KingV

I just got my a-spec in the mail, and am itching to put it on, the seller did not include installation instructions however. I have the helms manual, and I figure the torque specs on the individual bolts are the same. Is this correct? Also, there is a small plastic bag with two nuts in it, any clue what those are used for? Presumably all the bolts and nuts I take out when taking off the stock suspension are the only ones I'll need to connect the a-spec suspension, are they just extra? I'm sure somebody here has done this, I did a search but couldn't find anything specific.

Thanks

Dan Martin

Do the nuts have a plastic retainer inside of them? If so, you're not supposed to reuse that kind of nut so they probably gave you some replacements.

KingV

I believe they do, thanks for the tip

KingV

just checked, they DO not have plastic rings... Hmm, the mystery continues

edit: ok, just looked more closely at the helms manual, there is a nut it specifies not to reuse, that must be what the replacements are. I guess I'm all set then.

supraken

iTrader: (1)

Let us know how it goes, perhaps pics/instructions?

I am interested in doing the same.

KingV

This is not a project for the faint of heart, the Helms manual is near useless, it tells you what needs to be done but not how to do it. It's useful for the torque specs, but not much else. I was able to get the first front spring off but it was not at all easy. If anybody has done this, or any other suspension install, I'd love to hear your method for taking the dampers/spring off of the car, my way was certainly not the easy way.

xizor

post a pic of them

jihan3

Yes, the extras replace the bolts on the lower part of the front assemblies.

AlterZgo

Where do you live? If you're in the Los Angeles area, I'll help so I can have some practice before I do my own car.

Seriously though, I do have experience in installing springs/shocks in my past cars. A-spec should be easy as you are only replacing complete assemblies instead of having to remove springs from the shocks, cutting bump stops, etc.

LannyM

A-Spec for the TSX is as easy as suspension installs come; that's not to say it's ever really easy though.

I've done suspensions before, but being married and with a new baby, I just didn't have the time to do my A-Spec, so I paid the dealer $300.

But I can say from past experience that each corner should take no more than 1/2 hour at most. It would certainly be helpful to have someone helping to hold the strut assembly in place until you get the top nuts on.

What specifically were you having trouble with?

KingV

mostly actually removing the assembly itself. After I got the bolts from the fork off, the spring extended making it nearly impossible to remove the fork over the bottom strut. Eventually, my roomate and I ended up banding two coils together to get enough room on the spring to remove it. I might very well be overlooking something obvious, but I had a bitch of a time getting the first corner off (the rest comes tommorrow.)

KingV

No tips from those that have done this? I found the instructions online, and they definitely make it sound easier than it's been.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

I assume you are talking about the front and here are some steps that might help.

Remove:
1. Jack up the car from the the bottom crossmember, where the big arrow on the splash shield is pointing.
2. Place jack stands on both sides of the car behind the front wheels where the jack points are.
3. Remove wheels
4. Remove top mounting nuts, 5 on each side. However, you want to do one side at a time.
5. At this point, the suspension is fully extended. Remove the suspension fork lower mounting nut and push out the long bolt.
6. Remove the pinch bolt on top of the fork connecting to the bottom of the strut.
7. Hold the strut in one hand while dropping the fork on the axle shaft but don't remove.
8. Now just slide the entire strut/spring assembly out.
9. Done.

Install:
1. Slide strut/spring assembly in and up so the mounting studs line up with the upper strut tower. Loosely install two mounting nuts.
2. slip the folk onto the bottom of the strut and make sure the alignment tab in correctly positioned. Then reinstall the pinch bolt, but don't tighten yet.
3. Line up fork bottom mounting hole with lower control arm. Install long bolt and nut, but don't tighten yet.
4. Use a floor jack and position it on the bottom of the lower control arm. Slowly raise it until the car is slightly off the jack stand on the side you are working on.
5. Tighten fork lower mounting nut to specification.
6. Verify the alignment tab on the bottom of the strut is lined up with the fork and seating flush on top of the fork. Then tighten pinch bolt to specification.
7. Tighten all 5 upper mounting nuts to specification.
8. Lower floor jack from the lower control arm, and make sure the jack stand is still correctly supporting the car.
9. Done.

Dan Martin

Nice writeup JTso!

KingV

You can slide the entire assembly out while the end is still inside of the fork? Hmm, I'll try that for the next side, though it didn't seem obvious that I could do that.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

See remove step #7. You need to drop the fork first.

KingV

Drop it down, but not all the way off right? So like the strut "joint" is still in the socket? This is the part that gave me trouble last night.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

You have to remove the fork off the bottom of the strut. Then just leave it dangling on the axle shaft for easy reinstall later.

KingV

Thanks for the help, it helped a lot. What exactly needs to come off to remove the rear suspension? The helms manual says the rear shelf cover and seat side bolster. Is the shelf cover just the plastic piece where the seat belts and child seat stuff is? And how are the side bolsters attached, from the diagram it looks like there's clamps, but I'm not sure how i'd get to them.

xizor

the shelf does not need to come off. i'll let jtso do the step by step, but you remove the rear seats by taking off the bolt at each lower rear end of the seats and the 1 at the 60/40 split. remove the 1 bolt holding in the bench and pull it out. remove the bolt at the bottom of each side bolster and pull up. voila, access to the top of the strut.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

I'll give it a shot later. There are some tips which will make the process easier. I need to go to FedEx and pick up my rear swaybar poly bushing now.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

Okay, rear shocks remove/install... Note: Instructions are for one side. Just repeat the steps on the other side.

