Please Advise: Strut/Shock R/R
 

The factory manual advises to use a spring compressor in the process of removing and replacing the front strut, whereas AllDataDIY.com describes a pretty simple and straightforward process of unbolting, removing and re-installing. I cannot find a strut removal thread; can anyone tell me which process to use or describe it in more detail?

Also, AllData recommends checking alignment after installation and the factory manual doesn't even mention it. Is it necessary? I'm just wanting to replace my OEM units with KYB's, no change in ride height :confused:

Some people choose to remove and install complete new strut assemblies so they don't have to rent or borrow a spring compressor which would allow them to dismantle the assembly and just replace the strut. I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure complete strut assemblies are not available for the fit yet.

Are your struts blown or leaking? How many miles are on your car?

If you're moving your stock springs to the new shocks I recommend renting or buying a spring compressor. You can take it off without it, but the tophat is going to fly off along with the spring when you unbolt it, and is somewhat unsafe. I'm not going to say do it without the compressor, because if you hurt yourself i'll feel bad.

You should always get an alignment after unbolting suspension. That being said, I haven't in about 20k miles since I put in springs and everything came out pretty peachy just checking toe with a string. You can't really adjust anything in the front besides toe anyway, so it's an easy self check.

I have changed mine a couple of times and another Freak's once without using a spring compressor... No one died or was seriously injured, I promise you. The threads on the strut shafts are long enough that when the nuts are removed all of the pressure is relieved before it reaches the end of the shaft... If you want an extra measure of safety you can remove the top mounts before lifting the front wheels off of the ground.... Honestly I lost only a small amount of blood and only required a shot of bourbon for medication.

^^ I second that. I have installed springs, put the stock spring back in, and used different springs and didnt use a compressor. The center thread of the strut is long enough to keep everything together.

So that's two opinions, one guy says the tophat will fly off and two say no because the center shaft is long enough. It is a bit worrisome getting conflicting info from parties who have supposedly all done the same procedure. But I think overall I get the picture. Thanks guys, I appreciate it!

Willy, the car has 88K miles and has been through 5 Alaska winters. I don't think the OEM shocks are bad yet but I'm preparing and looking at options. Looks like KYB makes a OEM-style replacement, I was hoping they'd offer something a little stiffer like their GasAdjust model which I have at the rear. I guess 90-some bucks for a front is pretty reasonable.

Also, this thread ROCKS!

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...07-08-gd3.html

You will be fine without the compressor if kyler and TC say so (I would trust their advice), just be careful and don't assume that every car will be the same, if you ever do this on another car. I used compressors with mine, but I had them handy and I always figure better to be safe than sorry. It is good others have done it without them so they can say if the tophats under pressure or not.

I didn't notice this was a GD thread :o I have a GE.

Mine has 120K and six Minnesota winters and they're fine other than the underdamping from day one.

Did you say you have gas adjust on the rear? I didn't know they made that model for the fit.

I had a '90 Civic Si with 282K miles that in 10 years never needed front shocks as far as I could tell. I get too finicky at times so maybe I'll just chill. But I will still file away the info.

Awhile back Manxman (now known as Triskhelion) did a "Monroe Air Shocks DIY" thread and I put the shocks, I think they were MA 800's, on the back of my Fit. It required a minor tweak that was pretty easy. The bladder on one blew out after on -50 Alaska winter so I decided to try another shock and decided to use the same fitment, as the shocks are heftier than the OEM Fit shocks. This is a partial list of wehat the KG 4536 is spec'd for:

1982-1983 Buick Skyhawk All Submodels; All Engines;
1982-1983 Cadillac Cimarron All Submodels; All Engines;
1982-1983 Chevrolet Cavalier All Submodels; All Engines;
1982-1983 Pontiac J2000 All Submodels; All Engines;
1982-1985 Oldsmobile Firenza All Submodels; All Engines;
1984 Pontiac J2000 Sunbird All Submodels; All Engines;
1999-2002 Daewoo Lanos All Submodels; All Engines;

The center shaft is slightly shorter than the Monroe one so I needed to shave a bit off the top rubber mounting bumper, and grind a little lip off the shaft to allow the flat washer that seats against the lower bumper to seat properly, but after that the Gas -A - Just shock fits, as long as you mount the lowers with flat spacer washers both on the outboard side of the lower shock mount, as the tube on the KYB is fatter than the lower tube on the OEM and needs more clearance from the spring mount. Any way, it works, and thanks to Triskhelion.

how's the damping compared with the oem ones?

