I am currently installing Koni Yellows with Swift springs and the rears are all done but I am having a problem with the front right (passenger) side. I have the Koni all put back together and I'm having trouble getting it back into the sleeve of the knuckle. I used the wood and jack trick under the perch to get the stock shock out but I read that I shouldn't do the same to get the Koni back into place. Any other tricks out there? I don't have the factory tools for the outer control arm ball joint or the steering tie rod. I hope I can can this back together in 3 hours so I can drive to work. I also hope the driver's side is easier to get back on.

 

Ok got in in! I just had to find the right angle then compress the strut while pulling it back straight into the knuckle. I had to do this with the tower unbolted so I could angle the strut enough. This was definitely not the right way to do this but luckily it worked and I didn't even break anything. I'm still interested to hear how others here do it.

 

With one hand (and a spring compressor)

 

I thought of doing that but it didn't seem like I'd have the room on the Swift spring. I'll definitely try that next time instead. The driver's side was so much easier and the only trouble I had was getting the strut deep enough in the knuckle to be able to put the pinch bolt on due to Koni's thick yellow paint. All done!

 

An old trick is to use a 1/4" extension inserted in the slot in the knuckel and twist to spread it a little more. Their are dedicated tools for this but the 1/4" extension will work.
Steve