Remove:
1. There is one 10mm bolt that secures the seat bottom. Insert 10mm socket with long extension and remove the bolt. See pics below.

Seat bolt


Insert socket through the seat opening


2. Lift right and left corners of the seat bottom up, one corner at a time until you hear a pop.
3. Slide the seat belt buckles out of the seat bottom. Then remove the seat bottom out of the car.
4. Remove one 10mm bolt on the lower side of the side bolster.
5. Lower the folder down rear seats.
6. Lift the side bolster up and out of the car. Note: there are two latch points.
7. Jack up car using the rear center tow point as the jack point.
8. Position jack stands securely on both rear sides of the car in front of the rear wheels. Then lower floor jack and move it out of the way. You will need it again later.
9. Remove rear wheels.
10. Remove top shock mounting nuts - Use box-end wrench to remove the front nut. Then use a long socket and ratchet to remove the rear nut.
11. Remove swaybar endlink mounting nut from the mounting bracket (not the swaybar) and shift endlink out of the way.
12. Remove the lower shock mounting bolt.
13. Remove the bolt to the swaybar endlink mounting bracket, and just leave the bracket dangle. Note: this is the same bracket that the lower shock mounting bolts attached to. It's item #10 in this pic.
14. Remove rear shock - The rear shock is sitting on a built-in support. So be careful and don't try to pry the shock out. Instead, lift the shock up slightly then out. See pic below.
rear shock lower support

15. Slide shock/spring assembly out.
16. Done.

Install:
1. Slide shock/spring assembly in and line up the top mounting holes. Loosely install the the top mounting nuts but don't tighten.
2. Position the bottom of the shock over the shock support, push down the lower control arm with one hand, while sliding the shock in the built-in lower shock support. Note: apply a little WD-40 on the lower shock support can help the shock to slide in easier.
3. Insert the lower shock mounting bolt through the lower support.
4. Position the swaybar endlink bracket loosely against the shock mounting bolt and try to start the thread. Once the bolt is starting to thread together with the bracket, securely reinstall the bracket to the knuckle.
5. Place floor jack on the bottom of the lower control arm and slowly lift up until car is slighly off the jack stand.
6. Tighten lower shock mounting bolt to specification.
7. Tighten upper shock mounting nuts to specification.
8. Lower floor jack and make sure jack stand is still securely supporting the car.
9. Reinstall swaybar endlink to mounting bracket.
10. Repeat the steps on the other side.
11. Reverse the steps to reinstall side seat bolsters and seat bottom.
12. Done.

Dan Martin

OOOh purdy pictures!! This is going to be a sticky for sure!

provench

Hmm ... maybe provench can get help and save a few on his A-Spec install with this kinda help

Tsx536

I wanna get the aspec kit too.

I'm gonna do DIY so this thread is invaluable. Great job JTso!!

JTso

iTrader: (2)

Here are some torque specifications...

Front:

Upper shock mounting nuts (3) -------- 37 ft lbs
Strut bar tower mounting nuts (2) ---- 16 ft lbs
Lower shock pinch bolt (1) -------------- 32 ft lbs
Damper fork mounting bolt/nut (1)----- 47 ft lbs


Rear:

Upper shock mounting nuts (2) --------- 37 ft lbs
Lower shock mounting bolt (1) --------- 79.6 ft lbs
Swaybar endlink nut to bracket (1) ---- 29 ft lbs

KingV

Ok, finally done. Dan, thanks for the advice, it certainly made what I was doing more clearer. The suspension itself is awesome, the drop is barely noticeable but the handling difference is very apparent.

Here's my take on installing the a-spec suspension for those that are only somewhat experienced doing mechanical work on cars. It's not very difficult if you've done it before, however, most of you like me probably have not. The first corner for both rear and front took quite a while even with 2 people. The other side took like 30 minutes each for front and back, because we'd done it before.

I'm not sure if I'd recommend this to other people as it was definitely frustrating, JTso's instructions were good, and help clarify some things, but esp. with the suspension it's sometimes how to do it rather than what to do that will throw you. Not much more to add other than it's not as easy as the directions make it sound, there's a lot of difference between knowing what to do and how to get it done in this case, mainly because the force from the suspension tends to bind a lot of the bolts and parts together, and it can be a pain to figure out how to actually get them off.

LannyM

I guess that's what so frustrating about the dealership charges for this install. With their experience, lifts, air tools, etc, I can't imagine this job taking even two hours, but they want to bill it out at 5 hours, which is what Acura lists in their guidelines.

provench

That explains why my dealer is wanting to charge me around $600 for install including alignment. I guess they are just reading the 5 hours right out of the book. At that price they will never know any different because no one will ask them to do it ... egad

KingV

I would say it was a 6 hour job or so for me, but that was mostly because I got stuck on how to proceed with the first side, because I was trying to do it all by myself. I could see it being 5 man hours, but not necessarily taking 5 hours total to install.

