im planning on getting sportlines for my car within a few weeks, but first im wondering how hard they are to install? is it something you can do in your garage with a jack and a few jack stands? how high do you have to be able to get the car off the ground? i hear you sometimes need a spring compresser, and sometimes your ball joints dont want to come apart. any information/advice is appreciated thanks in advance!

 

The rear springs are a piece of cake. The fronts are a little more involved but not hard to do. Everyone is gonna have their own opinion on what the difficulty level is on any project. As for the front springs, after you remove the shocks...you can either purchase a spring compressor to remove the springs, or you can take them to a shop and have them remove the old springs and install the new ones.

 

Autozone you can get the tool for free (pay for it and then return it once you are done and they will refund the downpayment for the tool),... Worth a try to do it your self just take your time..

 

The rears are beyond easy and the fronts are not that bad either, You'll have to unolt the master cylinder(2 bolts) move that up out the way a little, 4 bolts on the top of each strut tower, 2 bolts are torx on the driver's side ! put the car up, unbolt the upper ball joint, wack it with a rubber mallet a few times and it'll pop right off, take a coat hanger or some good strong wire and tie off the spindle so the stress isnt on the brake hose, remove the last 2 bottom bolts on the shock and wa-la, wiggle that sucker right out... Its pretty easy really... Looks worse then it is... I was surprised myself when I did my car this monday

If you get into it and have any questions, feel free to PM me if you need some more help....

Defiently need a spring compressor for the fronts !!!!

-Keith

 

Ive lowered 2 cars and didnt have to separate the ball joints. Plan on doing now shocks with the springs cause the nut on top of the old one will probably be frozen and you wont be able to get the spring off it with out breaking it.


PS. Using huge c-clamps to compress the spring can be hazardous to your health.

 

jchevy, im guesing you had bad experience with the c clamps?

anyways, thanks everyone, i was trying to decide wether it would be something i could do at home or if i would have to take it to the shop, i just got a 1050 dollar bill from the shop today for a posi install, so ill find something better to do with my money if i have to take it to the shop, but it sounds pretty simple from what everyone is saying! Thanks again!

 

ok i just realized that i was logged on as my brother, sorry about that, the above is me typing, just wrong account

 

I had a close call with one. I was wrestling with the spring and clamp on the floor in front of the work bench. The clamp slipped off the coil when it was compressed, the spring flew into the garage wall, and the c-clamp jumped up and landed on the work bench.

Keep in mind this is a big c-clamp, probably wirghs about 8 lbs or more. Scared the hell out of me.

Its probably easiest to just take the spring and the shock to a shop and have them do it real quick, will take them about 5 minutes to do both and might cost you $20 depending on the guy you talk to and how busy they are. This is what i did when i lowered my second car. Getting the assemblies apart can take a while if you using a spring compressor from autozone or something.

Over all the install is pretty easy and it only takes me about 2-3 hours to do it.

 

Install guide for QA1-HAL/Eibach combo

Lisle spring compressor - bolts to the coils so it can't slip off