Wow, 10 hours I spent today, from sun up to sun down, to install one front spring and strut. First problem, strut wouldn't come out of lower hole. An hour or more of pounding on it with a hammer I rigged up my jack and used half of the jack handle to push the strut up and compress. A few minutes later I had popped the strut free and had it out. Hard part over I thought. Next problem, getting top strut bolt off. Thing would not budge. Also, no one had an 18mm box wrench, which was needed because you need the allen wrench to fit in and hold the shaft while you remove the bolt. So I ride my bike down to lowes and find the perfect 18 mm wrench, $10 but not bad I figure if it gets the job done. So I get back and even with the right wrench I am not able to get the bolt to budge at all. I'm literally about to give up and haul them down to sears and have them undo them for me. I go on youtube and do a little research on removing the top bolt. So I put the spring on it's side, with the compressors on, and position the allen key against the ground to hold it in place. Then I take the box wrench (had to put on shoes to do this) and give it one good stomp and it breaks free finally. So then I go about putting the new springs in, have a little difficulty figuring out how to use the compressors and get the spring to fit in place with the strut. Finally figure it out.

Then I go to put in it. I'm thinking sweet, almost done, now just to bolt it back together. Not so simple. The strut will not fit at all into the lower hole by the wheel hub. I'm pressing it down as far as it can possibly go and it still needed a good inch or so to be able to get it over the side of the hole and fit into place. So I'm like screwed. I have everything set up and spend all day on this and I can't get the strut in place. Finally I decide the only way it's going in is if I can compress it again like how I got the old one out. After a few failed attempts, finally I get it stable enough to raise it up and get it over enough to fit in the hole. Around this time I notice my subframe bushing has leaked a puddle of black oil. So I migh have managed to ruin that. It looks like there is an indentation to fill it with grease though, so maybe I'm ok. Not sure, anyways, it looks like whatever oil or fluid was in there has all leaked out.

Oh yea so I check out my tie rod end. Like I thought, the old one is totally worn out. So I decide to try to put in the new one while I'm at it even though it's almost the end of the day and I'm getting exhausted. First off, can't seem to get it off. Didn't want to break free and spin off. After a while fiddling with it and some more pb blaster, I finally manage to break that back ring bolt free. Once I did that the tie rod spun right off no problem and I put the new one on. Bolted everything back up and drop the car and it's sitting like 2 inches higher than stock! haha. So I figure out the strut didn't sit all the way in the bottom hole. I loosen the bolt and and drop the car again and it pops down and I bolted it back and it looks right now... Just a little lower than stock but a nice sexy look. I guess the spring settle a little more too after about a week. So long story short, a full long day and one spring is officially installed. Just not sure what to do with that subframe bushing that goes to the control arm. Hoping I can regrease it and be good to go. It would be a monstrous bitch to remove it and press in a in a new one. But overall I feel the day was productive. I'm glad I was at least able to finish one side, and learned a lot in the process. Took a lot longer than anticipated and nearly gave up a few times and wished I had taken it in, but at the end of the day it was a good feeling knowing that I did it myself.

Can anybody help me with that bushing? It is just in front of the subframe bolts, sligtly behind the front tire. A control arm goes from it to the wheel. There is a bolt on bottom and a bolt on top. It was oozing out black oil but it looks like it has a grease refill hole.

 

Looking it up I found it's the front lower control arm, and that big bushing in the back leaked it's oil out. Not sure if this is re-greasable. Hoping so. It does have a circular indentation for what might be a grease fitting. Looked them up online and the lower control arms run about $140 each on ebay. Not as bad as I thought it was going to be, if it is shot. If I can fill it with grease even better. If not, I may have to save up and get a set of the lower control arms eventually. Changing them out probably isn't as hard as I thought at first, just popping the ball joint out and swapping them out. Struts wouldn't have to come out I think.

Actually I just found a new set of left and right lower control arms for $160. That makes the replacement pretty feasible. Wasn't hoping to have to buy anymore "parts" but if I have to I have to.

 

You are supposed to drop the front subframe to get extra clearance to get the strut out and back in.

 

Nice work, that bushing you're asking about is actually part of the lower control arm assembly. It's pretty easy to swap out, and if you drop the subframe bolts on the side your working on it makes it a lot easier.

Just installed one a few weeks ago and it only took about 30 minutes. Got the entire assembly on E-bay for $82.32 and it was great quality with both bushings and the ball joint.

