Fitting coilovers - DIY

[nadeemxb]

Hi
I've decided to buy some MeisterR coilovers and just wondering how hard they are to fit and what tools I might need for the job - I've ordered some drop links.  If it's a real pain or too far beyond my level (which isn't exactly high) then an idea on how much people have paid to have them fitted would be useful.

Cheers!

[Ulphie]

I have just replaced my front drop links I had a bit of a mare but that was just me and broken bolts It really depends how much corrosion you have mine was solid!

[jvanzyl]

My garage quoted me £250 to fit.. and they are decent guys... I'd like to learn how to do it myself though..

[secla]

if you have  basic socket set its not  bad job, aslong as you dont have any seized bolts
you will need to take it somewhere for alignment after though

[JoeCool]

Theoretically, it's very easy. Theoretically.

There's 3 nuts at the top mount, under bonnet/boot lid. There's 2 bolts on each strut leg where it meets the hub knuckle. There's one nut where the drop link meets the strut.

So the short instructions are: jack up and secure car, remove wheel, undo 6 bolts, pull out old struts, put in coilover, replace bolts, resecure drop link, re locate brake line (it's attached to a bracket on the strut leg but should not need to be undone because they have a keyway you can slide them in and out of.) repeat for the other three corners. Go get an alignment.

The long winded version involves seized and rounded bolts, week long soaks in plus gas, blow torches, needing 6 sided impact sockets and a breaker bar to deal with the large bolts, rust, hacksawing and replacing droplinks, a torque wrench to correctly torque critical bolts.l, jacking the car back up to wind enough height into the slammed chilies to make the car driveable... Yeah, it can be a pain.

I'd be confident that so long as I didn't shear an irreplaceable bolt (unlikely, the 2 bolts holding the strut leg are about the strongest bolts you'll encounter on a car), I could do all 4 in a day, on a driveway, with hand tools.

I'm about to fit them myself as part of a suspension refresh. I'm getting everything in stock so that I can bolt off, bolt on new stuff, basically. I'm hoping to do the front one day and the rear the next. I've even ordered new bolts from Toyota so if I have to get angle grinder happy, it's not a problem.

If there's any interest I'll document it, but it won't be until 2nd week in March.

250 is fair if it includes alignment afterwards. If not, it's actually a bit of a rip off. I'd expect a garage to take no more than 2 hours + alignment. It is only 20 nuts/bolts all in, after all.

[jvanzyl]

Please do document with pics!!!

£250 doesn't include alignment... hmmm..... opinion of garage is changing...

[JoeCool]

You're very close to me as it happens. You help with mine, I'll help with yours! You're also close to wheels in motion, who are the best in the biz for alignment (but not cheap!).

[shnazzle]

250 is well over the top. They obviously don't use the Toyota labour times.
As an example, I was quoted 250 to do a clutch and change my subframe, which is a LOT more work than just changing 4 struts. That 250 was based on Toyota workshop labour times.

Average garage is 45ish per hour. Call it 3hrs at a absolute max if stuff goes wrong. So that's 135.

Lift and 4x wheel off = 10 mins
undo 4x brake line clip bolt = 5 mins
undo 2 bolts lower strut bolts x4 = 15-20 mins if they're stubborn
undo 3 top mount bolts  x4 = 10 mins. These are never seized as they're well-sheltered. (I know...never say never...)
undo 2 rear droplink bolts x2 = 20-30 mins if stuck/seized (cut off most likely and replace as they're cheap as chips)

What's that? Just over an hour? So 3hrs is pretty flippin generous and leaves almost 1hr to set the height and put the wheels back on after doing the reverse for fitting the coilovers.
Setting the height is easily the most time-consuming part. And any monkey can do that.

[Ardent]

You're also close to wheels in motion, who are the best in the biz for alignment (but not cheap!).

+1  s:D s:D

[nadeemxb]

Thanks - appreciate all the info there. I'll ring a few garages and get some quotes then decide if it's worth "having a go". I have all the tools needed so it's very tempting.

A "how to" with pics would be great though! Hopefully we'll have one soon.


