it seems that when i had the skunk2 pro-c's the shock bushings were thinner than OEM and i neglected to use a washer to fill in the extra space (not entirely sure i'm using the correct terminology). when i tightened the shock bolt down the bracket 'pinched' and now OEM shocks won't fit unless i shave the bushing down [maybe] 3mm.

i don't want to have to keep shaving down every new pair of shocks i get, is there anything i can do (maybe there's a tool that works opposite of what a c-clamp does??) to push them outward to accommodate the OEM shock again?

any help is greatly appreciated. thanks in advance!

 

32 views and not a single suggestion... anybody

 

im still trying to figure out what youre talking about but do you think hammering one of these will work?
lady foot pry bar, also good for centering holes

 

thanks for the suggestion, hondamatic. i did try to pry the shock into place but there just isn't enough space to hold the bracket open wide enough to accommodate the shock.

i'll try and find an exploded view of the rear suspension or snap a few pics to better explain myself.

 

well if im thinking what youre thinking, you have something with a slightly crushed hole that you have to enlarge again. so you use the long end of that pry bar (not the 'foot' side) and its conical shape should help get it back into shape when you tap it in

 

i see.. if i'm understanding you right then we're talking about different things. i haven't pinched the threaded bolt hole but the entire bracket that secures the bottom mount of the shock into place.

 

so it kinda mushroomed? you can try to file it down back to size..

 

BUMP
the weather has been abnormal, rain in socal (WTF lol), so i couldn't take a pic of said bracket.

if you look at the AJ racing pic, you can see the mounting bracket for the shock. on my car, that bracket is slightly pinched and won't accommodate an OEM shock unless i shave down the shock's bushings. i need a tool that will push them outward and as close to OEM specs as possible - if said tool even exists

 

i had the same issue when going back to oem too. what i did was get the holes aligned then i used a sludge hammer to hit it in as much as i could then used a crow bar to wedge it in slowly until it was aligned and i was done. it took like 1 WHOLE day to figure out how to do that lol i was running out of ideas.

 

sounds like fun...
i'm pretty sure there's a tool like the one i'm talking about, a mini jaws of life sort of thing. i just want to know what it's called before i go into harbor freight to buy it

 

just stick a large prybar between the bracket and start stretching!!

simple (did this myself)

 

thanks for the advice. my dad has a pry-bar set, if i can add a cheater pipe to the end of that i think i may have a chance of getting this to work lol

 

Use a bolt that goes through the the hole and a nut and washer against the inside of the hole.... Place a piece of metal such as the handle of a crescent wrench over the hole on the opposite side.... Place a socket over the bolt head and a closed end wrench on the nut and tighten with the bolt making contact on crescent wrench handle until the desired inside width is attained.

 

that's the kind of advice i was looking for, thank you for your wisdom!! +rep

s-spec dampers are going on this weekend

 

really?

a crow bar took me literally 3 seconds per side
jacking up the car took longer

wow

leverage with elbow grease = an elegant solution that ONLY TAKES A FEW SECONDS

 

try using a long threaded bolt with two nuts and washer on the inside of the mount and tighten it open. [<-->] that's how it got smashed in the first place.
hope this helps

 

You are absolutely right, that is the best way to do it.