new strut rcomendations

[flydex28]

Well crap.. I guess all i want is just for my car to handle good again, thats why i was considering the Tokico with the H&R oe's or just stick with the stock springs... just not sure if its worth it to get those springs...I think the bushings and struts will help immensly. Ive read good reviews with that setup. And I dont really mind that its only a half inch drop. I mostly use the car for commuting and longer trips anyway.

I do really like the Eibach kit and almost every review seems to be great but I noticed they sell an alignment kit that they recomend and one review said you needed a camber kit which costs even more. i havent read about anyone else talking about needing this other than that review... anybody else have this kit on their car? I found some pretty good deals on it but I dont want to spend a lot of extra money on extra stuff for it since I still have to get tie rod ends and ball joints as well.

 

[BrutalB83]

With the Eibach kit you shouldn't need camber adjustors. The Eibach springs only drop the car about an inch. I had the complete Tokico package on my Integra (97, which is essentially the same chassis as the 92-95 Civic), and those springs dropped it 1.5" inches. I never needed camber adjustors. Just make sure you get an alignment (which you should do anytime you dissasemble and mess with suspension anyway).

If I were choosing between the H&R OE springs or the Eibach Pro-Kit, I'd go with the Eibach. Not that H&R is not decent, it's just that Eibach has been in the suspension business for a loooooong time, and they've got a long racing history. Eibach is good stuff.

If you want to stick with stock springs, I'd probably just go with OEM-level shocks (like those KYB GR2s, or Monroe, or whatever). No need for performance shocks really if you're just looking to freshen up a stock setup.

Replacing bushings will help either way...

 

[|Chaz|]

What Brutal said. It really comes down to what you want out of the car. The more stockish equipment you go with, typically the longer life span you're going to have as well. While you're down there, check your brakes, axles, boots, etc for wear.

 

[flydex28]

Well after thinking about it over night I decided to just replace the struts and possibly the top strut mounts... you know.. the stuff thats actually worn out. I was actually going to go for the full eibach kit but its just too much money for me to spend right now when we're trying to get bills paid down and it wouldnt be fair to my fiancee. Sucks but I figure when we get some stuff paid off maybe I can do it then.. and heck Ill already have done it once and done the bushings so it should be a snap..lol.

 

[flydex28]

Ok well I just ordered a set of KYB's with the new boots and bumpstops from justsuspension.com , new strut mounts, spring mounts, and a few other things that might be worn out from majestic. That came to $330. So with the PIC bushings I'm at $580 but I still need to get the tie rod ends and ball joints. All in all I think im doing pretty good. Out of curiosity i got a quote from the les schwabs tire center here for new struts and they told me $650 for just the struts installed. Then again they also told me everything looked fine under the car. I just said ok and left;... 250,000 miles on the original suspension (as far as I know) and they say its all good. Thats real comforting..lol

 

[|Chaz|]

Lol Les Schwab sucks. They charge $110 for a mount and balance of 14" Civic rims.

Start a new thread and post pics from putting on your new stuff.

 

[phunky.buddha]

Yeah, do the install yourself. It can be done with hand tools and a spring compressor "rental" from AutoZone (get your whole deposit back).

 

[flydex28]

Ok ill try to get some pictures and figure out how to post them.. oh and as it turns out.. the knechts here has a spring compresser to borrow for 55 bucks...and you get the deposit back so thats a relief.

 

[flydex28]

So can you replace the upper ball joint?...I see there is one available at NAPA but the book says you must replace the whole upper control arm which doesnt make sense. The honda service manual just describes how to replace the boot. I dont know if the upper ball joint is damaged or not.. the boot looks flattened and cracked so i figured I would just change it.. maybe I dont need to. I've found some Moog ball joints and upper control arms with ball joints on amazon. or I could go with stuff from NAPA.

 

[flydex28]

So still waiting on parts to show up, went out and starting putting penetrating oil on all the bolts.. figured I would do this a couple times before I began this project. Noticed my right trailing arm bushing is tearing; looks like its getting worse because the tear in it is clean rubber. The bolts dont look corroded or rusty so hopefully they will all come out without much fuss. Ive still been driving my car around town... I wonder how much longer that bushing will hold out; hopefully another couple weeks.

 

[BrutalB83]

Spraying down the bolts with penetrator is a good idea. The bolts that hold the hold the shocks to the rear control arms are typically the worst offenders. Make sure you hit those ones good...

 

[flydex28]

Ok I need some advice. Today I went out and stuck a prybar beteen the lower ball joint and arm and it clunks upward about 1/8th of an inch or so when I do this. I cant get any side to side movement at all. This is not normal correct? I cant get the upper ball joint to move at all which I assume is good even though the boot looks squished and cracked. Honda wants $140 for the upper control arms and Napa wants 85 so i would like to get away with not changing those if possible Im thinking about just getting that new boot and clip from Honda that they sell for the upper ball joints. Any thoughts on this????

 

[Fernpatch]

If the upper ball joint is tight than go ahead and replace the boot. You need a new lower ball joint for sure, an 1/8th of an inch is way too much play.

 

[flydex28]

Ok I have all my parts in and getting all the tools i need together. Question though; do you use grease at all on the bushings? I believe the honda manual has a little picture of a grease gun pointing at the bushing sometimes but im not sure if that means where the bolt goes thru or what?