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[secla]

4 hours would be what I'd estimate for a driveway mechanic. A garage with a lift and air tools should be considerably less

[JoeCool]

I'll just add the too list I'll be using, that I'd consider 'essential' or very nice to have for this job from past experience:

• Trolley jack and axle stands, for safety, obvs.
• 1/2" drive Breaker bar - because you're dealing with some beefy bolts/nuts.
• Torque wrench - because you need to torque everything to spec once you're finished.
• Set of 6 sided impact sockets - because they protect the nuts/bolt heads and are significantly less likely to round them.
• Normal sockets and ratchet for getting into the ball park/quickly removing stuff.
• Decent ring spanners, because you need to hold onto the other end of the bolt/nut as you undo it.
• Pickle fork ball joint splitter if you're replacing arms.
• Pry bar can be very helpful for separating stubborn bits.
• Wire wheel to clean rust off of stuff.
• Plus gas for penetrating (Spray on a few days before work starts, several times over)
• Hammerite for painting up the odd bracket that looks a bit past it.

I forget the exact measurements, but IIRC toyota are really good for using minimal varieties of bolts. I think it's 12mm, 14mm, 17mm and 19mm that enable you to pretty much dismantle an entire car, and 10mm for trim.

I think that's about it. You don't necessarily need all varieties of sockets etc, but IMO they make life a lot easier.

[nadeemxb]

Cheers. I've got almost all of what's on the list there except for  ring spanners. I may as well try this!


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[shnazzle]

I genuinely think the only bolts that will give issues are the one on the drop links.
If you bought new ones, you've cut the work in half as you only need to undo the bolts on the ARB side.

The big 19mm lower strut bolts have one big benefit; access. You can put a big ol breaker bar on it and you've got all the space in the world to put some proper force on it.

The top mount bolts will come out like you undid them yesterday.

Don't overthink it. Just do it.

[shnazzle]

Screw it. Joe can add pics later...   s:) s:)  

Assumes new droplinks. There really is no feasible reason to re-use the old ones unless you've just replaced them recently.

1) Loosen all wheel nuts.
(go inside and turn on kettle)
2) Jack up rear of car and put on axel stands in both sides. Remove rear wheels
3) Spray PlusGas on 2x 19mm lower strut bolts, little bolt holding brake line clip and both ends of the drop links.
Repeat on other side.
(go back inside and make cup of tea)
4) Undo 10mm bolt on brake line clip with 6-sided (hex) 10mm socket or a spanner (not the nut! It's welded on)
5) put 19mm 6-sided on a breaker bar (19 quid from Halfords) and undo the nuts on the two lower strut bolts. Remove nuts but leave bolts in.
6) Loosen the droplink on the anti-roll bar side (see note A)
7) Remove 3 14mm nuts from top mount under the engine lid.
 s8) s8)  Knock the two 19mm bolts out using a hammer and screwdriver if needed.
9) pull strut incl spring and droplink out of car.
10) repeat 4-9 on other side
11) Put new droplinks on the new rear struts/coilovers
12) feed new strut/coilover into the wheel well the right way around (and the correct side) and slot into lower strut mount. Slide the two 19mm bolts in.
13) use a jack under the wishbone/knuckle and jack the strut up slowly, lining the top mount  with the holes into the engine bay. Jack it up until it's flush
15) put 3 14mm nuts on the top mount in the engine bay
16) attach the droplink to the anti-roll bar. Ensure that the height on both struts for the side you're working on are equal. Measure the distance between the two locking rings (two lower ones).
Do NOT try to change the height of the coilover to match that of the stock strut you took off.
17) attach and tighten the brake line clip to the strut with the 10mm bolt.
18) replace 19mm nuts onto lower strut bolts and torque to spec (140Nm)
19) tighten 3 14mm top mount bolts to spec (only 39Nm)
20) repeat 12-19 on other side
21) put rear wheels on and lower the rear of the car (see note B)
22) repeat steps 3-19, without undoing the drop links and the added undoing of the ABS wire bolt clip on the strut.
23) drive a couple of days gently to settle them in and then go for a good wheel alignment
24) get your headlights realigned if you're lowering more than 20mm


NOTES:
A) these will likely put up a fight. When you turn the bolt it will turn the nut on the back,so nothing will happen.
At the back of the droplink bolt on the inside (facing engine) there is a Allen key hole. Clean the hole out of rust/dirt with a small screwdriver and put an allen key in to hold it steady while you use a spanner or ratchet on the bolt (facing outside).

Alternatively, use small mole grips to grip the flat lip that sits under the rubber gaiter on the droplink end. Push the rubber aside and you'll find a ledge that the mole grips can  grip onto to hold it in place while you undo the bolt.

