Okay, god damn. Jason and I attempted to install my Skunk2 coilovers today. What a b!tch! Okay, I'm not sure why, but the nuts and bolts in my 97' Eclipse suck. We started witht he front tires. We took off the front left tire, and got in there. Most of my bolts and nuts were so tough to get off, and rusty..It was such a pain. But, we got the first coilover on. Then, 3 hours later, moved onto the next front tire. However, we ran into a problem....

On the front right tire, after taking the wheel off, there is a long bolt that we could not get off. We went at it hard for like 20 minutes and it wouldn't budge. We got the nut off, but when we attempted to twist the bolt, there was some type of rubber thing inside the 'deal' that kept us from twisting the bolt...couldn't even twist it without this 'rubber tension'.

I'm driving now with one coilover in, and I am very eager to get the rest on. How do I get this bolt out! We used EZ_Lube stuff and sprayed it a lot. We hit it from the opposite side with a hammer, and pulled at it and used some big ass rachets and still can't get it out. Pretty sure that rubber thing is stopping us; Anyone know what I'm talking about!?! Help!

Ryan
Ryeguy2002@Hotmail.com
'97 Mitsubishi Eclipse RS



http://www.monkeygods.com/Ryan
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______________________________

Ryan
IRyanHester@Hotmail.com

'03 Mazda 6s

Is it the swar bar link bolt, or the lower-most bolt, or the bolt that keeps the strut in place? I think you are talking about the lower-most bolt that is long and has a nut on the back side. You might need to jack up the suspension a bit more to get the right angle - also make sure you first remove the sway bar link. After you back that bolt out of the threads, use a rubber mallet to hit it hard to get it out. You use a second jack to either raise or lower the suspension so that the bolt will come out easier. Hope this helps. Don't worry, you're almost there, and the rear suspension will take only about an hour for both sides.

Also, what kind of shocks are you using, and did you use any steel rings (with or without lip) for the collar? Did you knock off the spring perch? I just installed my skunk2 about a week ago...thanks

eclipse804@hotmail.com
http://importdeals.homestead.com
Import Parts and Performance

________________________________________

2004 WRX - WR Blue Pearl
1997 Eclipse GS - Royal Sapphire Pearl

Hey MArcus,

Since it was a lot of my blood sweat and tears (heh), I can answer a couple of your questions.

>Is it the swar bar link
>bolt, or the lower-most bolt,
>or the bolt that keeps
>the strut in place?

It's that lower-most bolt. OMG that bolt is such a pain. Within that lower fork arrangement, there's a rubber bearing right in the middle that's turning with the bolt. It appears that the rubber bearing has somehow bonded itself with the bolt prevent any iundependent bolt turning at all. And trust me, we used an additional jack on the knuckles of the suspension. We had it so there wasn't any stress on the strut at all.

I told Ryan to either consult this board for some tricks or get an impact wrench. My breaker bar just wasn't up to the task. The bolt would turn some with the rubber bearing turning also, and then turn back to the original spot after I released the bar. (just not a very nice bolt)


>Also, what kind of shocks are
>you using, and did you
>use any steel rings (with
>or without lip) for the
>collar?

"Cheap" Ryan is going with the stock KYB's. heh I think we also used a steel ring at the top of the first coilover. The directions explained using a steel L-ring, at a certain point and we followed suit. We also cut down a bump stop and a rubber bearing towards the top.

The Skunk2's are really nice looking pieces. The directions however, look like they were written by a 12-year old. (no offense to any 12-year olds on the the board )

Did you knock
>off the spring perch?

Yeah, it knocked right off.

Can't wait to get this stuff on for Ryan. And I told him the rears would be muuuch easier. What slowed us down on the first coilover was a very uncooperative sway bar link bolt. OMG, the 14mm nut on the back side would not hold therefore preventing us from backing out the bolt. We sprayed some lube stuff along with a little rust-loosening hammer action without any success. So we just were able to do some fanagling by leaving it on there.

Jason
98' Eagle Talon ESi-T
Mitsu Super 16g Turbo(HRC)/Custom FMIC


http://springfielddsm.homestead.com/JasonsPics.html

_____________________________________
Jason ESi-T

04' BMW 325Ci
91' Nissan 240SX
98' Eagle Talon ESi (sold)

Yup the fronts are a real pain. It took us about 5 hours to do the front and rears. Hmm I'm kind of confused about the steel rings. The L-ring is the one with the lip in it right? I used these only on the rears to put inside the threaded collar to make the inner diameter of the collar smaller (since without it the threaded collar would completely slide down the shock and not stay in place. Where else did you use rings (at the top?) Can you elaborate a little? I know its really hard to explain. We did mine basically without any instructions because they had to photocopy some generic instructions from a civic (mine were missing). The ride is MUCH stiffer than with the H&R Sports, and can get a little scary sometimes, especially over really rough roads. Adjustability is great though, I think I almost have it at stock height, maybe 0.5 to 1" drop.

eclipse804@hotmail.com
http://importdeals.homestead.com
Import Parts and Performance

________________________________________

2004 WRX - WR Blue Pearl
1997 Eclipse GS - Royal Sapphire Pearl

LAST EDITED ON 09-Apr-01 AT 01:25 PM (PST)

Yeah, I'll do my best to explain but as you mentioned, its not easy without having a firm grasp on the correct mechanic lingo/terminology. (which I don't heheh)


>Hmm I'm kind of confused
>about the steel rings.
>The L-ring is the one
>with the lip in it
>right?

