DIY: 370Z Lowering Spring Install

iridefast · 09-18-2011, 06:15 PM

Holy misspellings. Sorry about that. Think you guys got the idea

iridefast · 09-19-2011, 11:39 PM

So I finished the other 3 springs today. Part of my problem the first day was a very cheap spring compressor. The thing was eating itself. Rears are way to easy, only small issue is aligning the bolt when reinstalling. GL all :-)

Footloose301 · 09-22-2011, 11:47 AM

Not bad. Did Swifts all around. Front passenger side has a popping noise though. Checked bolts over and everything is tight. Wonder if it's that rubber if it's not aligned correctly on the bottom of the spring...

Footloose301 · 09-22-2011, 01:17 PM

Ok, I checked that rubber/plastic piece that sits near the bottom of the spring and it's positioned correctly. Not sure where to go from here. Also, it appears that the two front wheels are pointing outward. Thinking that I'll go get that aligned tomorrow. I don't have any camber kit on the car. Just springs and spacers. The spacers I put on last weekend and no noise issues with those.

That popping sound appears to be coming from the passenger side only and I cannot feel it in the steering at all! So I don't believe anything is loose......

onzedge · 09-22-2011, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Footloose301

Ok, I checked that rubber/plastic piece that sits near the bottom of the spring and it's positioned correctly. Not sure where to go from here. Also, it appears that the two front wheels are pointing outward. Thinking that I'll go get that aligned tomorrow. I don't have any camber kit on the car. Just springs and spacers. The spacers I put on last weekend and no noise issues with those.

That popping sound appears to be coming from the passenger side only and I cannot feel it in the steering at all! So I don't believe anything is loose......

An alignment sounds like it is in order.

eastwest2300 · 09-30-2011, 03:34 PM

Pizza & Beer...

WxMan · 11-10-2011, 07:30 PM

OK I went with the H&R springs for price mostly. From all the pictures I've seen for comparison I liked the H&Rs. Ordered mine nearly a month ago. They were on back order but came in today. Can't pick up a spring compressor till Saturday so I'm putting the rear on tonight.

Little help Please...with maybe a stupid question here but which way is up on the springs? I've seen photos of Swifts with the tighter coils up and then I've seen other images where it appears they are at the bottom. The OEM springs are evenly spaced coils!

onzedge · 11-10-2011, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WxMan

OK I went with the H&R springs for price mostly. From all the pictures I've seen for comparison I liked the H&Rs. Ordered mine nearly a month ago. They were on back order but came in today. Can't pick up a spring compressor till Saturday so I'm putting the rear on tonight.

Little help Please...with maybe a stupid question here but which way is up on the springs? I've seen photos of Swifts with the tighter coils up and then I've seen other images where it appears they are at the bottom. The OEM springs are evenly spaced coils!

The tighter coils go up.

WxMan · 11-10-2011, 08:49 PM

Thank you. Hoping the front goes as easily as the rear did.

onzedge · 11-10-2011, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WxMan

Thank you. Hoping the front goes as easily as the rear did.

The fronts are not as easy as the rears, but not too bad -- difficulty-wise. Good luck and send pics when youa re done.

WxMan · 11-14-2011, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onzedge

The fronts are not as easy as the rears, but not too bad -- difficulty-wise. Good luck and send pics when youa re done.

Having to take the entire strut to a friends house tonight. My compressor is lacking!!!

So hopefully tonight and of course rain moving in tonight.

kk370 · 11-14-2011, 11:38 AM

cool guidance for me to do so...

WxMan · 11-15-2011, 08:33 AM

Job is done. They feel and look awesome!

Pics of the new look should be up in the next couple days. Rain today and I need to bathe and wax.

Job review
I didn't take any pictures. Don't see the need as this thread covers almost everything. An impact wrench is your friend!!! Wish my compressor would push one. That was the only real hindrance for this backyard mechanic. The back springs were easier to complete than changing the oil (which I did while the car was up off the ground) though I was confused on which way is up for the springs. The fronts were a different story. Without an impact wrench I had a very hard time getting the nut off the bottom of the strut. I didn't round them but they not as pretty as new!! Other than wishing for some of the latest in tools I got the struts off with no other problems. No impact wrench means I was cranking down on the spring compressor with a 19mm opened ended wrench. I finally grabbed a lifeline and called a friend who does have an impact wrench and compressor to push it. Mine only manages 4.5scfm@90psi. With his help we got the new springs on the struts in about an hour. For a backyard mechanic this was probably the spookiest part. The thought of a failure of some kind while compressing the springs - Painful. Back in my garage 40 miles away about 7pm last night. I figured 30 minutes each side to put them back on. First one was on in 20 minutes. No extra hands available so simply grabbed the brake caliper and pulled up to get the 3 nuts on the top started. Torqued that pesky bottom nut to 75fp. Passenger side has some wire harnesses that run under the brace and make getting the 3 top nuts on a bit challenging. Dropped one. 15 minutes to find it. B@*s!a^d. Finished up with no issues after that. One last look at everything. Put the wheels back on, off the jacks and a 10 mile run around the block to test everything. No shimmies, shakes or rattles. Drove in to work this morning (26 miles) and feels just great. I'm stoked.

I started this job Friday evening and finished Monday night. Total working time was about 4 hours.

