Spent about 5 hours today replacing my original equipment struts and shocks. Both front struts could be compressed with no effort and would remain compressed when released. The rears were not much better, I could compress them both by hand but when released they would fully extend. Still, provided no shock action when driving. I put on Bilstein B4 units, tomorrow I put on Akebono ceramic pads all around, badly needed. Having fun in the garage!

 

I did the exact same thing today with the B4's!

 

How do you like the B4s paired with your 22mm rear sway bar?

 

I've only driven it about 4-5 miles since install today. So far, the best description is, s-t-i-f-f!

 

mdaz75, obviously great minds think alike! Hardest part for me was getting struts to fit into pinch pocket of the steering knuckle. I ended up having to remove the paint from the strut where it fit into the pocket...plus a little grease to boot.

 

I had a bit of a hiccup, myself. Half way through, my spring tool crapped out on me, so I had a local garage swap the springs for me.

 

I got a heavy duty spring tool from O'reilly tool loaner program, worked great. I also got their Disc Brake Caliper Tool set so I can wind in the rear caliper for my pad change tomorrow.
BTW, you have a beautiful car, I want a set of wheels like yours some day in the future for my car. I think they look great on a MC.

 

that is definitely the hardest part of that job! A close second is separating the old frozen ball joints.

 

I just did koni Yellows change and had no problem changing, I just used the floor jack to assist once the strut was lined up in the pocket. Now inner ball joints are a whole different beast.I would sure like to hear about the easy way to get the inners out????

 

I did not disconnect the tie rod ends or any ball joints when I did my struts, just disconnected upper swaybar link, the pinch bolts, and the 3 nuts at top of strut tower. Put a jack under steering knuckle and had no problems with plenty of room to deal with the strut.

 

I haven't tried it, but this looks promising. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...le-shafts.html

 

I tried it with the outer ball joints connected but I couldn't get enough clearance for the Koni FSD's so I ended up having to pull the ball joints out of the steering knuckles, fortunately I had pulled them out a couple of weeks before I replaced the struts, because I had to pull the half shafts out for an inner cv joint reboot, so the ball joints came right out.

 

Cool, did my brake pads today, old pads were almost gone. Also added Speed Bleeders so I was able to flush and bleed quickly. My old brake fluid was black, took slightly over a liter of new fluid to get everything clear again. Next project is to pull RH driveshaft to replace torn inner boot.

 

I also have never had to disconnect the ball joints.
But... This may be the difference in replacing with stock springs and with lowering springs. With the H-Sport springs you really don't even need a spring compressor, just a little downward force from a second party to get the upper nut started.

 

true, when I put H&R lowered springs on, I didn't have to disconnect the ball joints, but with the stock springs, I did. I'm far from the best mechanic too, so it's possible there's something I was missing. But I figured it was easier to disconnect the ball joints than force the point and break things.

 

Why is replacing struts, shocks, and brake pads with direct replacement parts considered "modification"?

 

They are not stock, so why not? 10% reduction pulley is as much as mod as adding a Bilstein B4 that is 10% stiffer than stock, or adding a stiffer rear sway bar, right?

 

Ready to replace my 85K oem shocks - would love to not have to break into the ball joints. Did you use any particular 'how to' instructions?
Others reference lowered springs - did you stick with stock? TIA

 

These are the DIY's I followed.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...eplacement.htm

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...eplacement.htm

 

The Pelican Parts How-To was great, if you read the comments at the end you'll see a couple people did not disconnect the tie rods or ball joints. Also, on Youtube I watched this video:

 

Really happy to hear that our articles helped you folks out with your projects. Yes, the comments/suggestions section provides a lot of other great input from individuals who also tackle these jobs. It's always a great idea to review them in any of our articles as they might provide additional information that will be useful. I also wanted to add a note that we have some pretty beefy suspension kits in our catalog. The stage 2 kit includes the B4 Touring Class shocks/struts as well. The nice thing about the kits is when you add them to the shopping cart you can individually delete items out of the kit that you do not want/need. Just wanted to share this information for anyone else looking to do this install in the future. Also, the night before I go to work on my vehicle I like to soak some bolts with WD40 to ease the pain of breaking loose stuck bolts/nuts.

Kits here: http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/..._pg1.htm#item0.

 

I just did an 03 R53 stock strut removal and replaced with Koni Yellow struts and I did reuse the stock spring from the oem strut. I was able to remove the strut without removing the ball joints but remember you must remove the sway bar link before attempting to remove the strut. I loosen the strut tower nuts but did not remove them using the weight of the strut to help pull the strut from the pocket after I had removed the pocket bolt-----a soaking of DB Blaster I am sure helped. Make sure you keep the brake lines free from the strut and I had good luck taking the strut forward when it was free from the pocket and the tower nuts have been removed. I did not attempt to use a spring compressor to shorten the spring because there is really no room. Now if you feel that you must remove the ball joint which is very easy----just undo the 13mm bolts at the joint----the wheel hub assembly is going to go some where and it usually goes away from the strut allowing the half shaft to separate inside the inboard boot and you really don't want that to happen. Try keeping the ball joint intact and push down on the wheel hub and the strut bottom and it will come free. Do not use a heavy persuader(hammer)----it should not be needed----a few taps with a light hammer on the pocket will not hurt anything. I pry thin bar in the slot of the pocket may help if you can get a bit of a bite. Patience is is the most import tool right now.

 

I'm going to replace the bump stops when I do my struts and shocks. Does anyone know if the Powerflex Polyurethane Bump Stop Set works for both the front and the rears?

 

The bump stop kit from PF is universal so I would call and ask them. You should also consider doing the strut/shock top mounts as well when you do your suspension.

Strut mounts http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/..._pg2.htm#item6
Shock mounts http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/..._pg3.htm#item9

Let me know if you have any questions as I'd be happy to help.

 

Do the mounts go bad often? Don't think I've ever replaced one.