Shock Replacement

[hip]

Since the cost of replacing 4 shocks on a Honda is about $1K with labor and alignment, I've decided to tackle replacing the shocks on the wife's 10 year old Accord myself. These babies are expensive, however the good folks at Norm Reeves Acura have cut me a pretty good deal so I'm ready to give it a try. Armed with my trusty Honda Service Manual, I should be able to save about half what the mechanics will charge.

I've ordered the 4 shocks and all new rubber components. After 10 years of brutal Arizona heat these puppies are overdue. Of course the knocking noise I hear whenever I ride over a small bumps in the road doesn't reinforce my confidence that some (or all) rubber bushings may be shot?

I've done a lot of mods but haven't tackled shocks yet so this should be interesting. :jeffy:

I'm going to need a spring compressor which I should be able to rent nearby and also know a wheel alignment will be needed after.

I'm not too proud to ask for any help so, if anyone has ever replaced shocks on a Honda before, I'm open to suggestions?

[SAZABI]

Hi, I have replaced the shocks and spring on my old Accord.
what kind of input do you need?

It wasn't that hard compared to european cars. =)

[hip]

Originally posted by SAZABI
Hi, I have replaced the shocks and spring on my old Accord.
what kind of input do you need?

It wasn't that hard compared to european cars. =)

Thanks, there are some things I'm not sure about:

- Are there any differences in terms of difficulty between changing the front versus the rears?

- Is it necessary to replace ALL the rubber components? (I may do this as a matter of practicality due the heat and age)

- The service manual mentions a specific type of spring compressor, does it really matter? (Not sure what type the auto parts store has for rent)

- Is it true the car will require a 4-wheel alignement after installation?

- I'm giving myself about 2 days to accomplish since I haven't done it before, about how long did it take for you to do?

Thanks for the help.

[hondafreak4eva]

ok ima going to answer from my experience with my 1998 accord... i changed shocks and springs on it last july....

Originally posted by hip
Thanks, there are some things I'm not sure about:
- Are there any differences in terms of difficulty between changing the front versus the rears?

I actually found them to be equally easy.. it just took a little time to find where the top of the rears were due to the placement of them in the car... but after that was done.. no major issues...
Originally posted by hip
- Is it necessary to replace ALL the rubber components? (I may do this as a matter of practicality due the heat and age)

it isn't and mine actually told me to remove some...but my shocks were after market ones.. so stock honda ones you'll probably want to go ahead and just do it.
Originally posted by hip
- The service manual mentions a specific type of spring compressor, does it really matter? (Not sure what type the auto parts store has for rent)

you should be able to get what you need at an auto zone for free.. they rent them for a deposit but then give you your money back
Originally posted by hip
- Is it true the car will require a 4-wheel alignement after installation?
yes
Originally posted by hip
- I'm giving myself about 2 days to accomplish since I haven't done it before, about how long did it take for you to do?

Thanks for the help.
took me about 5 hours.. and this was not having done anything like this before...
you should be fine.. anything else ya need?

[hip]

Thanks for the help and advice, I'll post when I'm done and let you know how I did?

[hondafreak4eva]

Originally posted by hip
Thanks for the help and advice, I'll post when I'm done and let you know how I did? sounds good :)

[SAZABI]

Originally posted by hip
Thanks, there are some things I'm not sure about:

- Are there any differences in terms of difficulty between changing the front versus the rears?

- Is it necessary to replace ALL the rubber components? (I may do this as a matter of practicality due the heat and age)

- The service manual mentions a specific type of spring compressor, does it really matter? (Not sure what type the auto parts store has for rent)

- Is it true the car will require a 4-wheel alignement after installation?

- I'm giving myself about 2 days to accomplish since I haven't done it before, about how long did it take for you to do?

Thanks for the help.

I would say front is easier, b/c I need to reach inside the back seat (just below the speaker) for the nuts... hope you know what I mean. But, generally, both are the same in terms of difficulty. Becareful when working the rear. The stock rear spring is compressed much more than the front. The spring compressor gotta work at maximum distance.

No need to replace the rubbers on the mount. I have been changing spring/shocks back and forth like more than 5 times, those mount are still good.

I did not need any alignment for the Accord... probably b/c all 4 are double wisebone... well... I don't know about the TSX tho...

It took me 4 hours 1st time to do it. After than, it is less than 3 hours.

Becareful man. Those springs are dangerous =) Do it slowly, and be safe.

Oh, I don't know how well you know about cars... but you will need 2 tools at the same time to open the top unless you have air gun. I use a wrench + hex key on ratchet.

sorry, bad english, hope you understand what I said.

[hip]

Thanks SAZABI

I do have a compressor but no air tools so it will be done by hand.

You're right the scariest part is compressing the springs, that's why I'm giving myself 2 days to do it. Slow and easy.

All the mechanics I've spoken to say that an alignment will be needed?

The reason I'm changing all the rubber parts is mostly due to knocking noises coming from the front end. Haven't looked to see the cause, but after 10 years it's not worth doing all this work and not changing all the parts.

