Will have Eibach Pro-kit installed myself this Sat.

[Cloudland]

i made it!

the rear right side. simply take out the e-brake clip, and take out one 10mm nuts under the black rubber cap, and swing the cylinder(?) out, then we got enough space to take the lower crash bolts out.

we then moved to the front, and dammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm it, i won't believe this, my father-in-law, a 63 years old man, broke the BOTH sides of a 17mm India made "drop forged" wrench when taking out the front crash bolts. this is just amazing.

oh, i was holding the 12 edges close end on the bolts when he's pulling it, and when the close end broke, it hit my thumb and left a cut.

[Cloudland]

pictures, click thumbnails for 800*600

the broken wrench, BOTH sides!


the 10mm bolt in the middle needs to be removed, as well as the ebrake clip


then swing the cylinder thingy backwards, the lower crash bolts get enough space to be removed then


a full view


this only applies to the rear-right side.

[Cloudland]

Ok, i have a question for you guys.

Now i can either buy a long arm 17mm wrench and a big can of WD-40, to do the front in the weekend.

Or, i can have a mechanic to do the front springs.

DIY has an advantage of price, it would cost me under $30

A mechanic would charge me around 1.5 hours labour, close to $80.

if i do it myself, i'll face the situation that i won't be able to get an alignment until Monday, and chances are, i need to travel during the weekend, after the front springs done. and it does cost me some time.

if i have a mechanic to do it tomorrow morning, i could get an alignment in the afternoon, and i'll have a trouble free weekend.

one of the determining factor could be: how long should i travel before alignment after the replacing front springs? i had one rear corner sitting lower and travelled about 250KMs and tyres seem holding fine, but i'm not so sure about the front tyres.

so, what do U think? thanks.

[Cosmo Dude]

By the time you've driven to the wheel alignment place your suspension will have settled enough.
Wheel alignments are always good to have done and IMO should be part of a service. Your car probably needs an alignment anyway and has for some time so a weekend won't matter.
You will have a real sence of satisfaction if you finish the job yourself but with what you've been through already no one would blame you for getting it done by a mechanic.


On the lighter side you are the new poster boy for not using cheap tools

[Cloudland]

thanks for that title, mate, i got famous among my collegues for buying cheap tools, too.

i'll get a long arm 17mm socket from repco tomorrow (still cheap though, but should hold better than those from burnning warehouse).

[platypus]

long arm socket?


i dunno, what dat is, but i had an 3inch extension bar on the breaker bar to undo the 17mm strut base bolts.... no brake removal was done for my car or leighs... the other thign i found was that when dealing with tight nuts, you can undo them from the bolt, and then take them the rest of the way by hand 9/10

[Cloudland]

see Ur signature U got a BG?

BJ had rear right crash bolt reverse installed, therefore had to move the brake cylinder away to get it out. rear left side has no problem.

rear crash bolts are rather easier to get loose, but the front, i guess i run out of luck today.

btw, i actually meant a long arm wrench.

[twilightprotege]

Bj I

[platypus]

i think i get ya with the wrench thing...

i have a BJ-I as twigwa said, and leigh has a KN laser
the suspension between cars is close to identical in assembly... sp20 had firmer suspension its been discussed... i dunno though

[chicaboo]

E-brake? What's with the seppo talk?
Anyhow, I think you've had as much fun doing this as I did with the exhausts. Except I managed to get through the exhausts on my own thankfully. Do I feel pride in a job well done? Nup, I feel torn muscles in my chest.....

[Cloudland]

the E-brake line will prevent the cylinder from swinging out (can do halfway then the cable will hit the strut), just take the bracket out, and slide the cable out - i did release the e-brake before doing that, but this step is not mentioned in the post i quoted in last page.

U can see the e-brake line in the background of the 2nd picture i posted in this page.

i hurt my right back today. but i WILL get it done... the front should be easier than the rear, if not for the dammmmm wrench, i would have done that last night (GMT+12).

[chicaboo]

No I meant the term "e-brake" is American language (seppo talk)...
I have not heard a single person here in my life call the handbrake and e-brake.
Too bad about the hand. I've got a few war woons from the last couple of days too.

[Cloudland]

ugh... English is not my first language, not to mention "slang".

well i did found out from here:
http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html#S

[-BraXta-]

Originally Posted by chicaboo

I have not heard a single person here in my life call the handbrake and e-brake.

E BRAKE !! lol

[Cloudland]

well, had the front done, ourselves.

ok, here's my dirty secret, i did went to my friend at tyrepower this morning, he used a full arm long breaker bar to loose a crash nut.

i headed to Repco in the afternoon and bought a long 17mm wrench, Repco branded, made in Taiwan, seems to be of much higher quality.

and then, with proper tools, without nasty nuts, the front is like a breeze.

oh, i also did the positive castor mod, and told my friend at tyrepower that don't try to correct the positive castor if it's outside the factory recommended range. made a booking for alignment tomorrow morning.

had a run in the evening, turn-in is again improved, however i feel/hear some sort of wearing sound at certain speed and at times during breaking, sounds like the alignment is off a bit, anyway, i'll have them checked tomorrow.

some guys at protege5.com said the eibach pro-kit doesn't have enough drop? oh well i started worrying about how low the front is once i lowered the car from jack stands. the next set of tyres would more likely to be 205/50/R16 if not going with 17s. i also put 38psi in the front (rear remain 36psi), hope they could help a bit. i'm now really worrying about speed bumps, steep slopes on some driveways, etc.

anyway, thanks guys.

[chicaboo]

I think E-Brake is short for Emergency Brake in America?

Anyhow, you won't see much of a percievable drop with the Eibachs, well atleast you won't unless you have two of the same cars sitting in the garage with one of them lowered... Then you notice it!

[platypus]

yup i have 2 of the same car, not a noticable drop, but a marked improvement!!!

springs take a little while to completly settle in, and i'd recommend after a week or so, jack the car up, and give the springs a quick wiggle and check they are in their seats too

[chicaboo]

Car has been up and down more times than Paris Hilton this week, they've been settled good.
I'm thinking the ride might even be more comfortable than they were the day they were installed?

[platypus]

probably... woulda taken a little while for them to all settle down!!!

took a full month till mine seemed to really jsut be part of the car...

[Cloudland]

did alignment this morning, most dramatic change would be front toe

before adjustment:
left -5.0 mm
right -3.1 mm

after adjustment
left +0.4mm
right +0.8mm


but, the front caster surprised me a bit, i had that positive caster mod, but...
before adjustment
left +2`06' (2 degrees and 6 seconds)
right + 2`09' (2 degrees and 9 seconds)

this is almost spot on with the target data of +1`56' (allowance +1`/-1`)

i told them to leave the positive castor alone if it's above the standard, but anyway, after the alignment:
left +1`53'
right +1`45'