To be really honest, I can't tell all that much, the rear end of the FIt is so light anyway. We have nasty frost heaves on some of our roads and I was looking for a solution to bottoming out the rear on the more pronounced dips, especially since the tires rub just a smidgeon on bottom out due to the lesser offset of the Drag wheels. But they still rub on the nasty dips with the KYB's. I looked far and wide for replacement rear springs that are stiffer but do not change ride height, and they DO NOT EXIST. I was hoping the newer model Fit springs would work, but they are a completely different height. All I can say is that with the Progress bar on the back and the KYB's the cornering is as good as I will ever need or want it to be. The Progress bar is subtle but tweaks out just a tad of understeer...:vtec:

Did you call Eibach? They can make custom full length springs for you, if you don't mind paying for it (i'm not sure how much it'd be for custom springs, not cheap i'm sure). You'd just need the spring length and I.D., they could help you pick the spring rates. Worth an email at least if you're really interested.

Eibach Springs : Customer Spec Race Springs

I called Eibach and they have even D/C their lowering springs for the Fit - the rep recommended getting a stiffer lowering spring from someone and a polyurethane spacer from Summit Racing to restore the car to OEM ride height. I may check that out.

Oh that seems like a good option. I was thinking have them make custom springs for you but if they didn't try to sell it to you maybe that's not a possibility anymore?

Just out of curiosity, why do you think stiffer springs at the stock ride height is good?
Lets deal with stiffer springs and oiginAl ride height.
That will be detrimental and in no way helpful to cornering or ride or anything else.
In fact stiffer springs at original ride height will make weight transfer to the outside wheel quickjer and making your fit more likely to roll over.
The increase in oversteer won't be fun either, esppecially in the wet or snow. Ever driven a regular pickup truck around a race course? its not very fast if you keep from turning over. The increase in oversteer is not useful when ride height is not reduced.

The way to cure bottoming in the rear is with air lift shock absorbers and there are more than a few videos and pics of that change. My choice was and is Monroe. Gabriel hass been successfully used too.
As for the result check "fit leading a lap at vir " on youtube. By stopwatch the change was worth 4 seconds a lap. Use the aur pressure to get your ride height.

As for coil compressors ANY TIME YOU NEED TO DISASSEMBLE A SPRING/SHOCK ASSEMBLY ALWAYS USE A COIL COMPRESSOR. Failing to do so can be a lethal mistake. And if the spring is separate, use a jack to let the axle down. Not the lift jack.

Mahout,

Sorry to make you angry. So explain to me why a stiff rear suspension via a Monroe air shock pumped up helps the car's handling while a stiffer rear suspension via stiffer spring makes it roll over? And please, as Denzel Washington said in "Philadelphia", 'splain it so a 5th grader can understand.

Thank you,

Dennis

Its all in the physics. When you lowser a vehicle's center of gravity its harder to tip over; softer springs do morte than make the ride more comfortable, it also lets the body roll more which aklso klowers the effective center of gravity that results from the side load trying to tip the vehicled. The higher the CG the easier to tip over as well as making the ride much worse.

Air lifts, while they do maintain height, also permit the springs to collapse enough to offset the tipping forces. In short, air lifts keep the height up without penalizing with making the suspension unable to do a safe job.
This well demonstrated with racing cars. Using stiff springs at original ride heights are much less cornering or riding than lower stiffer springs. Another drawbackj is that stiffer springs make it harder for the tires to follow the road surface. Make thm stiff enough and the vehicle bounces right off the road regardless.
Did that help?
PS I'm not angry. I just need to get your attention. Let me tell you \a few stories the old NASCAR guys berated me with when I started. A fledgling engineer just hasn't grasped the reality physics.

I recall seeing AirLift stickers on dragsters and stock cars in magazine pictures over 50 years ago..I had a set of their bags in the rear coils of a 1979 Lincoln that pulled the travel trailer I lived in after my last divorce..

OK, thanks!