legacydh Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 I just ordered and installed some Raceland coilovers for a GD. When installing I realized that I had to disconnect my sways to get the control arms high enough to connect to the coilovers. This was the case front and back. Is this normal? I think not, seeing as how nobody mentioned it anywhere in regards to the install. Any help would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaNu1142 Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Use a jack to lift the control arm. Tits mcgee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legacydh Posted May 9, 2014 Author Share Posted May 9, 2014 I feel like that would put a shit ton of extra stress on the bar. No? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaNu1142 Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 In your particular case, I don't know, but this is pretty routine. I did it when installing my coilovers. Think of it this way--if you have one corner of your car lifted, that wheel is free. If you jack it up by the control arm (hub), you're essentially redistributing the weight of the car. You're raising the ground back up to meet that corner of the car. Tits mcgee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legacydh Posted May 9, 2014 Author Share Posted May 9, 2014 Right on. I left them uninstalled for the moment but when I get back under the car I will take some pics and have a better description of the problem I'm running into. With the sway connected I couldn't get the control arm to get high enough to connect to due to the sway not wanting to bend and being stopped by one of either the drive axle or steering rack (not sure which, going off fuzzy early morning recollection). Will upload pics this afternoon/evening. Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaNu1142 Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Well, that doesn't sound right... but post pics & maybe someone can see what's going on. If you have to remove your sway to attach the coilover, I'd be concerned about the possibility of not being able to re-install the sway afterward. Tits mcgee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legacydh Posted May 9, 2014 Author Share Posted May 9, 2014 That's exactly what I'm worried about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassnectar Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 You need to raise the control arm before you torque anything with a bushing to spec or else the bushings life will be shortened. This applies to end links of the sway bars Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legacydh Posted May 11, 2014 Author Share Posted May 11, 2014 Ok. Well that would help if my sway bar could even be reattached. The connection points on the control have moved so much that I can't get the bar back on. I wish it were easier to upload pictures to this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaNu1142 Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 Tapatalk. Imgur. Hell, Photobucket if you're stuck in 1999. Tits mcgee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legacydh Posted May 11, 2014 Author Share Posted May 11, 2014 http://i.imgur.com/XMKNbqO.jpg http://i.imgur.com/MAS65jb.jpg http://i.imgur.com/rMDoqCD.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaNu1142 Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 That's with the tire on the ground it looks like. That geometry looks bad. How low did you go, exactly? Control arm height WRT the end link isn't the problem... it's the angles. Is it just the photo perspective, or is your axle actually tilted at that dramatic an angle from the diff? Tits mcgee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legacydh Posted May 11, 2014 Author Share Posted May 11, 2014 The axle is tilted up. I ordered the Raceland coilovers package for the GD. Everything on this site and elsewhere says that everything bolts right up. Even others on this site have said they have no issues with this exact package. Clearly the geometry is off, but why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legacydh Posted May 11, 2014 Author Share Posted May 11, 2014 And yes that was with the car on the ground, wheel turned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegGtBK97 Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 Wow I just installed mine... you should've instead of disconnecting the sway bars used a jack to lift the control arms up far enough to install the bolts for the coilovers..thats if your working in the street. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegGtBK97 Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 By lowering your car you already put alot of stress on the suspension so your worrying about something that you already intend to do to the car. Just saying Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegGtBK97 Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 And also how low did u go Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legacydh Posted May 11, 2014 Author Share Posted May 11, 2014 Would you mind posting a pic of your wheel with it turned like in one of my pics? I would like to see a comparison. If its as easy as jacking up the control arm with everything, I'll do it. But you see the geometry in the pictures. Something won't break? Before http://i.imgur.com/d6BAikb.jpg http://i.imgur.com/eN1hv5v.jpg After http://i.imgur.com/CkRYCvy.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Fn1UICV.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegGtBK97 Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 After with 17's Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legacydh Posted May 12, 2014 Author Share Posted May 12, 2014 Update: There were a number of reasons why my sway wasn't lining up. The first couple reasons fall under the header of 'I'm an idiot.' Actually, the whole mix up is because I wasn't paying attention and moving too fast. Stayed up until 3 this morning taking the coilovers out and starting over, in my garage. When I had originally started the install I thought I had measured the overall length of the coilovers. I had not. They were still set to the absolute lowest they could go, the way they were shipped. It was really dumb on my part. Like I said, moving too fast and not paying attention to what I had done. Or not done as the case is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legacydh Posted May 12, 2014 Author Share Posted May 12, 2014 LegGtBK97 your car looks great at that height. Love these wagons in black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudewerx Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 OK legacydh, here's a question... I have the same coilovers sitting in the box in my living room. Looking at the adjustability of the bottom had me a little betwixed and scratching my head. My question, how much did you end up threading the bottom of the coilovers onto the shock body? My worries are what's the min that has to be threaded in ya know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legacydh Posted May 13, 2014 Author Share Posted May 13, 2014 Yeah I hear ya. When you go to install, try to raise both sides at the time if you can. Or get the entire car on jack stands, if you can. When you have the old struts out, lay your coilovers next to the old struts and spin that bottom piece, on the coilovers, until they are equal to the height of the old struts. Then from there you can figure out how much you what your drop to be. From there there are a number of videos on YouTube that show you how to adjust them once they are installed. And no worries there being enough threaded on that bottom part. Even with the coilovers set to stock height they are still threaded 3/4 of the way through them. Good luck on the install it's actually pretty easy. I'm just an idiot and made it harder than it needed to be by disconnecting my sways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudewerx Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Thanks for the tips, and no ur not an idiot. Everyone gets excited when a new mod arrives, excitement makes for easy mistakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twisty Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 When you have the old struts out, lay your coilovers next to the old struts and spin that bottom piece, on the coilovers, until they are equal to the height of the old struts. Then from there you can figure out how much you what your drop to be. one thing to keep in mind tho, the stock springs are much soggier than the coilovers. so, there will be less compression with the coilovers, making the measurements way different. i tried that thinking it would be the best plan of attack and ran out of threads before i got anywhere near the length of my oem struts. i ended up measuring the hole depth in the bottom and matching it on both sides. i started at like an inch and went from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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