Hey guys,

So I've been reading a whole bunch of DIY threads on installing coilovers, and they all seem somewhat straight forward. However, just like anything you work on with cars, I know I'll run into some bumps here and there during the install. I want to know from people's experience if it's worth it to go through the effort of installing them myself, or should I save myself the frustration and just pay someone to install them professionally. Let me know your guys past experiences!

 

do it yourself. you can save a few hundred dollars that way and you can get everything set just the way you like it. i have done two installs by myself so you don't even need an extra hand even though that will make it easier.

you'll definitely hit some snags here and there but you'll know it was done right. start on a saturday morning and give yourself the full weekend in case there are any mess ups or mistakes....or do the rear one weekend and the front a different one. and make sure you have pb blaster

 

Install them yourself. Most cars are very similar and the first time you'll do it it'll take you 12 hours but from then on it will be a "small job" of a few hours at best.
Getting coilovers installed is one of these things that's very expensive to get done at a garage simply because you have to dismantle a few things in your car. It's not difficult per se. Plus, once installed, you'll probably want to play with them to get them at a level you like in height/comfort so it's not a bad thing to get to know them.

 

Awesome thank you for the reply. I'll admit that I have never done any sort of work like this on a car before, however I've done basic other things such as install catbacks, removed my stock intake and replaced it with an AEM V2, and removed my front and rear bumper countless times. Is the level of difficulty going to be to advanced for me with coilovers? Im a confident mechanic when it comes to cars I've just never dealt with anything suspension related

 

if you dont have friends, pay some one to do it.

first time and ALONE? you're in for some trouble as first timers need a second set of hands.


I swapped from springs to coilovers by myself and in under 2 hours. only cuz i've done countless TL's over the years and KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR. and HOW TO drop the shocks in-between the control arms.

its very tricky to drop the shocks in-between the control arms.
there are tricks to do it yourself, like using a jack and jack stands.

but its always easier to have a friend JUMP on the control arms to snake the shock through

 

Perfect that's good to hear. I just need to pick a weekend where I know I don't have anything to do because I know it'll take me a while. I appreciate the response thank you very much

 

I have a friend who has installed coilovers by himself on his TL and he said it was pretty difficult by himself and eventually had to take it somewhere to get them properly installed. I do have friends who have installed coilovers on other cars, just not a TL. I should have a good amount of help

 

Watch/read some DIY's (check out ericthecarguy's site or on YouTube), and if you think the job is something you can handle then tackle it yourself. If you can turn a wrench you can install suspension, plus you'll learn something. And as someone else said, give yourself enough time. Do the fronts and then the rears or vice versa so that if you run out of time for some reason at least the car will still be somewhat balanced.


Here's a few things you'll want to have on hand:
- Good set of tools - breaker bar, socket wrenches, sockets, open/close ended wrenches, mallet, hammer, pry bar, etc
- PB Blaster - great penetrant for stubborn nuts/bolts
- Gloves/glasses
- 3 or 4ft hollow steel pipe - great for leveraging the suspension, and a MUST if you're doing the job alone
- Scouring brush/pad and grease/anti-seize - not a must but I've found it helps to clean every bolt I take off and apply lubricant so it won't seize and so it's easier to remove next time.
- 6-pack for afterward


I don't know about your car but on mine it was easier to turn the wheel to the side I was working on, then pull the shock assembly out in front of the wheel.

 

the trouble is dropping the shock assembly through the control arms.
you can do it by yourself, if you have a jack to jack up the control arm to compress it to allow the shock to slip through


redryder gave a great tip on using steel pipe to assist you in prying the control arms to get the shock assembly to slip out.
I never thought about turning the wheel, but that will also give you more clearance to slip shock assembly out

 

I suggest doing it yourself...

I did it myself the first time I ever did it, in my parents garage almost 10 years ago now. I was a little nervous using the spring compressor, due to all of the warnings that if you do it wrong, you'll likely die.

BUT, it turned out to be very easy. All I can suggest is that you take your time. I screwed mine up when I was originally doing it, only to find that I put the rear coilover in the front. So I had to spend extra time to remove them and switch them around. (I think I put the wrong top hat on, or something. I dunno.)

All in all, to fix my screw up and then do everything right probably took me around 8 hours. I'm sure this time, like Justn said, I could do it in 3-4, at the very most.

In my opinion, it was a good learning experience and took the "fear" of doing suspension work out of me for good. I realized just how simple (yet smartly engineered) suspensions are.

 

and yes, dealing with rusted suspension pieces is a PAIN. PB blaster and a nice pry bar to extend your socket wrench goes a long way.

Not a bad idea to have a helper, especially one who is somewhat knowledgeable in suspension work.

You'll likely cut your hands, scrape them, whack them, you name it, but you'll get some good satisfaction out of it when you're done! good luck!!

 

You will almost certainly hit some snags. Took me all weekend when I attempted it for the first time last year. Back seat came out Friday night; installed fronts on Saturday and rear on Sunday. My whole friggin body hurt by the time I finished But the quotes I got for install of springs only was just ridiculous and it prompted me to take a swing at it. Came out just fine.

I actually just picked up coilovers and will be installing them come the Spring. Have to say I'm not looking forward to it at all, but at least I know I can do it and I know what to look for and expect. I'm still not sure how to make the strut assembly drop out easier for the rear...that was the biggest hang up for me. That and having to use the spring compressor...just time consuming. But if you get coilovers with the top mounts already installed - it will be even easier.

 

^its super easy if a friend jumps on the control arms!!!!!!!!!


okay, not super easy but by having a friends body weight on the control arm helps with clearance issues.

 

^And slide the assembly out through the top of wheel well? I had to take off the one bolt (toe arm?) in order to screw it out. So frustrating.

 

^ the shock assembly has to be finessed out. like a giant puzzle

so, out the top or through the bottom.

the pry bar idea is a good one because then you dont need a friend to step on the control arm.

you can just PRY it down

 

Ok, thanks man. I'll give that a shot next time.

 

I just stuck one end of the steel pipe under the frame, leveraged the suspension down, then sat on the other end of the pipe. Gave me plenty of room to work and I could still reach everything. Made doing the job alone much easier.

 

i think the endlink bolt has to come off for it to through the bottom

 

these are all great tips, I did the job on my own, for the first time back in May and I removed the stock set up and installed BC coils. Give yourself a good day to get it done, I accomplished mine in about 4 hours, but only because i'm not completely unfamiliar with suspension - but I would say, a solid 6-8 hours if you do it on your own, less if you have help.

the biggest thing that helped me was using pry bars, they really came in handy. Do wear gloves though, otherwise you will have some busted knuckles

Good Luck Sir,

 

Buy an impact gun, a $40 one from harbor freight did the job for me!
They have torque wrenches for $10 that work great!

PB Blaster is a must have

Take your time, the bolts for the strut brace were the worst for me to remove after 180K miles. All the others came off easily.

Wiggling the assemblies in and out can be a bit difficult. If you have a friend, have them stand on the brake rotor to help lower the whole suspension arm to wiggle everything out. I used a jack to raise it to help get all the bolts back together.

While you are changing the suspension, change out your front endlinks and your control arm bushings if they are worn.