Hi Guys,

So I got Eibach Prokits installed on the rear yesterday. Today I've pulled out one front strut/spring assembly on my 07X (which was a bear because the driveshaft doesn't leave much room to maneuver) but I can't figure out how best to compress these Eibachs for the front. The coils are so close together over half the spring that I can't fit the macpherson spring compressor in there. I've read over tons of threads and DIYs for installing springs here and at myg37, but nobody else seems to run into this issue.. their springs always show plenty of gappage between the coils whereas mine have maybe 7mm between them.

Any ideas?

Eibach prokit front spring top, OEM spring below:


Lower perch, butted down against the driveshaft as far as it will go:

 

you don't need to compress them much. Make sure you extend the strut piston rod with your hand. Don't assume they are fully extended out.

 

**** i installed my H&Rs yesterday and was a huge pain in the ***! had to compress like no other...it was terrible, took me all day but mine have way more gap than those eibachs.

 

I attempted to compress them and gave up.... took both fronts along with new springs to the Nissan dealer and they only charged me $30

 

that's it? what did they use?

 

Do you have any pictures with the drop and how is it riding? Best thing is to take them to an auto shop and they have a machine that can do it quick, they prob charge but it shouldn't be much to compress the springs on the struts.

 

i think that's what he said he just did, took it to Nissan and they charged $30bux

 

I took it to a friend on a local nissan forum, who compressed and replaced the springs on the strut assemblies for me on a wall-mounted machine for free (I gave him a $20 tip anyway). WAYYY easier!

I'll get pictures of the drop this morning.. unfortunately I'm dealing with a brake issue right now. Seems to be riding fine so far except I did something while bleeding the brakes yesterday morning that is keeping the brake lights on and making the car go into limp mode when it's in drive. ABS, VDC, and Slip also come one.

 

Also commented on this DIY thread here on myg37: http://www.myg37.com/forums/d-i-y-in...install-5.html

A few things I learned:

- Don't try to compress Eibachs yourself unless you're a masochist. Take the spring/strut assemblies still assembled to a shop with a wall-mounted compressor and have them replace the springs for you. <30 minutes of work, usually will cost you $20-$40 and will save many hours of time, most of the frustration, and the chance of a spring killing you. Just make sure to line up the upper and lower strut perches as mentioned- mark them with a sharpie up and down the shock so you can realign everything.

- AWD models have a different lower strut perch than pictured here. It's more of a wishbone that fits over the driveline shaft, with the downside that you won't be able to push the rotor and lower control arm down all the way to remove the strut. You'll need to unbolt the lower strut perch and the metal bracket that keeps it from sliding down, then push the lower strut perch down against the driveshaft.

- To remove the strut easily, unbolt the single hinge on the upper A-arm.. the one that sticks in your face, NOT the two that connect the A-arm to the engine bay (For many springs such as Eibachs, there is not enough clearance between the coils to remove or reinstall the two bolts at the top of the upper A-arm, which can mean redoing a lot of work!). Once that's done simply push the upper A-arm up out of the way and rotate the spring/shock down partway down, then lift up out of the lower strut perch and pull out.

- Even a cheap impact wrench that comes in a kit with an air compressor, combined with a little PB blast and a reasonable breaker bar make this go 10x as fast. And like previous people have said, ONLY use 6-point sockets!!! I bought a $46 metric Husky-brand black impact wrench socket set from Home Depot (13mm to 27mm) and it will keep you from stripping those bolts. Trust me on this! Only use the 12-point sockets if you absolutely need to to turn bolts that are already completely loose.

 

body shops, or at least the one I went to had a wall mounted spring compressor that worked well and made it fast to remove the strut. I'd take it to a body shop or a dealership, whichever one will charge less. A friend of a friend is the owner of the body shop so he did it for me for a nice bottle of tequilla. Whoever had the dealer that charged only $30 is frickin lucky!