|  |  How Do I Install Springs?
Disclaimer: Working on cars can be very dangerous. You are working with large and heavy parts that can fall on you and crush you, and powerful springs that contain a large amount of stored energy. You could be hurt or killed. We take no responsibility for any damage you do to yourself or others. These directions are not meant to replace your common sense. Please use proper safety equipment at all times. Have a safe day.
Tools for this job:
Safety goggles and gloves
Floor jack and jack stands
Socket wrench
Metric sockets (12mm, 14mm, 17mm, 19mm)
17mm box wrench
Adjustable crescent wrench
Lug wrench (there’s one in your car, but a dedicated one makes things easier)
Torque wrench
Spring compressor
We based this install on our own experience installing RS-R Ti2000 lowering springs.
We’ll assume we’re starting with the rear springs.
Step 1: Put the car in gear and set the parking brake. Crack loose the lug nuts while the car is on the ground, since the wheels won’t move now, but they will if the car is off the ground. The lug nuts are 19mm. A breaker bar or cross-style lug wrench makes this easy.
Step 2: Jack up the back of the car. We usually use the rear diff as a jack point to jack up the entire rear of the car at once.
Step 3: Put jack stands under the car! Always use jack stands under the car while you are working on it. Your life could depend on it.
Step 4: Remove rear wheels.
Step 5: Remove trunk trim material. There are little push-button interior fasteners that hold in the flimsy fuzzy plastic stuff in the trunk. You’ll have to fold this back to get to the strut top (see pic 1). To remove the push-button fasteners, push them in a TINY bit, then lift them out using a small screwdriver or interior trim clip tool. If you push them to far, you’ll have to break them to get them out. We broke about half of ours.
Step 6: Remove rear spring/strut assembly. You’ll need to remove two 14mm nuts from the top of the strut inside the trunk (see pic 2), and two 17mm ones at the bottom. One of the 17mm nuts is on a bolt attached to the bottom of the strut; the other is attached to the end of the lower control arm, but you have to remove it so the control arm can drop out of the way so you can remove the spring/strut assembly (see pic 3). Use your box wrench to counter the twisting force of the 17mm socket. When everthing is free, remove the spring/shock assembly from the car (see pic 4). Note that the two lower bolts face different directions. We’re not sure if this matters, but in case it does, try to install them back the same way.
Step 7: Disassmble spring/strut assembly. Unscrew the single nut on top of the strut shaft. The strut shaft will want to turn, so use the crescent wrench to hold the top of the shaft, and loosen the nut (see pic 5). The spring is not tall enough to apply much pressure to the assembly, so a spring compressor is not required. (Your car could be different, so use caution at this point.) Slide all the parts of the spring cap up off the shock, and lift off the spring (see pic 6).
Step 8: Reassemble spring/strut assembly with the new spring. NOTE: You’ll want to be able to turn the strut when you get it back on the car, so don’t tighten the top nut down yet. There are spring-shaped recesses for the coil ends to fit into. Make sure the spring sits in them. There’s a yellow foamy bump stop that goes on the shaft. Cutting this in half will give you a little extra suspension travel, although it will also make bottoming out that much harder when it does happen. We left ours alone.
Springs don’t care which direction they face, but sometimes they’re not shaped the same from top to bottom. In this case the rear RS-R springs appear to be shaped the same at either end. We installed them so we could read the labels, but it looks like they would work fine installed upside down from that.
Step 9: Reinstall spring/strut assembly into car. Lining up the large lower bolts can be tough. We stuck a large screwdriver in the holes to help position everything. The shock needs to be aligned correctly to fit over the control arm. Twist it into position, bolt the bottom bolts in place, and then finish tightening the top bolt on the strut/shock assembly. Replace the three top nuts that attach the top of the assembly to the upper strut mount.
Step 10: Replace wheels. Hand-tighten the lug nuts in a star shape. Remove your jack stands, lower the car, and tighten the lug nuts the rest of the way with the torque wrench. We use 80 ft-lbs.
Step 11: Jack up the front of the car. You can jack one side at a time, or the whole front. We have been using the hard point right behind the tow hook in the front of the car. (You’ll need to remove the center front underbody plastic to get to it.). We’re not sure if this is in any way meant to be a jacking point, but nothing has bent yet. Place your jack stands.
Step 12: Remove front wheels.
Step 13: Remove the brake line bracket from the strut (it’s a 12mm nut.) Remove the three upper 14mm nuts from the top of each spring/strut assembly. Remove the two 19mm bolts that attach the lower end of the spring/shock assembly to the knuckle. Work the spring/shock assembly loose from the car.
Step 14: Use a spring compressor to compress the spring so you can remove the top nut from the spring/shock assembly. You can rent or borrow these from most auto parts stores. If you don’t happen to have one around, you can do the following, but take note: YOU COULD SERIOUSLY INJURE YOURSELF DOING THIS, so we don’t recommend it. We put the assembly on its side, stood on the top end of the spring (something like pic 7), pointed the bottom end of the assembly at a pile of cardboard, and loosened the top nut. When it came loose, the strut assembly shot sideways about four feet, to our great entertainment.
Step 15: Reassemble the spring/shock assembly with the new springs. Since the new springs are lower, you won’t need to compress them. They also have a top and bottom; it should be apparent which end of the spring goes where. The top of the strut shaft has a D shape, so you might need to twist the strut top to get it to sit down correctly. Cut the yellow bump stop in half if desired.
Step 16: Reinstall the spring/shock assembly in the car. Wiggle the knuckle back into the bracket on the spring/shock assembly and replace the 19mm bolts. Replace the three 14mm nuts on top of the strut tower. Replace the brake line bracket.
Step 17: Replace the wheel, hand-tighten lug nuts.
Step 18: Remove the jack stands. Lower the car. Use the torque wrench to tighten the lug nuts.
Done!
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|  Pic 1: Trunk interior trim, looking at strut top
| | |  Pic 2: Upper rear strut mount
| | |  Pic 3: Lower rear strut boltsViewed from the back of the car.
| | |  Pic 4: Removing the rear spring/shock assembly
| | |  Pic 5: Strut/shock top nut
| | |  Pic 6: Strut disassembly
| | |  Pic 7: OSHA's not gonna like this
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