educate me on "caps" to lower my car.

[Jeffsss]

what is meant by caps? I've lowerd vehicles in the past and have purchased new springs, shocks/struts.

how do caps work and can i do it myself?

 

[Jeffsss]

well like i should have initially.. I googled it.

replaces larger caps. says spring do not have to be removed. does anyone have a DIY illustration?

 

[GTS-R 001]

Springs need to be compressed, easier if the coilovers are off the car.

 

[KNG SNKE]

Yes I just did this. No reason to take pictures or anything, it is straight forward,just hard to find the right spring compressor to fit our springs.

Basically jack one side of your car up
Remove wheel
Remove shock upper and lower bolts
Remove shock
Compress spring with spring compressor till you can remove the upper spring retaining cap and replace with the new spring retaining cap
Decompress spring
Place spring assembly back on the car and place bolts in their holes
Put a jack under that suspension side and compress it so it is holding the weight of the car and tighten the springs bolts down

And done.

 

[Jeffsss]

thanks guys..

 

[Jeffsss]

Where should I order the caps from?

 

[KNG SNKE]

Partsrack.

 

[Jeffsss]

Partsrack.

awesome, thanks.

 

[FLX109]

What would be the right spring compressor to use? do you have any pictures of the right spring compressor?

 

[KNG SNKE]

I tried 3 different ones. I got this one to work but it broke while doing my last spring cap while compressed (not safe)
http://www.harborfreight.com/single...-782A-E011-B31E-001B2163195C&mr:referralID=NA

I found this one though and I bet this one will work good.
http://www.harborfreight.com/macphe...-782A-E011-B31E-001B2163195C&mr:referralID=NA

 

[PittsburghRT]

I have been thinking about putting spring caps on my car, but I have one question. What is the reason for putting a jack under the suspension and compress it so it is holding the weight of the car and then tighten the springs bolts down? Why can't the bolts be tightened without the weight of the car on it?

 

[KNG SNKE]

I could venture an educated guess but the Wizard told me you must compress the suspension before tightening the shock bolts. My best guess would be to prevent the suspension from moving up and down with bumps if it is tightened uncompressed.

 

[ViperTony]

I used a hand pump hydraulic compressor on my springs when I adjusted the rebound on the shocks. It was not this specific one but very close to it: http://www.amazon.com/Hand-Spring-Compressor-Pump-Strut/dp/B000R47RTG?tag=twrch-20 Made the job super easy. Good luck.