To be honest, I'm not even sure what other tools would have helped more, besides having a lift to make it easier to access the suspension.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

LannyM pointed out the A-Spec kit rear lower shock torque spec is different than the Helms manual. So I have updated the spec to show the difference... Btw, I do think 79.6 ft lbs is a little much.

Also, I forgot to mention that you need to hold the rear swaybar endlink with a hex key while removing the mounting nut.

Rear:

Upper shock mounting nuts (2) --------- 37 ft lbs
Lower shock mounting bolt (1) --------- Helms = 79.6 ft lbs? / A-Spec = 43 ft lbs
Swaybar endlink nut to bracket (1) ---- 29 ft lbs

kaikai114

Jtso,

Would you mind writing an instruction for how to remove stock springs and putting on new springs on the shocks when you get a chance? I'm hoping to do these things myself next week. thanks

-K

JTso

iTrader: (2)

Do you have the correct spring compressor (what kind?), floor jack, jack stands and a good set of metric wrenches, ratchet/socket set and a 5mm hex key? You will need all that in order to safely perform the task.

kaikai114

I'm going to go purchase 2 jack stands (each supports 2 tons), and floor jack is one of those jacks that you can pump to raise the car right? I have one of those. I'm pretty sure I got both wrenches and ratchet/sockets, but what is a 5mm hex key? Think I have that too, just wanna confirm. For spring compressor I'm going to rent one either at Kragens or Autozone, they're the old fashion ones where you have to turn a big bolt to compress the springs, but since I have an electrical wrench, it should be fairly quick. Do I have everything?

-K

virtualbong

This is a hex key:



You will need this when you're taking off the top mount.

I have a question, is this very similar to the spring removal of an Integra suspension? ie. you would need to place the hex key at the center of the top mount, while you unscrew the top?

JTso

iTrader: (2)

The 5mm hex key is for holding the top of the shock from turning while removing the mounting nut. It's similar to how you remove the endlink on the swaybar. It looks like you have everything.

If you are renting the compressor, make sure it's the correct type for the strut. I personally would avoid the cheap compressors like this type. They work okay with soft springs but not quite suitable for the front springs on the TSX. The front spring is surprisingly stiff! I broke two of these cheap compressors! If that's all you can find, then make sure to use plenty of oil on the screw shafts.

You can try this better one from Sears. This one is relatively strong and safe to use.

I still think this one is the easiest to use. I have all three compressors and I like this one the most. But don't buy at the regular price. They usually come down to around $70.

kaikai114

Cool, I got a universal hex key in my tool box

Jtso, whenever you jack your car up to adjust the Konis, do you have to take the whole strut assembly out, as well as remove the springs from the shocks?

I've read Tim's post on his installation of the COmptech springs, he said he did not have to compress the Comptechs onto the stock shocks. Does that also apply to Eibach's? Another forum member said that if you do not compress the springs, once ur car is jacked up, the springs might move out of location. Please advise.

Dang... you got 3 different compressors? Let me know if you wanna sell any one of them

-K

JTso

iTrader: (2)

If you just want to adjust the dampering, then no need to jack the car up. Just turn the adjustment from the top of the Koni. But if you want to adjust the height, then you do need to compress the springs (not remove) to have enough clearance to move the spring perch up or down after repositioning the snap ring.

Almost all aftermarket lowering spring should have some dead coils to take up the slack when the car is raised. It's also done for safety reasons. You don't want the springs come unseat from the spring perch when the car is airborne going down the streets of San Francisco.

I'm sure there are springs out there that are short enough, so you don't need to compress them. I used to have a AE86 with TRD springs. You can almost pull the rear springs out from the car after jacking it up! I had to install safety ties so they don't just fall out!

kaikai114

[QUOTE=JTso]Almost all aftermarket lowering spring should have some dead coils to take up the slack when the car is raised. It's also done for safety reasons. You don't want the springs come unseat from the spring perch when the car is airborne going down the streets of San Francisco. QUOTE]

LOL, that's exactly what he said too SF is famous for their hills and streets.

You had a AE86? wow, got any pictures? I've seen Best Motoring's video and their white AE86, it handled and drifted like mad on the Touge track. Very nice car, and personally I think they look very stylish in their own boxy way

-K

xizor

The eibach prokit does not require compressing to put on (at least the rear). If I remember correctly when I put on the fronts we assembled the entire thing but didn't attach the top mount. Then put it into the fork and jacked up under the lower arm, compressing the spring. while it was compressed I screwed down the mount and shock. that's just a lazy way to do it, I had a spring compressor i was doing by hand otherwise

you can also let down springs by doing the same method. you can unscrew the shock mount and then lower the lower arm, slowly letting the spring uncompress itself in the fork. again this is for lazy people. but DO NOT do this on the front OEM springs, they're too long to remove once its uncompressed, which we found out (not on my car).

i wouldn't recommend this method really, it takes some idea of what you're doing, and its probably safer to go w/ the convential compressor.