Here is the part I got to help narrow down your search:

Raybestos 507-1800 Suspension Control Arm-Professional Grade, Front Left Lower

Good luck!

 

The springs do settle. I didn't have any rub in the rear at first, even the first day with the old stuff in the trunk. But I'm getting it now for sure. The fenders need to be rolled soon! Keep fender mods in mind when wheel shopping. I'm on a 40mm offset with an 8" wheel. I think 45mm would be a good number for little to no mods but wouldn't look as nice, in my opinion. 5mm isn't much but it's something. That 5mm would probably pull me away from the fender lip just enough to clear in hard cornering. From the effort it sounds like you're putting in, I'm glad I paid for it. Haha good luck with the rest of the job dude.

 

Yea it was definitely more than I planned. I thought I could get both front springs installed in one day, only to find more than I bargained for along the way. Also first time changing struts with a spring compressor so figuring that all out took a little extra time but got the hang of it. Guess it looks like I am going to need to go ahead and get new lower control arms. Not an expense I was counting on but at this age they were probably getting worn out anyway regardless. Going to tackle the other side today.

 

Ok so I installed the second front spring and strut today. Took about 4 or 5 hours. Wasn't easy, but still had a lot of tricks from the first spring that made it go by much faster. Getting the old strut out of the lower hole by the wheel hub is a bitch. Pounded for an hour this morning annoying my whole neighborhood. Second bitch is getting the new strut back in that hole. I had to use the jack bar again to try to compress the spring enough to move the wheel hub under it so the strut could sit in the hole. In the hot sun I started getting weary and the bar kept slipping and dropping the spring down, but eventually I got it into place. Couldn't get the tie rod end off. The old one appeared fine. Maybe it was exhaustion but I just couldnt get it to budge so I left it on for now. Bolted everything (except forgetting to tighten the lugnuts doh!) And took it for a little spin. First thing I am noticing is loud creakring and banging noises over bumps and turns. Feels really loose. I'm guessing it's that control arm bushing, and probably the alignment is not helping either. The struts and springs feel good but lots of stuff feels and sounds loose, like well... someone just installed lowering springs themselves. The car looks bad *** though. The front end is like almost sitting on the stock wheels, which look smaller now. Also noticed the brakes don't have as much pressure in the pedal now. Tried pumping them a few times but still felt a little soft on the braking now. I did notice my passenger side rotor was loose when I was finishing up the spring. Wasn't sure if that would be a problem once I torqued the wheel on. Hopefully didn't damage anything with the brake lines. When I got back home I tried starting the rears. First of all I'm extremely exhausted. I jacked the car up, glanced at the directions and tried to see if I could at least get the springs in. Back looks like a P.I.T.N. as well. The springs are way up there in the wheelwell, and it looks tricky getting a couple wrenches up there. I tried to get the back spring out but I couldn't remove the sway bar. It looked like when I turned the bolt it was going to rip the bushing apart and the bot is deep in a hole and you need an allen wrench too to hold it. So I try unbolting the rear control arm. Get the bolt out about half way and it's totally stuck. Can seem to get it all the way out or back in. So I'm starting to freak out. I'm in the blazing sun, tired, need to drive to work tomorrow and the back is all screwed up. FINALLY screw the bolt back in and get it bolted back up and just put the wheel back on and drop it. The backs are going to have to wait. Too tired and frustrated now. The sway bar started dripping a little oil. It seems like a lot of the bushings start leaking oil when you unbolt them. I just feel like I'm getting in over my head. The front suspension sounds f#cked. I'm sure the control arms and an alignment will help but I am just freaking out about it because two days ago it was perfectly drivable and the worst issue was a worn out tie rod end. Any tips on the back springs/struts? Thanks

 

And this is why I let a professional do it, your supposed to drop the subframe to properly get access to them. For this car in particular I did not want to risk drive ability to save some $$

 

How much did the installation cost you brace?

 

I did drop the subframe but the main lower control arm bushings are shot. Both leaked oil during the install, especially the passenger side. Probably were due to be replaced soon anyway, the strut installation just put the nail in their coffin. All my bushings are about 10 years old so I am finding as I fiddle with the suspension a lot of the bushings are breaking. Kind of sucks but what are you going to do? Anyways, I wish I could have taken it in. It probably would have been about $500 but this weekend was a lot of work and I keep running into "problems." Anyways though, with the money I save from doing it myself I can buy bushings I break. Strange logic but it still comes out in the end I'm drinking beer for free. And spending my most of my weekend wrenching on my car. It's been a lot of work, but if anything, it's been a good learning experience. I know more about the suspension than I ever did. And why not to mess with it. In the future I will probably take my car in to get lowered, unless it's an old clunker I can do myself. Suspensions are a delicate thing, not to mention somewhat dangerous to work on.

