of thumb is yes.
i sort of skipped that on the last suspension install but even daily driven i really didn't notice any out of alignment for the few years i had that setup. even camber wear was on the mild side. i should take it in and have it done this time for safe measure, also need to get the tires rebalanced(my calipers didn't clear the wheel weights :P )

-Luke

I hit a snag upon trying to install the rears. It needed a little muscle, but I did manage to get the shock/strut assembly off of the vehicle (with the help of SPL and a breaker bar). But I noticed that the shocks that were on the car (Tokico Blues) had threading for the bolt where as the new suspension did not. Now I'm putting the old suspension back in until I get the appropriate nut to mount the new suspension in.

BTW, what is the appropriate sized nut for that bolt? 14mm?

[lkailburn]

are you talking about the top of the strut being threaded and it's not on the new setup? can you post a picture of your new setup you're trying to put in?

-Luke

[randomtask77]

Originally Posted by lkailburn

are you talking about the top of the strut being threaded and it's not on the new setup? can you post a picture of your new setup you're trying to put in?

-Luke

You know when you get a set of aftermarket shocks (or I guess even OEM) that the bottom of the rear shocks has one side threaded so that the bolt could secure the shock to the LCA.



All inclusive coilovers do not have this threading to accomodate the bolt.

I'm not sure if OEM is supposed to be similar to this or rear shocks in general have the threading. But I don't have the nut and the coilovers didn't come with any. Do I just go to Lowe's or something and pick up a couple of nuts to help secure this when I install the new suspension?

I don't have a problem with the upper half (no upper mounts) but I do understand that I transfer the top hat (I guess that's what they're called) and the bumpstop onto this new coilover when I make the switch.

[lkailburn]

yep you'll transfer the stock top hats and bumpstop if the new setup didn't have any. that's kind of odd about the lower rear bracket not having the welded on nut. but yes you can just take the stock bolt and bring it to a store and ask for a grade 8 nut to fit it. you want something durable and strong.

-Luke

[randomtask77]

Originally Posted by lkailburn

yep you'll transfer the stock top hats and bumpstop if the new setup didn't have any. that's kind of odd about the lower rear bracket not having the welded on nut. but yes you can just take the stock bolt and bring it to a store and ask for a grade 8 nut to fit it. you want something durable and strong.

-Luke

Thanks for the help. I didn't really think it was odd until I started taking that lower bolt off and it struck me that I couldn't get the new one in without the appropriate nut. I guess I'll just go the the hardware store and pickup a couple of those nuts.

[Duke878]

i did my fronts on the weekend and it was super easy and im still quite a newbie! im doing the rears soon. i know i should get the alignment done soon, but will it do major damage if i wait afew weeks?

i just finished the rears now and its awesome! it was super easy with this great DIY!

[eddiel]

Great DIY! I just got the same setup myself today, and the rear shocks have some paint chipped off along the "cup" where the springs sit. Should I worry about the shocks rusting in that area?

[OneShiftyAsian]

this is an awesome DIY, i'm going to install some tein basics pretty soon, and it was a great way to familiarize myself

[trevek10]

nice diy for everyone!!! yr lucky thoe yr civic has a nut at the top of the front shocks... just my 2 cents for ppl that have a 99-00 there is an allen head at the top of the shock assembly... so make sure you crack it while the shock is still in the car! dont learn the hard way and break an allen trying to hold it and turn while its out of the car!

[pslsnakes]

Do I have to take the whole strut apart if I'm just doing lowering springs?

I got in a bit of a jamb and sold my coil overs that were still BNIB. Bought some lowering springs though.

[SCoupe]

Originally Posted by chimchim

Tell me if this is useful. I'm not wasting my time doing the rest if no one cares about it.

Thank you for making the effort, you did not waste your time, the work you documented is very much appreciated many years later.

[myGFsIntegra]

Awesome writeup. Did this today and had almost no problems. However, i did break the head off "Bolt 1" in the rear and its at the shop now to be fixed.

The only thing I would like to add is that if you are going to do the washer trick, it is ALOT easier to do while the spring/shock assembly is removed!

[roddi7997]

I used this write up last weekend. Instructions were dead on. The only issue I had was breaking the LCA bots. I used an Air Hammer with a chisel to break the welds to get them out. It only took a couple minutes once I came up with the idea.

[kenny8585]

Look cool. I have never change a civic suspension in my whole life. I'm gonna try this but not alone.

[zXeX]

Originally Posted by jamescardenas07

maybe a bushing replacemnt DIY

An answer to an old statement...

YouTube - DIY: Civic Rear Trailing Arm Bushings

[jetsurgn]

I used this awesome DIY guide to change out my girlfriends shocks on her 1998 Civic Coupe EX. All four shocks were totally wasted, so I installed Bilstein HD (F4-BE5-2336-H0 ) (F4-BE5-2337-H0 )all the way around along with the stock springs. I brought the struts down to a local shop and barrowed their professional strut compressing tools which made the job a lot easier. The bushings all looked worn, but not worn enough to change just yet. While I had everything apart I also did a brake bleed all around. Great instructions and very detailed, you should be very proud of the work you did on this thread.