How to: Install new springs and shocks

[Jimnist]

What you’ll need:

14mm, 19mm, 22mm ½” dr sockets
1/2” dr Breaker bar
½” dr Ratchet
Rattle gun is highly recommended, but not essential
Spring compressors
Grinder with cutting disc
Combo pliers
Brake fluid(if doing the rear)
Blanks or plugs for the rear brake line. If you don't have any, you can use Vise Grips
Screwdriver – flatbalde and Phillips (if doing the rears)
10 or 12mm socket (if doing the rear)


If you have serviceable struts:

A hammer and chisel
OR
A 54mm(I think?) spanner/shifter
Which ever one is cheaper or easier to get.

Bolt penetrant or WD-40 if you don't have any.

Before we start, changing springs are dangerous! They store a tremendous amount of energy when compressed and MAY INJURE YOU IF THEY SLIP.

Fronts Springs

To start off, crack the wheel nuts with the 22mm(but don't fully remove) and then put the car on stands. I like to put the front stands where the cross member bolts onto the chassis – avoiding the bolts of course.






Once the car is off the ground, take off all the wheels.

Next, remove the retaining clip on the brake line with the pliers and get the grinder out. Cut the little tab holding the brake line. Cut it about 90% through and then bend it back and forth to snap it off, file the rough edges. Move the line out and away from the suspension unit.

Cutting that tab will save you from bleeding your front brakes every time you want to remove the struts.






Pull out the 22mm socket and breaker bar and crack those nuts holding the suspension assembly to the steering knuckle. You can undo the top nut with the rattle gun after cracking it, but I couldn’t use it on the lower nut – not enough room. Same goes for the other side.






Again, you can use the rattle gun (but it isn’t essential) to undo the 14mm nut holding the suspension unit to the strut tower. Be careful, as soon as those nuts are gone, the unit WILL DROP unless you support it with your other hand or helper.





Crack the piston rod nut with a 19mm socket and then proceed with compressing the springs with spring compressors. DO NOT FULLY LOOSEN THE NUT!

Put the spring compressors on and start compressing, take the piston rod nut off once it’s compressed. This is where the rattle gun comes in handy, tighten the compressors with a ratchet would take forever and a fair amount of effort; especially when it starts to get tight. I suggest laying the suspension unit so its axis of travel is horizontal when compressing or uncompressing them. That way, if it the spring compressors slip, it'll send them flying away from you. Like this (when you do this, the suspension unit should be there - i didn't take a photo)





Front shock absorbers

Now, if you have unserviceable struts/purchased a shock absorber with the assembly, then you don’t need to read on. If you have serviceable struts and bought cartridges, you’ve got a bit more work to do.

Pull out some bolt penetrant or WD-40. Give it a good spray and let it sit for a few mins. Get the hammer and chisel and start banging away. It will give, just give it a good belting and spay on more penetrant from time to time. If you’ve got the 54mm spanner or shifter, use that. I didn’t have one and didn’t want to fork out $80 for a big shifter.

In the picutre, i'm undoing the nut. It may sound obvious but to tighten it, put the chisel on the other side.




The suspension unit is full of oil, so get it upright as soon as you can undo it with your fingers. Yank the piston rod so that it's free of the housing(but don't fully remove it) and pump it until it gets soft - it means all the oil has drained out. Now you can pour the oil out into a waste container.

To assemble, clean the unit and slap in the new cartridge. Screw that large nut in with the spanner or hammer and chisel. You want it to be tight enough so the cartridge doesn’t move vertically inside the housing, but you don’t want to tighten it too much because you’ll start to crush it. I did it up hand tight and gave it several knocks.

Compress the new spring, install it along with the top spring seat and mount.

