Rear shock spring replacement / upgrade

[talon]

OK, I've just spent some time going through old threads and reviewing the LEW pages regarding replacement of the real shocks and springs and it seems like a fairly straightforward job... Does anybody have any experience fitting the SPAXX replacements? Is there anything different about them? As some of you may remember, the fronts both failed early last year and I chose to upgrade to the SPAXX front end (which I absolutely cannot say enough about!). I plan on going the same route for the rear and just wanted to get opinions on how rough a job this would be in my own garage.

[jfitz981]

I assume the rear shock set up is the same as an S4...the job is quite easy! I followed the guide on LEW:

http://www.lotusespritworld.co.uk/EGuides/...on_fitting.html

Good luck!

[ricky]

Just fitted a new pair of lotus rear shocks to my v8 due to 1 spotted leaking on MOT test....... all done in 1 evening. Hardest part was slackening off the seized top nut on the drivers side ( less room than the other side ). If you feel safe about jacking your car up, its an easy DIY job. GO FOR IT !

[talon]

Great. I've just ordered the replacements.

[Lotuson74]

Hold on! Check the new Lotus damper program here: http://www.lotusespritworld.com/EGuides/EM...Suspension.html

This is what is going on my car. And the price is getting better daily as the Brittish pound is going down significantly compared to the Dollar.

[talon]

I looked at those, but decided to go with the Spax as they are cheaper and double adjustable, unlike the Lotus ones. VERY happy with my fronts.

[talon]

OK, I've been very lazy and been putting this off for ages. I've finally got the car apart and am ready to pull the old damper unit. A couple quick questions...

What are the torque specs for the upper and lower bolts?

I am going to be reusing my old springs as they were replaced by the PO. Is there any trick or gotchas or anything else to beware of when transferring the spring?

[andydclements]

As you've done the fronts I assume you know to be very careful when releasing the spring.

The backs are quite easy as you can slacken your spring perch off, put the spring on and simply jack up that corner until you can get the bolts on to secure the top of the strut.

[talon]

Yeah - I give the spring all the respect they deserve. Just trying to get a feel for if it needs to be oriented any particular way and what I should tighten the bolts to when I reinstall.

[talon]

Got everything done yesterday with plenty of pictures. I'll upload them and outline my experience shortly.

[kyliesmith.com]

Hi Russ, looking forward to the pics mate B)

[talon]

Sorry for the delay!

Right now, the rear is about 1/2 inch lower than it was with the factory setup but I may go another 1/2 inch once I let the units settle in a bit.

random pictures, no particular order:

Edited May 5, 2009 by talon