Bilstein
shock installation.
Front
Shock Removal:
-Jack
the car.
-Put at jack under the lower A-arm ball joint and raise the suspension
to compress the shock.
-Attach the compress shock with zip tie. That will give the
clearance
to remove the shock.
Bottom View
-Remove the top bolt. There are two flat surfaces at the end
of the
shock shaft. Insert a wrench there to stop the shaft from turning when
you unscrew the top 15mm bolt.
-Remove the two bottom 12mm nuts & bolts.
-Lower the jack holding the suspension.
-Remove the front shock.
Front
Shock Installation.
-Compress
the shock. I use a rope to keep it compressed instead of zip
tie.
-Insert the two bottom bolts. The bottom bracket does not have the
angle to match the angle of the lower A-arm. The bracket is
tight into the busing and cannot
easily be moved. I tried to move the bracket with the shock on the
table, but the
bracket was always coming back to its original place. So I decided to
force it
on the car. I
raised the suspension to
make the lower A-arm more horizontal. Then I took a screw driver to
align the bottom bracket with the A-arm to insert the 12mm bolts.
-Install the 12mm nut. Torque 21 lb ft (28 N m)
-Install the 17mm top bolt. (-Bilstein are coming with a 17mm
bolt
instead of a 15mm.)
-The Bilstein shocks does not have flat surface where we can insert a
wrench to stop the shaft from turning. An allen key needs to be
inserted in the top of the shaft. Since there is no room to insert the
allen key, Removed the windshield washer tank. Remove the two bolts and
the sensor connector. There is no need to remove the hose. I just moved
the tank to get access t to the shock shaft. Then use the allen key and
tight the 17mm bolt. In the manual it says to Torque the top bolt to 19
lb ft (26 N m)
-Tight the top bolt.
-Reinstall windshield washer thank.
-Same thing for the passenger side with the exception that
the surge
tank needs to be push. Remove the bolts and pull the tank enough to get
access to the top of the shock.
-Lower the suspension
New Front Shock installed.
Rear Shock Removal.
-Again,
raise the suspension about 1 to 2 inches by putting the jack
under the lower A-arm ball joint.
-Remove the two 12 mm top bolts.
-Remove the bottom nut and bolt (13/16).
-Release the suspension.
-Manually compress the rear shock for a few inches to make it easier to
get out.
-Remove the top flange.
-Same as previously, use a small wrench to keep the shaft for turning.
-Remove the 15mm bolt.
Rear
Shock Installation.
-Install
the bushing and flange.
-Insert the top of the shock first, Manually compress the
shock. It is
easier to -insert into the bottom bushing.
-Install the bottom 13/16 bolt and nut. Torque 162 lb ft (220
N m).
-Raise the suspension for 1 or 2 inches. That will make it easier to
install the two 12mm bolts holding the flange.
-Install the two 12mm bolts. Torque 22 lb ft (29.5 N m).
New rear shock installed
-Lower the car.
You now have four new shocks.
I noticed that the Bilstein were much difficult to manually
compress
than my 80k shock. The old shocks still have some pressure thought.