Alternate alternative: cut that sucker off.

B) Once the car is down, bounce the suspension a bit (not easy on coilovers) and look at the height. If it's where you want it to be, all good. If not, you'll need to raise the car again and remove wheels to change the height as per the instructions and with the provided tools.
Remember it will sink a bit over the next few days, but only a few millimeters.

[nadeemxb]

Right well I'm definitely going to just do this myself then.  I'll start plus gassing from this weekend and fit the coilovers next weekend - weather and delivery permitting.  Again - really appreciate all the help/advice!

[shnazzle]

Just re-read that today, as I typed it up on my phone in bed last night haha. Seems to make sense! Bonus.

And remember Sam...I'm only up the road from you  s;) s;)

[lamcote]

Regarding cost at a garage Matt Performance (no longer of this parish) once quoted me £90 to change both rear struts, including doing the alignment.

[phaeton]

Any arguments from the droplinks just put anger grinder through the nuts if your replacing them, give them 5 minutes each if they don't undo GRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIND throw away

[Topdownman]

Here are some suggested starting points for what was a reasonable drop on MeisterR Zeta Pros, 25mm gap on the front and 57mm at the rear.



If anyone is going to have a garage fit them then I would recommend setting both fronts and rears the same gap each axle yourself (may help to ask other users of the coilovers you are fitting what their figures are as a starting point) and tell the garage not to adjust them, just to fit them and you will adjust them yourself. This will save some money not paying them for the time to mess around trying to tune it when it is unlikely to be what you want anyway and the chances are you will try a few settings anyway. Its very easy to change the height yourself.

[Bamb00]

Great instructions. Makes me want to fit some myself! Mine is 80k/12 years old so I think it deserves new bits... I'm still reading up on coilovers v stock refresh...

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[shnazzle]

Reading things will result in one outcome; "coilovers" are better.
They're adjustable, stronger, allow for lowering so lower center of gravity etc etc, better flat grip.

You can't describe what the ride is like and whether it's suitable to you or the roads around you. It's really crap.
I took a blind shot at it, having never tried coilovers in an MR2 and for me and my surroundings it's been absolutely brilliant.
BUT.. I've been on roads where I've needed to stop, run out and turn the damping down to lowest, to be able to deal with the potholed roads.

MeisterR had a big group buy on here so there are people dotted around the country (likely near you) who has some on. Maybe it's worth setting up a thread for "Ride along requests"... Hmm..

[nadeemxb]

I was reading through this thread...
 l viewtopic.php?f=86&t=57140&p=696367&hilit=meisterr#p696367 l
...a few days ago and HFB's review toward the bottom is what sold me...

"The difference in the ride from hardest to softest is major, feeling every bump and dip in the road when on hardest through to being as soft, if not softer that the OEM suspension when on its softest setting."

If that's even half true then I think I'll be happy with them.

I ordered them Thursday pm.  They arrived Friday lunchtime!  Really well packaged and really look the part.

Simon - thanks for the photo.  I've adjusted them to your suggested starting points.  Just need a dry day now!

[Mikeymead]

A tip I would give after having done mine is to tap the threads out on the brake line holders, the powder coating is quite thick and it makes putting the bolts in very difficult.

[Bamb00]

Reading things will result in one outcome; "coilovers" are better.
They're adjustable, stronger, allow for lowering so lower center of gravity etc etc, better flat grip.

You can't describe what the ride is like and whether it's suitable to you or the roads around you. It's really crap.
I took a blind shot at it, having never tried coilovers in an MR2 and for me and my surroundings it's been absolutely brilliant.
BUT.. I've been on roads where I've needed to stop, run out and turn the damping down to lowest, to be able to deal with the potholed roads.

MeisterR had a big group buy on here so there are people dotted around the country (likely near you) who has some on. Maybe it's worth setting up a thread for "Ride along requests"... Hmm..

You're right, reading and experiencing could arrive at very different conclusions.  I want to drive every day, commute in the week, b road blasts at the weekend so as always, looking for a compromise between ride and performance.  

One of the problems I'm having as a new owner is knowing what normal feels like... I could be changing something for the sake of it and making it worse.  Chap at work mentioned he used to have a 2 so maybe I'll get him to have a spin and tell me how it feels to him.

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