Changing the Front Shock Absorbers

[Azza]

Well the SSled handling of late has been a bit poor and the front left strut has been making some grinding noises when turning the steering wheel so new shocks and strut bushes were in order.

My pick, the Pedders VRD (Velocity Responsive Dampening) shock absorbers and Pedder rubber strut bush and bearings. The VRD offer a soft cushy comfort ride say for entering/leaving a driveway without the harsh thump but, stiffen up at high corning speeds or under hard accelerating/braking when you need the car to sit nice and flat.
http://www.trackchat.com.au/media/data/500/medium/Shocks_change0002.JPG

Now after a little research and looking at the car and parts it's not that hard for one to do themselves, you do need to get a couple of special tools to do the job right but if you get the right quality tool, it's a tool for life.

The right tools for the job

You will need a 19,22,24MM impack sockets plus a short extention and braker bar.
17,19,22MM ring spanners, rattle gun ,torque wrench, spring compressors, phillips head screw driver, shifter, car stands and a car jack.
http://www.trackchat.com.au/media/data/500/medium/Shocks_change0014.JPG

Jack the car up and place the car stands inline with the chassis rails.


Remove the wheel and put aside and you should have a view like this one before you (your brakes may be bigger than mine :p)

http://trackchat.com.au/media/data/500/Shocks_change0004.JPG

Remove the nut at the top of the swap bar pin using the 17MM spanner.

http://www.trackchat.com.au/media/data/500/medium/Shocks_change0005.JPG

Remove the washes and bushes in the order they come off, they are dished for a reason so don't stuff up the order as to how they come off, take a picture or make a note as to how you pulled them off. Also a little tip, use your jack to raise the strut enough so as the swap bar pin can be cleared of the hole it passes through on the strut push aside and lower it down again.

http://www.trackchat.com.au/media/data/500/medium/Shocks_change0006.JPG

Remove the ABS sensor wire and the brake line, the sensor line will pull out towards you and the brake line will pull out away from you, you will need to twist the brake line about 180 degrees as it has a slot that it slides in and out by.


Next use the rattle gun to undo the 24MM nut at the top of the strut.

http://www.trackchat.com.au/media/data/500/medium/Shocks_change0007.JPG

Remove the two bolts that hold the strut to the hubusing the 19 and 22 MM impact sockets.

http://www.trackchat.com.au/media/data/500/medium/Shocks_change0008.JPG

The strut is now free to be removed, take care not to knock your wheel arch and either put a scratch or dent in it.


Once the strut is out it is a good idea to tie the hub up with a bit of wire so as it stops from falling and stretching the brake line and ABS wire which may cause damage to them both.


Fit the spring compressors and tighten down to take away the tension, remove the second 24MM nut at the top of the strut, unscrew the hose clamp at the bottom of the rubber boot and the whole assembly should come lose.

http://www.trackchat.com.au/media/data/500/medium/Shocks_change0010.JPG

As you can see here my rubber strut bush to the left was FUBA!
The Pedder brand one is a lot stronger and chunker than the factory ones and I recommend you get these instead of Holdens.
http://www.trackchat.com.au/media/data/500/medium/Shocks_change0011.JPG

[BOMI]

Azza, is there more? :)

[exploder]

By the look of the Jim Beam pile he may have got distracted...:up2sum:

[Azza]

The server for TrackChat was playing silly buggers yesterday and wouldn,t let me up load any more pictures or post so here is part two of my thread.

Installing the struts basically is just the reverse order of removing them but some care should be taken as to how it all goes together.


Assemble the new strut together in the order it came apart, make sure you put the dished washes in the right way as they came out.


Put the first nut on the piston rod and turn it by hand first to prevent any cross threading from happening.


Tighten up the nut with the rattle gun on it lowest setting and using the torque wrench tighten up to between 70-85Nm.


Check that the spring is seated in the right position and remove the spring compressors and then tighten the hose clamp at the bottom of the rubber boot.

