looks like i'll be receiving my packages on friday and working on installing it with my friend friday night into saturday morning. looks like i'm going to need lots of energy drink. lol. too bad no beer for me, couple more months. i'm wondering what tools will i be needing. my friend says socket wrench set, breaker bar, jacks and stands, hammer. anything else?

 

Be sure to spray all the bolts you'll be removing with PB Blaster, or a similar product. Spray some on tonight, tomorrow, and some more early in the day on Friday, seized bolts suck.

Take your time with compressing the springs, don't use an impact wrench. Judging by the spring rates of Civic springs they should be relatively easy to do. They can still be a lethal weapon though.

The ~500 lb stock springs, and the 650 lb replacement springs on my Tacoma and 4Runner were NO fun to compress...

 

Couple more things, a vice to gently hold the shocks, so you don't dent the shock body, and a torque wrench.

 

since your in cali most likely your rear bushings will be no problem.... you lucky ba*****.LOL

tools ya need jack/stands.
basic hand tools...
some allen wrenches to fit the top of the strut.
spring compressors 2 of them needed but a third makes it alot easier since springs are very hard to get perfect to compress them so if the 2 start to move together you can use the 3rd compressor tool to straighten it out and compress all the way.

some grease to help prevent some squeaks... put the grease around the upper and lower spring perches on the spring and the rubber isolators and around the front lower strut mounts.
along with some antiseize stuff for the bolts... and if your replacing the struts then i would buy 2 new lower control arm bolts for the rear since when removing that bolt it could chew the threads up a bit..


and thats all you need as long as your bushing/bolts are seized.

its fairly easy. for the front, remove the sway bar linkage from the lower control arm, remove the struts lower fork mount, then the fork mounts lower nut and bolt and let it fall down, then remove the 2 upper nuts on the struts and maneuver the strut out.

and for the rear simply remove the struts lower control arm bolt and then either the inner lca bolt and let the lca drop down. and then remove the top two strut nuts and drop the strut out. very simple....
BUT if the LCA bolts are seized you can work around them.... instead of pulling the inner or outter lca bolt remove the 2 bolts on the upper control arm and have a friend simply push the brake drum down while you pull the strut out. you can do it yourself but its kinda hard to push down with one foot and pull the strut out. i know i did it several times on my black civic since the LCA bolt was seized. is defiantly alot easier than having to pull and replace the bushings!

its fairly simple.... only thing i would recommend myself is only snug all the bolts and then put the weight on the lower control arm with a jack and then tighten all the bolts... this way your bushings dont have to do any extra movement after you tighten them up and then lower the car onto the suspension. if ya know what i mean... with the suspension at full droop has quite a bit of 1way travel from full droop to full compression like it can from driving hard. but if you put weight on the wheels it will be just the same as your ride height.
just trying to give your rubber bushings the longest life possible.

if its your first swap then take a whole day off to do the job just to be safe and lots of time.
and cross your fingers that non of your rear bolts are seized! so far on my civics here in the indiana area have all had a ruff life from all this salt from winter making them seize and be trash...

 

why no impact gun? ive used it on mine..... no problems...

tho i forgot to add if you want the springs to keep in perfect looks condition get some duct tape or what not and put it all around the spring compressor hooks. that way it keeps the raw metal from chewing thru your new springs coating... at least it helped mine... first spring i did chipped some of the coating... after puting the duct tape on the hooks it kept it from damaging the protective coating...



also if your struts are any good you wont have to use any vise grips... tho chew struts do suck and need vise grips on the shock shaft to hold it firm when tightening the top nut.
all of my good struts have had allen wrench spot ontop to hold the shaft firm when tightening the nut... and my konis had a bolt head ontop to hold it firm.

 

Just a chance that the pulses could shift the spring compressors around; not sure what the average spring weight of Civics is (?), but with my truck springs there was an insane amount of potential energy waiting to hurt me

 

Do what i did... cut your springs and then weld them.


no dont do that i found out thats a very bad idea

 

^ i thought you were serious for a minute. lol

thanks for all the useful suggestions. i will be doing them this weekend and will post some before and after pics. lets hope i remember to grab a couple shots before the install

 

one more question, i know it isn't that much of a drop, believe its 1.9 in the front and 1.7 in the rear, but will i have any problems such as rubbing problems with my HX rims. tire spec is suppose to be 185/65-14 but i am currently using 195/60-14.

 

i am going to be installing my s-techs tomorrow. but i have a a quick question, my friend installed them on his 96 accord LX and he said he didn't feel a difference the stiffness, it rides like stock. did he install them wrong, or is this how the s-techs are suppose to be