NOTE

1) Make sure the spring is correctly seated in the insulator and suspsenion unit
2) There is an arrow and the word “OUT” marked on the top spring seat. Ensure the marking will face the outside of the car when it’s assembled. Or in other words, make sure the arrow point towards the side the steering knuckle bolts onto.
3) Don’t forget to put the dust seal back on and a (new) bump rubber/stop
4) The top spring seat will look like it’s on an angle, this is correct and it's not jammed up against something.
5) There is a slot on the other side of the top spring seat with should match up with the piston rod, try to line it up. That way, the nut will tighten to the specified torque instead of just spinning the piston rod
6) Wipe away the old grease in the top mount.


4)


Get the piston rod tight (47Nm), or as firm as you can before it starts to rotate. It should look something like this now:





Loosely mount the suspension unit to the stut tower and do up the bolts and nuts holding the unit to the steering knuckle (304Nm). Once they’re done up, tighten to top mounting nuts (64Nm).

Attach the clip holding the brake line.

Put the wheels back on. Once the weight of the car is taken by the wheels, try to further tighten the piston rod nut. Afterward, pack it with multi-purpose grease.

Torque values:

Suspension unit to strut tower – 64Nm / 47lb/ft
Suspension unit to steering knuckle – 304Nm / 224lb/ft
Piston rod nut – 47Nm / 35lb/ft

The rears….

Now, they’re pretty much the same as the front but:

1) You have to disconnect the rear brake line because the section after the bracket tab is not made of flexible brake hose.
2) That means you WILL have to BLEED your rear brakes.
3) I suggest blocking off the line with blanks/plugs. If you don't have any, get a pair of vise grips and squeeze the brake line off to prevent air from getting into the system. Do the vise grip thing before you undo the connection IF you don't have any plugs. I suggest wrapping it a rag before clamping. It’s also a good idea to block off the ends to prevent dirt from getting in.
4) You need to disconnect the rear sway bar link from the suspension unit too. I don’t remember the size of the nut but it’s pretty straight-forward


3)


4)

To access the top of the rear strut towers, follow steps 1,2 and 5 If for some reason you cannot do it this way, then here are directions to remove the parcel shelf.

To remove the parcel shelf (on sedan models with fold down seats and no speakers):

1) Remove the rear seat cushion. There are tabs right under the middle of the corner seats. Pull on them up and away and it should lift off
2) Remove the side rests by undoing the 10 or 12mm bolt. Slide the up to get them out.
3) Get a thin bladed screwdriver and pop off the retaining buttons holing the shelf on. Manoeuvre it away from the seat belts – there are little slots cut into the middle of the plastic belt holder.
4) Remove the rear brake light assembly on the parcel shelf. There are little retaining clips on either side of the cover. Once they're off, get the 10 or 12mm socket and undo the two bolts holding the light place. Disconnect the connector and you should be able to move it away. You might need to get a small flat bladed screwdriver to wedge the connector apart.
5) Remove access panels by the rear strut tower.




There are plates right by the rear strut towers and they can easily be removed by undoing the screw.





Torque values for the rear:
Suspension unit to body – 31Nm / 22lb/ft
Piston rod nut – 49Nm / 36lb/ft
RSB link to suspension unit – 64Nm / 47lb/ft
Suspension unit to carrier – 226Nm / 167lb/ft

Assembly is the reversal of the removal process

After all this, get an alignment and it'll be all sweet

[jamblaell]

Obvious DIY thread addition, thanks!

I did the conversions for the torque values, feel free to update them in the original post.

Suspension unit to strut tower – 64Nm = 47 lb/ft
Suspension unit to steering knuckle – 304Nm = 224 lb/ft
Piston rod nut – 47Nm = 35 lb/ft

Suspension unit to body – 31Nm = 22 lb/ft
Piston rod nut – 49Nm = 36 lb/ft
RSB link to suspension unit – 64Nm = 47 lb/ft
Suspension unit to carrier – 226Nm = 167 lb/ft

[jasonck08]

How much $ does replacing the springs / shocks cost?

My car seems bouncy lately.

[Jimnist]

I paid $240AUD for the springs (Lovells - Aus company) and $150AUD for a pair for the shocks (Monroe GT Gas). Those prices are well below RRP though, i think they'd usually cost $300 for the springs and $220 for a pair of shocks.