 

Sounds terrible. I'm also very glad to have paid for it!

 

$600 aligned

Was well worth it to me considering all the issues 04xtype is running into

 

Yea believe me, throughout the whole install I was wondering why I didn't just take it in to get it done. Tired, exhausted, frustrated, injured. Only good thing was figuring it out myself and learning about how the suspension really works. A better car to start on would have been a Honda Civic, but hey, the x-type is not too bad. At least it's not so high tech that you can't even touch it. It's a lot of work but it's a good feeling knowing I don't have to always rely on a shop. In retrospect though I got in way over my head and would have just left the springs stock. I thought it would look a lot cooler but the price and labor involved, not to mention the problems, having to buy new lower control arms, get it aligned... Still haven't even tackled the back springs yet... It's just a huge process. A muffler or something would have been a much easier upgrade. Just wanted that lowered look really bad and thought I could do it cheap if I installed the springs myself.

 

Definitely looks like you accomplished the look though, so I applaud you for giving it your all

 

Haha thanks Bracester. Yea I got the look for sure in the front. It definitely feels more like a racecar when I'm driving now. Almost feels like a gokart the way you are low to the ground. The new struts and springs are nice too. Except for the clunking from my control arms and off-alignment, it really handles well now. Less body roll and you are lower to the ground too so you can take corners a little better. I'm pretty happy with it. Wished it had gone totally smoothly and it would be all done now perfectly, but I guess in the real world you run into old worn out bushing that break easily. Also noticed the back sway bar bushings looked like they were about to go. The side I messed with today started dripping slightly. Probably a sign they are both about shot. Another $40 or $50 it looks like. Going to wait til I do the backs and see how the rest goes before I worry much about those. Found the Raybestos front lower control arms on amazon for around $70 each! One was out of stock but I went ahead and ordered them anyways since the price was so low and I had a gift card balance to use. Hoping they won't take long though.

 

I kind of winged it on the torque specs. I pretty much tightened everything by hand tight. Worried about over tightening the big subframe bolt because I hear they rust out. Some of that clunking might be from not tightening the subframe bolts enough, not sure. It's probably just those bad bushings. The tie rod end I just tightened firmly but didn't use the torque wrench. I may go back and torque everything to spec. Only have some of the torque settings from the H&R instructions. Anyone know where to find suspension torque specs for the x-type? I don't have JTIS because it wouldn't let me install it on a Mac.

 

Getting exact torque specs on the suspension and sub-frame aren't all that important. Just snug up the smaller fasteners (ball joints, tie rod ends, etc..) with a 3/8" drive ratchet and use a 1/2" drive or long breaker bar on the subframe bolts and cinch them down nice and tight.

JTIS lists these specs:

Subframe 142nm
Subframe plate bolts 35nm
Ball Joint 83nm
lower control arm retaining nuts 90nm + 60 degrees

Congrats, looks like you're making pretty good progress!

 

Thanks for the info sir! I wasn't sure but I thought I'd be alright without torquing them to a specific number. I wasn't sure, I thought maybe the subframe may be loose. I tightened it pretty tight but I didn't want to try to go 142nm on that problem bolt. I just tightened it down by hand as good as much as I could without feeling like I was over exerting it. The bushings I just tightened snuggly like you said. I bought a torque wrench for this project but I find the only time I ever end up using it to spec is on my lug nuts. It's nice to have around though anyways. A big wrench like that came in handy in this project with some of the bolts.

Hoping I get the lower control arms soon and get those in place. Probably going to work on the rear suspension next week. Pretty tired from the spring install this weekend. Feel like I did make a lot of progress, eventhough the control arms need to be replaced, the hardest part is done, the new springs and struts are in and they seem to be doing fine. Car handles amazing already minus some clunking over bumps. Once I get the old bushings sorted out and an alignment I should be good I'm thinking.

 

And if you need conversion to ft/lbs like I do...

Torque Conversion English to Metric - Printable Chart - TheToolHut.com

 

FYI do not use a torque wrench to break bolts loose, you'll ruin it, it wont give you accurate readings after a while.