You should have something that looks like this ready to install.
http://www.trackchat.com.au/media/data/500/medium/Shocks_change0013.JPG

Carefully fit the strut and again start the second 24MM nut at the top of the piston rod by hand to prevent any cross threading from happening.


Tighten down with rattle gun on its lowest setting then using the torque wrench tighten to between 50-60Nm.


Install both the nuts and bolts at the bottom of the strut using the 19 and 22MM impact sockets and tighten with your rattle gun set to full torque.

NOTE: There is a little bolt that faces toward you that is just above the top strut bolt in the hud assembly, this is your camber ajustment and you should avoid moving this at any time!
http://www.trackchat.com.au/media/data/500/medium/Camber.JPG

Re-install the sway bar pin in the order you removed it.


Fit both the brake line and the ABS wire.

You should have a view like this before you now.
http://www.trackchat.com.au/media/data/500/medium/Shocks_change0012.JPG

Fit the wheel back on and torque your nuts up to between 100-120Nm.

http://www.trackchat.com.au/media/data/500/medium/Shocks_change0016.JPG
One complete strut change done.

The first strut took me about an hour and a half to do, the second less than an hour, the rear shocks are very simple to do basically one nut, one bolt per shock.
When you install the rear shocks tighten the top nut to the stud by hand, the bottom bolt tighten to using the torque wrench to between 105-125Nm.
It took me all of a half hour to do both the rear shocks, summed up one could do this project in less than two and a half hours with no distractions.

[NickS]

Great write up Azza, thanks for putting in the effort.

We did this job on Ron's car, along with the brakes, and it was actually a really enjoyable day. I would probably try and get someone to lend a hand as it makes someof the jobs easier and the day is more enjoyable when you have someone to talk BS with.

:D

One thing I did notice ... most of your cans haven't been opened mate. :lol:

[Azza]

One thing I did notice ... most of your cans haven't been opened mate. :lol:


Stage props:lol:

[35R]

great contribition Azza, well done.

[RedVYIISS]

great contribition Azza, well done.

As said, a fantastic 'how to', well done.

[BOMI]

Great write up Azza, loved the use of "stage props"!

Nick, I think if they were not full there might have been a strut mounted wrong, or two lol

Again mate great write up!!


Troy :thumbs:

[Delft Maloo]

good stuff there. i basicly tried to do the same thing the other day allthough i was fitting lowered springs in the front stuts, same process though. but i had no luck, didnt have a rattle gun,so i went and brought one, its nearly impossible to remove the top strut bolt that holds the stut inplace. thus my compressor did not have quite enough force to undo it:headbang: . couldnt undo the other side either. no other tool would loosen it cause it just turned the shaft and top plate. it appears when pedders fitted the hsv springs in for me(was special order lovells in there that sat the car about 70mm off the ground) they torqued them up to the extreme and the nuts have bitten into the base plate. have to get someone to knock them loose for me so i can have another go.
It certainly pays to have the nessacery tools at hand to do the job correctly.
cheers.

[WOMBIE]

Old thread I know and probably not really all that relavent in my case but at least it gives me a little insight and confidence into the diy side of things as I will embark on installing Koni rears into the sv8 next week.......should be interesting to say the least :scared:

[lautray]

Old thread I know and probably not really all that relavent in my case but at least it gives me a little insight and confidence into the diy side of things as I will embark on installing Koni rears into the sv8 next week.......should be interesting to say the least :scared:

Very easy Daz... either 21 or 22mm socket at the bottom of the shock & cannot remember the size of the top one. But remember to hold the top of the shock (flat bit) with a shifter when undoing the top nuts, otherwise the whole thing may spin. Only have to jack the car up enough so that there is no load on the shock. Easy removal of the old one & easy fitment of the new. You'll have both sides done in <30 min ;).

HTH.

[WOMBIE]

Done in 30mins you say :confused:

Geez I hope not because you can't get much liquid refreshment consumed in that small amount of time surely :chuckle:


Thanks for the encouragement though I'm looking forward to doing it :yep: