Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

it took a small miracle for me to get the front shock to fall off the mounting point, it had never been seperated before. I used a long crowbar wedged over the upper a arm and under the shock body and after thinking I was going to break the whole tower it finally broke loose... spray the top mount down with PB blaster the week before... might help.. lol.
This was with all the bolts removed, it was purely just stuck together over time. first time = not fun, second time = easy as pie cause it just comes off normally.

YoshiMan

Funny you mention that, as i just finished up the fronts on mine, and they came out super easy, but DAMN they were difficult to get back in! My suspension seems to be under tension or something, because once I removed the strut (which took quite a bit of force) the lower control arm and everything else attached to it immediately shot back up, as opposed to hanging down like i thought it would.

Changing the springs over to the new struts was pretty simple, but it was impossible for me to be able to push the control arms down far enough to get enough clearance to get the lower part of the strut in. I ended up disconnecting the steering tie rods, and loosening the upper and lower control arm bolts to try and relieve some of the tension.

I ended up asking my dad to come over to come stand on the brake rotor to help push it down a bit. It's almost as if there is an invisible spring pushing everything back up, so I definitely wouldn't recommend this job for anyone without extensive suspension experience, or at least several helping hands.

It's finally at the shop now, awaiting an alignment. now my problems are all solved, but sheesh, the GX suspension in an unforgiving beast

IanB2

Any of the bushings (upper control arms for example) that aren't loosened, will have to twist to allow movement of the suspension, and the rubber bushing will try to return to its resting position which could be contributing to the "spring" effect you experienced. For this reason, they should be re-tightened at ride height rather than with the suspension drooping, if that makes sense. I assume you disconnected the swaybar for this install?

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

thats funny yeah it was a bit tough getting it back in but I think my rubber bushings are more forgiving with the mileage they have. when you take it in for an alignment they should loosen the lca up and that should get it back to normal. yes always tighten at ride height unless you want to rip up the bushings when you set it back down and drive around. I remember doing it wrong I had tightened my SC up as full droop not knowing and when it went back on the ground it was sitting way high. someone gave me the brilliant advice to just drive it around hard till it fixes itself... thats possibly the worst advice I had ever gotten from someone, def never try that cause when it does sit back down the bushings will be totally shot.

manual actually says you tighten the bolts a certain amount and do the final torque on the ground... after it settles. its quite hard to DIY on some cars that sit low, where at an alignment shop they can access from underneath cause its on a ramp so its easier/ automatic for them to do. I still need to loosen up the rear links and re-torque them down. they feel too springy.