[SAZABI]

alignment.... of course doing it is better than not.

but both my accord and my friend's TL did not do it, and it turns out fine.... so up to u =)

[hip]

Well, I spent all weekend replacing the shocks on the old Accord and it hasn't been too pleasant. I started with the rears first and like most DIY projects, whatever time you calculate, multiply by 4!

Started on Saturday by removing the coil and strut assemblies, this part was moderately difficult as there is little room to manuever them out around the brake line, rear anti-sway bar and misc suspension componets. I'd say this part took over 90 minutes.

The spring compressing was actually the easy part. Compressing the spring, replacing the strut and associated rubber components took about almost 35 minutes.

I can't tell you how long replacing the assembly took because after 4 hours., I gave up and called a night. The top of the assembly has two medium studs that are opposite the center of the strut (equivilant to 3 and 9 o'clock). These fit into mating holes in the upper part of the wheel well and are accessed inside the trunk. The bottom of the assemlby has a "U" shaped yoke with a hole running accross both flats of the "U, " a nut is welded to one side.

Getting the yoke to line up with the suspension knuckle that fits inside it was the most difficult and time consuming part. After giving up on the left side, I tackled the right side on Sunday. I reduced my assembly removal and spring compression time by about 20% but have still been unable to line up the bottom yoke on either side!!! :mad:

I've tried loosening related linkages and all the attachments bolts hoping something might shift into place, but still no luck. I also tried to "jack" the suspension up to different heights, also no luck!

The misalignment is very slight, the side where the yoke has the welded nut is misaligned with the knuckle by about 1/16". If I remove the assembly and attach the bottom first, no problem. But then I can't compress the assembly and tilt it inward to install.
There must be a trick to this, but so far it has eluded me. Even the service manual is no help here.

I'm calling in a few chips and asking some mechanic friends what to try next? Any ideas?

[hip]

Here's a closer look...

Just tried a pipe wrench and small bottle jack but can't seem to rotate either the strut or the knuckle enough to line up! rrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!:mad:

[SAZABI]

Did you jack up both side at the same time or that you just jack one side up at a time?

This is very comment mistake usually for lubricating the bushing in sway bar. I am seeing this as a possible mistake too.

[hip]

Originally posted by SAZABI
Did you jack up both side at the same time or that you just jack one side up at a time?

This is very comment mistake usually for lubricating the bushing in sway bar. I am seeing this as a possible mistake too.

The car is sitting on two jack stands located at the rear.

Lubrication is only on the strut yoke not on the sway bar. Either way I don't see how the lube would matter?

[SAZABI]

well... u are fine then if you have both side off the ground.

I mean when people need to lubricate the bushing for sway bar, they try to do it one side 1st. It causes a similar problem to the mount that holds the bushing.

[hip]

Success!!!

Found out from an Acura mechanic the trick to aligning the lower control arm knuckle within the lower strut yoke.

All that was needed was a little "muscle" in the way of pneumatic jack. By CAREFULLY placing the jack under the yoke on the opposite of side of the welded nut, lifting it will allow it to reach alignment. The stud is very strong steel so it is ok to leave it in while raising it up.

Have just completed both rear shocks!!!1blue1.gif

Somehow I would have thought you guys who did this would have encountered the same issue?

Tomorrow... the front! :cool:

[SAZABI]

oh! that's your problem?
I thought you put the bolt in and it twist like that.... /shrug

yeah, it is the same for my accord. 1st time, I lift that up myself and my buddy put the bolt in for me. 2nd time, I got my buddy to lift that up for me. 3rd time, we decided to just put the jack and lift it up lol. yeah, was painful experience.

[larchmont]

Well, I'm just impressed, hip. :nod:
You think that was a long time to do those things? :bowdown:

For most of us, it would be like, how does forever sound? :D

[hip]

Well, 6 days later and I'm finally finished!

Here's what I've learned:

- Don't attempt this without prior experience if possible or at least watch someone doing it before attempting.
- Get the service manual and have people who can help bail you out when you screw up.
- Learn what a "working" spring compressor looks like and become very familiar with it's operation.
- Practice safety at all times and wear eye protection.
- Give yourself enough time to do the job right
- The rear struts are more difficult to change than the front.


That said, by the time I replaced my last strut (Front / Right), I was able to remove it, compress the spring, replace the strut and related rubber components and reinstall it in less than 2 hours.

Overall, I'd say it wasn't as difficult as I had thought. However, never having done it before made it tough to know how to deal with misalignment situations during reinstall. You not sure how much force to use without breaking something.

Anyway, wouldn't dream of doing this without documenting so here goes. BTW, I would imagine this would be very similar for the TSX.

First pic, is the old strut assembly still installed.

[hip]

Another view looking up where the strut assembly attaches to the bulkhead (upper wheel well).

[hip]

Removing the brake lines from the lower part of the assembly.

[hip]

Removing the fork attachment from the lower part of the strut assembly where it attaches to the lower control arm.

[hip]

Removing the upper attachment nuts inside the engine bay.

[hip]

Removing the strut assembly.

[hip]

Compressing the spring on the old assembly shown with the new strut on the right.

After removing the spring, installing new rubber components onto the new strut and reversing the process for the install, it's off to the shop for a 4 wheel alignment.

Now that I've done it, I'm not as apprehensive about doing it again, just not right away. ;)