Dear my Third Gen gods....

This is my virgin go at installing shocks. (Sniff, we all remember our first time don't we?) I have an 87 Formula bird, and im planning on installing both the shocks and the struts. I have never done this procedure, so i was wondering if any of you out there could give me some direction. Im looking for a step by step if that is possible, but if you want to chip in and give me some things to look out for, or some ideas on how to properly installing or align these things, it would be very appreciated.

Also, what are some great shocks and struts to pick up for a reasonable price? Im just a punk college kid on a punk college kid budget, but im looking for some preformance too. If you have links to websites, send em over! I'll look at them! Thanks!

 

shocks are real easy, as for the cheapest? i bought some gabriel gas ryders from autozone, but KYB's from tirerack.com will run you about 16$ + shipping. I got mine for 20$ a piece out the door. As for the install...here goes...

Before you jack up the side of the car which shock u want to change first, open the door and pull the back seat down, just underneath the carpet to the hatch close to the hump where the rear tire is where the upper shock mounting bolt is, loosen and remove that along with the bushings.

Next, jack the car up and support it properly, remove rim/tire.

Next step is a Biiitch depending on how rusted the lower mounting bolts are (mine were terrible). follow the length of the shock down and you'll notice where the shock bolt is. using a 7/8's socket i believe it was, loosen the bolts and remove the shock.

The new shocks should have came with new bushings/bolts/ ect...if not save the old ones just incase. Feed the new shock through the hole that goes into the car. and if possible have someone hold it in place while u tighten the bolt, or if you want you can do the lower one first seeing as though its on jackstands and climbing in the car wouldnt be such a smart idea at this time and just feed the upper threads into the hole and tighten it when the car is lowered back on the ground. I believe thats it, installation is the same as removal and the other side is the exact same thing...Have fun, only took me an hour to do mine because of all the rusty bolts

 

Thanks dude! I really do appreciate it. Would you have any idea on what things i would have to worry about if i replaced my struts too?

 

struts are a bit tougher than the shocks, but very doable for a DIY'er. Same concept only you have to lift your hood and right above the wheel wells are the upper strut mounts (look like a black cone) use a flat head screw driver to pop the top off of that, and expose the upper bolt. (I did this with the car on the ground because this bolt is EXTREMELY hard to get loose) others will tell you its tough as well, you will need 2 wrenches one to hold the nut and the other to hold the top where the nut screws into. After successfully loosening the upper nut, jack the car up and support it on a jackstand and remove the wheel/tire. There are 2 bolts that attach the strut to the steering knuckle (can't miss them they're right on the strut) along with a brake line retainer that is also bolted on the strut. Loosen these (you might need a breaker bar for the strut to steering knuckle bolts, I did) and after you remove the brake line retainer save it for it to be installed on the new strut. When the bolts are taken out of the old strut the steering knuckle will kind of fall out to the side and you can remove the strut. (you may need to compress it to get the top part out of the upper mount hole).

So heres the reinstall:

-Make sure u have all original nuts/bolts(for steering knuckle to strut bolts)
-Put the brake line retainer on the new strut
-Place the strut into where it bolts onto the steering knuckle
-Tighten the bolts to specified torque(or like me until they're nice and tight, just dont break the bolts)
-Compress the strut and feed it into the upper mount hole.
-Put the wheel/tire back on
-Lower the car
-Torque the top nut back on
-Place the black cone(strut mount housing)back on
and there you go, other side is the same too

Just whatever u do, dont mess with the strut mounts(have 3 bolts around the cone that mount it to the car, you dont need to touch those!)

You should be fine if u have the time and some knowledge of what needs to be done..i dont believe i left anything out...
goodluck

 

oh yeah forgot one thing, a lot of times you will need 2 wrenches...one to hold the nut and one to hold the bolt because the bolt will spin with the nut about 99% of the time...

 

Again, thanks! It sounds really thourough. It looks like my 3 days off this week will be filled with fun firebird suspension times! Oh, and new carpet! Haha, thanks again!

 

no problem, i try to share whatever knowledge i have that may be useful to some through my experiences...but it may come in handy for you to get a workshop manual for the car down the road. Besides, why not just do them yourself, hell, Midas wasnted 120$ to put MY struts in...thats just labor..screw that

 

I think you are forgetting about the coil springs in the front.. Use a spring compressor on the spring so you don't kill yourself...

 

The spings stay in. A jackstand/jack will hold the control arm in place while you change the strut.

 

Hey, just a bit of an update.... The shocks went in with no problems at all! Killer job on the walkthrough, it helped me a lot knowing a bit what i was going into. The struts i will tackle next week (funding is low) and i think i can tackle those too. I decided to put my new carpet in too since i was gonna do the shocks, and I found out how rusted my floorboards to my car really are! So i've been spending the last few days getting to know my car with a grinder in hand. Then i bent up some sweet stainless to put underneath there, so it should come out nice. Thanks for the tips again!:hail:

 

congrads on the install! the struts are gonna be tougher because the upper bolts are really on there

 

Hope it all goes well for you. Take a look at my suspension rebuild and see what the front strut replacement looks like. Click the link in my sig and "flip" through my albums to see how it goes. I recommend using the spring compressor, it helps a lot, but you have to modify it a bit. I have pics of how to do it.

Since you will have your carpet out, have you thought about coating the floorboards with POR-15? That stuff will keep the rust away forever.

Good luck!


Ed

 

POR-15? Is that like a spray sealant for after i put my replacement floor boards in, or is it something like a filler like fiberglass would be? Where can i get it, and for how much? I did check out your photo albumn too, and that is really a sweet reference too! Awesome suspension you put in your car there! But yeah, how does POR-15 work, because i definatly have everything ripped apart right now. (my poor baby ) But thanks for the tips guys again!

 

www.por-15.com


I purchased the starter kit and it was plenty to do my whole front suspension as seen on my page. You can spray it but it spreads so easy you don't need to. I just did my Spohn subframes in it too, they look great.


Here's a pic or two of mine...minie are the nice black ones. I'll have more pics up soon.


https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...highlight=SFCs


Ed

 

Hey, I just did my strust this last weekend. Took me a little while it being my first time but they are pretty easy and straight forward. If you need to take of the calipers and hang them to your side. that will give a little more room to work with the struts if you need.