I think we're on the same page with those steel rings. There's a lip on the side of the steel ring to grab both the coilover sleeve and the outer portion of the strut. It certainly didn't appear to serve much of a purpose, but we had four of em and it fit so well on the front, we used em. The terrible instructions also had them being used.

(Ryan, if you read this, why not scan the instructions for Marcus to view)

As far as the rubber O-rings, after closer inspection of them, they came in various sizes. Well, the smaller O-rings seemed to work well on the lower portion of the coilover sleeve and strut to help hold the sleeve better in place. We used 3, I think, on the first coilover/strut combo. I doubt that any of them were even necessary, but we were given plenty of them, plus the directions have two being used per sleeve, so again, we followed suit and went to town with them.

If you like, I can give you a further update on the strut #'s 2,3, and 4.


Jason
98' Eagle Talon ESi-T
Mitsu Super 16g Turbo(HRC)/Custom FMIC


http://springfielddsm.homestead.com/JasonsPics.html

_____________________________________
Jason ESi-T

04' BMW 325Ci
91' Nissan 240SX
98' Eagle Talon ESi (sold)

Hmm so you used all four L-rings on the front ones? Or actually 2 on one side? I had two L-rings with a smaller diameter, and 2 L-rings with a slightly larger diameter. Neither of the two sizes would fit around my front KYB GR2's, the inner diameter of the ring was smaller than the diameter of the strut. Does Ryan also have the KYB GR2 in front? The fronts are a lot wider in diameter than the rear. So I ended up not using any L-rings, but did use a steel washer on the front (same diameter as the collared part so it just fits so that the steel washer sits on the knocked off spring perch weld, and the collar sits on top of that). Ryan, if you could scan the instructions, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.

eclipse804@hotmail.com
http://importdeals.homestead.com
Import Parts and Performance

________________________________________

2004 WRX - WR Blue Pearl
1997 Eclipse GS - Royal Sapphire Pearl

LAST EDITED ON 10-Apr-01 AT 07:33 AM (PST)

>Hmm so you used all four
>L-rings on the front ones?

No, we only used an L-ring on the top of the front coilover sleeve.(we've only finished front right at this point)

Besides the steel L-ring, we used 3 rubber O-rings. That's it.

Does Ryan also
>have the KYB GR2 in
>front?

No he has the STOCK KYB's. heh

Jason
98' Eagle Talon ESi-T
Mitsu Super 16g Turbo(HRC)/Custom FMIC


http://springfielddsm.homestead.com/JasonsPics.html

_____________________________________
Jason ESi-T

04' BMW 325Ci
91' Nissan 240SX
98' Eagle Talon ESi (sold)

I had a similar thing happen on one of my rear lc arms replaced with swaybar upgrade. The inner bolt was relded (rusted/welded) to the metal sleeve in the bushing. The only way I was able to turn the bolt was to heat the bushing. That did no good because then the sleeve just spin around in the rubber part.

I ended up cutting the bolt in two places with an angle grinder to get the arm out. In your case, is the bushing pressed into a part which will be replaced? Replacing the bushing would require a press.

-George

Alright, I went to a dozen auto places in the city. Most say that this bolt MUST be heated in order to be taken out. Well, Mitsubishi and a few other places tell me that if the bolt is heated in order to be taken out, the rubber bushings inside will be destroyed.

After hearing this I got a few prices from mitsubishi. They don't sell the bushings. You must by the entire lower control arm if your bushings are ruined. Well, my only other option, if the bolt is removed by heat, is to buy a whole new lower control arm. About 100$ from mitsubishi....that is not gonna happen on this budget.

So, an alternative is needed...there must be a way to remove my strut without removing this bolt. So, I went to a final place in hopes that this mechanic would have an idea, and he did. He told me to: remove the sway bar bolt, and the bolt of the back of the fork. Then he says I should be able to pull the strut up and out while pushing the rest of the setup down.

I'm going to attempt this tomorrow morning. I am having doubts but I'm crossing my fingers. If anyone has any suggestions, comments, or ideas I'd really appreciate it. Let me know what your thinking. Thanks.

Ryan
Ryeguy2002@Hotmail.com
'97 Mitsubishi Eclipse RS



http://www.monkeygods.com/Ryan
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______________________________

Ryan
IRyanHester@Hotmail.com

'03 Mazda 6s