nice write up!

can i make 3 suggestions though? when doing the rear take the brake lines off, they are held in place by 10mm bolts. that will let the rear axel drop just a little lower and there will be no risk of damaging the rubber hoses. while not much of an issue now, wait till someone gets a car thats a few years old with bad rubber lines, tugging on them might be enough to cause all kinds of problems. and it makes removing the springs even easier.

inside the strut, clean the housing that holds the white bushing, clean the bushing as well and coat both of them in grease, especially the rectangular holes on the bushing. that will prevent any possible squeaks, not really necessary but good practice.

Lastly tighten the upper stud bolts BY HAND. the last thing anyone wants to do is have to remove the strut again, heat the top plate, press the stud out, press a new bolt in and weld it. thats what happens if you break a stud. its not fun, ask me how i know.

very worthwhile mod!

 

Thanks for the extra info!!! Way to come thru with it AFTER i'm done with my springs. Jerk! J/K man LOL. Good info though.

 

So did this happen to your cobalt because i have a broken strut bolt and I'd rather just replace the one bolt than the whole top mount. How did you get the old bolt out and the new one in? Also where did you get the bolt and what size or part #? Thanks for any help.

 

Its really pretty simple with the right tools. you will need a torch. a propane torch MIGHT work but you'll spend lots of time on it, acetelyne and oxygen is really the only way to go. a punch smaller than the stud and a big hammer. a vice is also extremely helpful. If you have a hydrolic press then just use that. you will also need a welder or jb weld might work.

heat the area around the broken stud, once it starts to glow put the punch on the stud and beat the living crap put of it till it comes out. don't touch the stud. it will be hot. i have scars to prove that. let the stud cool and take it to napa or any place you can find bolts. you MIGHT be able to get a replacement stud from gm but i'm not sure about that. find a bolt of simular or legnth or slightly longer with the same thread. its 1.25mm i believe. go for the grade 8, it costs a little more but you will never have to worry about them again. you can either replace just the broken one or all 6, its totally up to you and how ambiticious your feeling.

to put it in reverse the process. It will make things easier if you throw the bolts in the freezer for 20 minutes to let them contract, since its an interference fit every little bit helps. heat the part again and drop the cold bolt in. some will fall into place, some will take some time with a hammer, others you might have to file the hole slightly.

because these are bolts and not studs there is nothing to keep the bolt from spinning when you tighten the bolt up top. so you need to tack the bolts in place. I would give it at least 2 good tacks, there is no need to weld around the whole bolt but you don't want a broken weld either.

thats all there is to it. if you can't do it or don't have the tools you could take the part to pretty much any machine shop. even a muffler shop might be able to help you out if thats all you can find. its really a simple thing to do with the right tools.

 

Thanks for the qiuck answer I appreciate it. How much do the grade 8 bolts usually run? And do you have to tack in the bolts or is it possible to just get a wrench on them to hold them while you tighten the nuts?

 

It'll be a HUGE noticable difference when I get springs for my LS since they sit soo damn high stock. But I'm not sure how much of a drop I want yet... we have alot of potholes and speed bumps around here....

 

they probably run about a buck a piece if you buy them indivudually. you don't have to go with the grade 8, and thats really over kill but i figured why not.

just tack them in, its simple to do. if you don't have a welder go to nearly any car shop of any kind and they can do it for you. you could use a socket with a long extention but thats going to be a lot of extra work and if someone else ever has to get the blots off without knowing that they are going to spend lots of extra time. just weld them.

 

LOL, in each picture I see someone different. Good write up guys!

 

Okay, I know this may be the most retarded question of the year, but I was told there might be an easier way to do the front spring swap...

Instead of taking the whole strut out, couldn't you have the thing on the ground, loosen that top bolt and then jack the car up slowly and the strut assembly just come apart with ease and no need for a spring compressor? then just unbolt the bottom, swap springs and reverse?

I was told that there is enough travel in the front suspension to do this...

 

no way man, ain't a gonna happen. i don't think there is enough suspension travel in the lower control arm to make it work. even if it did work it would be twice as much work to get it back on. a spring compressor is very easy to use. at the risk of offending anyone here, a cave man could use one. its really a simple job, I would say its a good confidence building job for an inexperienced person with limited mechanical ability. Its seriously simple as can be, your idea MIGHT work but it would end up being a lot more work in the end. I wouldn't do it.

 

im going to be doing this soon. good write up.

 

I did this today - and I had the laptop with the wite up there the whole time!!!! It was nice - thanks.

Some suggestions from me: have a strap wrench!!!! Than bolt at the top of the strut was a bitch before we bought one...I used a set of ssc springs on my ls and it handles so nice now!! USE THE SPRING COMPRESSORS!!!!! it makes life easy. And lastly - if you dont have air tools - GET SOME! It would have taken all day without them - esp with the spring compressors. Anything else just ask - we learned out lessons!!!

 

Where are the bumpstops on the fronts?? Anybody have a picture of where it is. Is it on the strut and springs or somewhere else?

 

There are no bump stops - the struts are in the way of where they would be....if im not mistaken the strut only travels so far and thats what stops it. Someone let me know if im wrong.

 

Yea we couldnt find the bump stops in the front.. in this how to they have a bump stop from the front??

 

You do not need to cut the bump stops, and I don't know why you would want to. They are there for a reason, (to protect the strut) and your car will not be any lower with them out. They are not hard or solid bump stops, they are soft, they only cushion the blow when you bottom out the suspension (spring completely collapsed), like a pot hole, without the bump stops you will have a higher risk of blowing out a strut or shock if you bottom out. If you must cut it (Not recommended) it is inside the black accordion sleeve that slides over the piston rod.

 

Yeah im doiing my springs today in class with progress springs.

 

there are bump stops in the front struts. with the strut disassembled you will want to pull off the black cover off of the piston and inside of it is the bump stop. it's yellowish in color and you can pull it out. i cut mine in half and placed it back in the sleeve.

Installation instructions received with Progress Lowering Springs:
Step #4: "On strut equipped vehicles, any bump stops (compression stops) that are located on the strut piston rod (the chrome shaft coming out of the top of the strut or cartridge) should be trimmed in half to improve wheel travel and ride quality. On some vehicles, the bump stops may be located on the axle, frame or suspension control arms. These should be located and the height trimmed in half."

 

jack up up the rear tension bar... that may help.

 

if you have the three bolts out as you should then that's all you have to do. they can be a bitch to get out but they will. you gotta put some ***** behind it to break them free and once you do they come right out for ya. it may help if you have someone else on the other side of the car to push down on the axle.

 

Jack the whole rear of the car up and take both side off at once since we DO NOT have independant rear suspension....otherwise you are fighting the other side.

 

word, exactly.

 

I wish we did have ind rear suspension though...yumm....

 

that would be ideal...

btw, are the SSSC springs an upgrade for non-SS models? i imagine the compression ratings are different for the LS/LT models. correct me if i'm wrong.

i have stock SSSC springs for sale for any interested buyers. thread is in the classifieds.

 

Def better. Better compression rating and lower to the round. It lowers it 1.23" all around - here:

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