Installing H&R's (or any other springs) 56k warning

After weeks of procrastinating and eventually forgetting to write this how to. I finally did it. Sorry if the format is a bit messy, I did my best to clean it up, so dont bitch about it, Im saving you labor costs from those thieves at repair shops/dealerships.

To install the springs you will need the following tools:

2 jack stands
1 jack
spring compressors
air compressor with air ratchet and impact wrench*
elbow grease

*i recommend air tools, they will make your life a whole lot easier

this shouldnot take you more than 2 hours.

Stock Height
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...t/HPIM0602.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...t/HPIM0603.jpg
The springs
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...t/HPIM0607.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...t/HPIM0608.jpg
THE REAR AND FRONT SPRINGS ARE DIFFERENT YOUR MANUAL WILL SAY WHICH
SPRING IS WHICH DO NOT MIX THEM UP!
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...t/HPIM0609.jpg
The stock front springs compared to the H&R's
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...t/HPIM0610.jpg
Start off by jacking up the rear of the car and placing it on jackstands.
NEVER WORK UNDER A CAR WITH JUST A JACK, ALWAYS USE JACKSTANDS! USE YOUR HEAD!
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...t/HPIM0605.jpg
Support the torsion beam with the jack and remove the bolt that is holding the rear shock to the beam.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...t/HPIM0604.jpg
Lower the jack just enough for you to remove the springs. The stock springs should come out with little force.
Make sure you do not mix up the rubber things that are on the bottom and top of the spring, you will be resusing these for the H&R's.
To put the shock back on the beam, use the jack to raise the bar just enough so you can slide in the bolt as shown below.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...t/HPIM0611.jpg

That was easy wasnt it? Now the front, its a little harder but you can do it.

Jack up the front of the car and support it with jack stands

AGAIN DO NOT WORK UNDER THE CAR WITH A JACK, USE JACK STANDS!

Once the car is raised, remove the front wheels.
Remove this nut first. If you are wondering why this nut is still on in the next pictures,
its coz i didnt remove this first and i figured out that it is easier to remove it
before you start trying to unbolt the strut. Trial and error I guess.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...t/HPIM0614.jpg
Now unhook brake lines from the strut so you dont pull them and break them. Unbolt the strut from the top(not pictured, theres
three nuts). Then remove the 2 gold bolts holding the strut to the disk brake assembly. You might have to
strike the bolts with a rubber mallet to convince them to come out, if you do not have a rubber mallet and
just a regular hammer, use a towel infront of the hammer so you do not damage the bolt as you are striking it.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...t/HPIM0615.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...t/HPIM0612.jpg
Now that you have the strut out, take the spring compressors and compress the spring.
Be careful as the springs have tons(literaly) of stored energy while compressed. Remove the top nut.
CAUTION DO NOT LOSE ANY OF THE PIECES THAT CAN COME OFF AFTER YOU REMOVE THIS NUT,
YOU WILL NEED TO PLACE THEM IN EXACTLY THE SAME ORDER THAT THEY WERE IN!!!
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...t/HPIM0613.jpg
Now uncompress the springs and place them somewhere, compress the H&R's and place them on the strut.
Place the pieces back on the strut. You will need to pull the strut so you can screw the top back on to the strut.
Reverse all the steps to place the strut back on, you may need the jack for this to support the strut as you bolt it back up.


Youre done!! (dont forget to put the wheels back on hehe)
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...t/HPIM0617.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...t/HPIM0616.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...t/HPIM0618.jpg :D

oh and im no mechanic, so please do not tell me "your not supposed to do it like that" or any other crap, unless its really life threatening. im the kind of person that just figures out how to do it, im good with things like that and obviously i did it correctly because i have driven at least 10k miles with no problems after doing this myself :) I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY INJURIES THAT MAY ARISE FROM THIS

:occasion5:

Sweet walkthrough! And it looks great with the drop.

That's a great write-up!

kool glad you guys liked it

awesome job

[quote="khan4rtist"]After weeks of procrastinating and eventually forgetting to write this how to. I finally did it. Sorry if the format is a bit messy, I did my best to clean it up, so dont bitch about it, Im saving you labor costs from those thieves at repair shops/dealerships.

To install the springs you will need the following tools:

2 jack stands
1 jack
spring compressors
air compressor with air ratchet and impact wrench*
elbow grease

*i recommend air tools, they will make your life a whole lot easier

***OK..I have everything on the list but couldn't find elbow grease at the auto parts store. Can I just use white litium grease? :lol: :? :roll: ***

Thanks for doing this KHAN...I am putting my H&R's on this weekend and planned on doing a "how-to" to go with the one I did on changing the shocks. Saved me taking pics and labeling everything...thanks

ooo, let me know if it handles any better with the kyb shocks combined with the H&R's, ive been wanting to get them

you know...for the little money they cost...I just figured they've got to be better then stock and just did it...but I'll see if there is a noticable difference

have you tried seeing if there is a difference?

I really don't notice a difference...the ride is stiffer, but it's hard to pinpoint what the shocks do...

but like I said..they're cheap enough...and it takes but half and hour to an hour to change them...

Great how to khan. I just got my H&R's today and I was going to install them, but I ran into a problem and I was hoping you or someone on here could help. I started with the front and I got all the bolts except the strut bolt in the engine bay. When I tried to loosen it, the strut rod kept turning with it. How do I stop the rod from spinning? Any help would be very much appreciated.

you have to compress the springs first when they are on the strut then you can loosen the top bolt

You can boost your air pressure and it'll spin off.

OR

grab an adjustable wrench and an open ended wrench and use some of that elbow grease.

so...

i put my eibachs on this weekend. the ride feels so much better, its amazing. now, this is my first time ever doing any kind of suspension work and i did the rears great but the fronts im kinda worried about. there is a rattling sound whenever i hit bumps coming from up front and there is a gap from the black disc to the frame in the engine bay. u can see it in the pic. so now im sittin thinkin, wtf? was that there? no, couldnt have been cus there is scrape marks in the paint so i dunno. i hope someone can enlighten me as to whats goin on. i did everything like this how to said and everything in the exact reverse order. another thought, is the popping noise related to the possibility of the the strut bottoming out due to the new shortness of the springs(friend suggested it)?
below is a photo of the black disc thing i was talkin about.
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...eibachs006.jpg

yeah mine has a space like that too.....looks like you need to tighten that top nut a little more and you shouldnt get anymore movement, it happened to me too. but as for the popping noise, im not sure what to say about that...hope this helps.

yeh, i think what i need to do is pop off that top black piece, and tighten the nut right below, i may not have gone far enough with it.

also, thanks for the write up, u saved me about 300$ lol.

Thanks for this write up!
Springs on the way.. looks like a very strait forward install!

its a very easy install i did it twice in two hours (but i am a certified mechanic)

once to install and measure ride heights, and then again to adjust height by cutting the dead coil.

great job khan4rtist!!! fantastic write up of the whole job!! you need to write a procedures manual for aveo suspension work. "aveo suspensions for dummies"

are those 14s? and do they tuck? that'd be badddasssss

HOLY THREAD REVIVAL BATMAN!

Sorry, I was searching and this is the most relevant topic for my issue. I'm having the same issue that Mike was having with the rattling as I go over bumps and my top black pieces from my front shocks look the exact same. He doesn't comment on here about how/if he resolved his issue and he's not responding to the PM I sent him. Does anyone else have any idea how I can get rid of the rattling sound every time I go over bumps?

I have been told the stock struts and shocks wont hold for very long with lowering an Aveo. But obviously, you said you have been 10K with them and no problems? Shoot, have you had any problems with your stock stuff recently or anything?