WxMan · 11-15-2011, 11:37 AM

I posted a picture taken on my phone in my album

TypeOne · 11-16-2011, 03:14 PM

I'm glad you found the write up helpful! Give me some rep if you don't mind!! :-P

09-22-2011, 11:47 AM	#48 (permalink)
Footloose301 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Naples, FL Posts: 2,659 Drives: 40th Rep Power: 21	Not bad. Did Swifts all around. Front passenger side has a popping noise though. Checked bolts over and everything is tight. Wonder if it's that rubber if it's not aligned correctly on the bottom of the spring... __________________ 2010 40th Anniversary 370Z

09-22-2011, 01:17 PM	#49 (permalink)
Footloose301 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Naples, FL Posts: 2,659 Drives: 40th Rep Power: 21	Ok, I checked that rubber/plastic piece that sits near the bottom of the spring and it's positioned correctly. Not sure where to go from here. Also, it appears that the two front wheels are pointing outward. Thinking that I'll go get that aligned tomorrow. I don't have any camber kit on the car. Just springs and spacers. The spacers I put on last weekend and no noise issues with those. That popping sound appears to be coming from the passenger side only and I cannot feel it in the steering at all! So I don't believe anything is loose...... __________________ 2010 40th Anniversary 370Z

09-30-2011, 03:34 PM	#51 (permalink)
eastwest2300 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2010 Location: South FL Posts: 90,990 Drives: '16QX70/'21 Supra3.0 Rep Power: 2684550	Pizza & Beer... __________________ Infiniti QX70 & Toyota Supra 3.0 Premium

11-10-2011, 08:49 PM	#54 (permalink)
WxMan Base Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Cordova, TN Posts: 75 Drives: 09 370Z White M6 Tou Rep Power: 15	Thank you. Hoping the front goes as easily as the rear did. __________________ Dennis Stillen 2nd Gen CAI/Z1 HFMC/FI Catback Exhaust w/18" resonators/Akebono Brake Upgrade/TSW Jarama 18" Wheels/15mm rear spacers/Stillen Sway Bars/H&R Sport Springs

11-15-2011, 08:33 AM	#58 (permalink)
WxMan Base Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Cordova, TN Posts: 75 Drives: 09 370Z White M6 Tou Rep Power: 15	Job is done. They feel and look awesome! Pics of the new look should be up in the next couple days. Rain today and I need to bathe and wax. Job review I didn't take any pictures. Don't see the need as this thread covers almost everything. An impact wrench is your friend!!! Wish my compressor would push one. That was the only real hindrance for this backyard mechanic. The back springs were easier to complete than changing the oil (which I did while the car was up off the ground) though I was confused on which way is up for the springs. The fronts were a different story. Without an impact wrench I had a very hard time getting the nut off the bottom of the strut. I didn't round them but they not as pretty as new!! Other than wishing for some of the latest in tools I got the struts off with no other problems. No impact wrench means I was cranking down on the spring compressor with a 19mm opened ended wrench. I finally grabbed a lifeline and called a friend who does have an impact wrench and compressor to push it. Mine only manages 4.5scfm@90psi. With his help we got the new springs on the struts in about an hour. For a backyard mechanic this was probably the spookiest part. The thought of a failure of some kind while compressing the springs - Painful. Back in my garage 40 miles away about 7pm last night. I figured 30 minutes each side to put them back on. First one was on in 20 minutes. No extra hands available so simply grabbed the brake caliper and pulled up to get the 3 nuts on the top started. Torqued that pesky bottom nut to 75fp. Passenger side has some wire harnesses that run under the brace and make getting the 3 top nuts on a bit challenging. Dropped one. 15 minutes to find it. B@*s!a^d. Finished up with no issues after that. One last look at everything. Put the wheels back on, off the jacks and a 10 mile run around the block to test everything. No shimmies, shakes or rattles. Drove in to work this morning (26 miles) and feels just great. I'm stoked. I started this job Friday evening and finished Monday night. Total working time was about 4 hours. Zbrah likes this. __________________ Dennis Stillen 2nd Gen CAI/Z1 HFMC/FI Catback Exhaust w/18" resonators/Akebono Brake Upgrade/TSW Jarama 18" Wheels/15mm rear spacers/Stillen Sway Bars/H&R Sport Springs

09-18-2011, 06:15 PM	#46 (permalink)
iridefast Base Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Alabama Posts: 49 Drives: 2012 GTR Rep Power: 15	Holy misspellings. Sorry about that. Think you guys got the idea

09-19-2011, 11:39 PM	#47 (permalink)
iridefast Base Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Alabama Posts: 49 Drives: 2012 GTR Rep Power: 15	So I finished the other 3 springs today. Part of my problem the first day was a very cheap spring compressor. The thing was eating itself. Rears are way to easy, only small issue is aligning the bolt when reinstalling. GL all :-)

11-14-2011, 11:38 AM	#57 (permalink)
kk370 Base Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: taiwan Posts: 33 Drives: 09-370z-white-a7 Rep Power: 14	cool guidance for me to do so...

11-15-2011, 11:37 AM	#59 (permalink)
WxMan Base Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Cordova, TN Posts: 75 Drives: 09 370Z White M6 Tou Rep Power: 15	I posted a picture taken on my phone in my album __________________ Dennis Stillen 2nd Gen CAI/Z1 HFMC/FI Catback Exhaust w/18" resonators/Akebono Brake Upgrade/TSW Jarama 18" Wheels/15mm rear spacers/Stillen Sway Bars/H&R Sport Springs

11-16-2011, 03:14 PM	#60 (permalink)
TypeOne A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Baton Rouge, LA Posts: 2,682 Drives: BSM 370 Rep Power: 1851	I'm glad you found the write up helpful! Give me some rep if you don't mind!! :-P

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