Changing front struts on a Y32/33... DIY? And pics to show WHY i am asking :)

[Dominik]

Ok, just finished installing the rear coilovers, and that was a piece of piss. How hard will the fronts be?

For reference i have taken a few different car suspensions apart, and i'm relatively mechanically minded. What i want to know is, will i need any special tools? I.e. with my Y31 Cima i was able to take the front struts out in about 15 minutes because they were airsus and could be completely deflated to take them off the lower control arm easily... But the cedric is regular coils... Will i need something to compress it??


And the reason i am asking?:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/dbloemhard/Cedric/CIMG2591Medium.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/dbloemhard/Cedric/CIMG2588Medium.jpg

Yeah baby... Almost 4 months since i paid for them, the wheels finally arrived. And in what must be a christmas week for me, the coilovers purchased 3 months ago arrived 1 day later!
Not wanting to waste any more time i took a day off work to get tyres and the suspension fitted... will post pics in a proper thread later...

[NG C-Klasse]

Good sh!t. pics when done a must.

[antbo]

nice!! now hurry up :)

[Dark Anghell]

no need to compress anything. But be prepared to spend some time with the front suspension. The steering knuckles were a major pain in the butt on my car. One side took close to 4 hours. The rear will be super easy.

Can't wait to see the finished product.

[Dominik]

Well, it was much too difficult so I took it to the mechanic. Even he had trouble with a 1m breaker bar. Air tools were required for most of it, and other parts had seized...

Pics of progress here:
http://vipstylecars.com/forum/index.php?topic=4834.new#new

[One Ton VIP]

Looks like you got your answer on how to do the fronts eh..?
Hmmmm, what are the fitments on those wheels again?

[Dominik]

Yep... Actually at the end i was buggered and didnt want to chance it so i just took it to my mechanic.

The wheels are 18x9 +13 and 18x10 +5.

The Y32 Cima should be able to accomodate those without any problems. The Y32 Cedric however hasnt got as much room in the guards. The max i'd seen quoted for a slammed car with stretched tyres was 18x10 +20. But i found a pic of one guy who had 19x10.5 +11, so it can be done (provided they have the same amount of lip)