Bump stops were $12 each, but that was from a suspension store. The Monroe branded 'Strut-mate" ones are $50 each BUT you need to get them if you want to keep your warranty. The Monroe catalogue specifically states that their bump stops have to be used. Or you can tell a white lie by saying you used their bump stop when you used another brand or just not use one at all, but i don't recommend that.

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Awesome guide! I've got Monroe GT Gas Reflex shocks in my Corolla - Great product. I bought the "strut-mate" rubber boot kit when I installed mine, I used the factory bump-stops though. Lovells are great springs too, plenty of cars over here have them. I notice that they sit lower than a lot of other spring manufacturers out there. Anyway, great work with this write-up, should come in helpful to a lot of people

[Jimnist]

Thanks Kiwi-Corolla.

The struts and springs are pretty good; nice and firm but still suck up the bumps. However, I got the springs in factory height becuase Sydney roads are crap-ola and i don't want to scrap or go 1km/h when driving over speed bumps and driveways - so i can't really comment too on ride height. The front has definitely raised, but i think its becuase the old ones were sagging. The rear seems to have stayed the same, so i guess a level look would be achieved with sport-lows on the front and OE height on the rear.

This hasn't been a smooth process though. One of the front struts blew less than a week after install - i assume because it's old stock, hence the cheap price. So i've now done the fronts twice and hoping the rears don't fail because the guys at Autobarn have caused me so much grief with the refund process and the whole bump stop bullshit. All Monroe shocks for Cam's need their bump stops unless it's an >9/02 model Cam. Only the GT Gas and Sensatrac range is available for Gen 2's.

[Doctor J]

My only objection: I will rather use some sort of stopper at the end of brake line instead of the vise grips; they may ruin the brake hose later by causing hidden damage to the cords.

[white90dx]

You do not need to remove the whole rear package tray. Just the seat back sides (or complete seat back) and the small access panels are all that need to be removed to access the strut tops.

With all the old plastic on our cars, it is better to leave as much in place as possible...

-Charlie

[Jimnist]

Originally Posted by Doctor J

My only objection: I will rather use some sort of stopper at the end of brake line instead of the vise grips; they may ruin the brake hose later by causing hidden damage to the cords.

True, but i was lazy . But yes, you do run the risk of prematurely wearing out/cracking the hose.

Originally Posted by white90dx

You do not need to remove the whole rear package tray. Just the seat back sides (or complete seat back) and the small access panels are all that need to be removed to access the strut tops.

With all the old plastic on our cars, it is better to leave as much in place as possible...

-Charlie

Thanks for the tip.. I did/listed it because the service manual i have says to.

Oh yeah, i snapped a corner of the rear brake cover trying to get it off lol.

[JayP71]

How much different will doing this to the back of a wagon be?

[Jimnist]

Tbh, i've never had a good look at a gen 2 wagon before, buuut.....My service manual says:

Working inside the luggage compartment:
Carefully prise the rear and then the front of the side tray from the tower and remove the tray.
With an assistant holding the suspenion unit outside, undo the nutes retaining the suspension unit to the tower and have the assistant manoeuvre the unit away from the body.

So it seems as though it's much simpler

[JayP71]

Okay seems pretty simple, assuming the plastic doesn't shatter like carnival glass. Looking forward to doing this now that the engine is fixed.

[laguardias5]

I bought 4 struts (Monroe Sensa Tracs) and thier bumper kits.
Do I not also have to replace the insulators and upper and lower spring seats?
Where do I find these?

[Jimnist]

It's up to you buddy. The insulators just stops metal-on-metal contact which can cause noise and premature wear on the seats. So if they're in descent condition and not fully torn, ripped or crumbling then i guess you can re-use them. I re-used mine and there was a slight hole or thin spot on one or a few of them - don't remember.

For the seats, unless they're broken or the bearing is stuffed (for the front one) i wouldn't replace them either. Not sure where you can get them. Have you tried calling a local dealership?

[Wild_10]

These pictures made it easier to understand! Anyways thanks!