RBbugBITme

I have the rears done and the rear lowered on stock bolts. The front lowering bolts seem to be completely seized. I've managed to strip them as well at this point. I've used PB blaster and a torch with no luck.

I was planning on running with the leaf springs for a bit before going to coilovers. Is my next option to remove both control arms and the leaf spring to try and remove the old bolts in a vice or should I just cut them while they're on the car and remove the spring to go coilover now? Any other suggestions?

momo20

I thought one deleted the left spring in the car when they switched over to coil overs? as it would control what ever ride height you set it at

RC000E

Why would you put the rear coilovers on and not the front...lol?

Do what you gotta do...get that sh*t outa there...

RBbugBITme

Sorry for the confusion, they're Penske double adjustable coilovers but I left the coil springs off for now.
I ran out of time and I'm not sure what the best path forward is. I did want to stick with stock spring rates initially which is why I planned on leaving the leaf springs in.

Grim Reaper

Never heard of installing coil overs without the coils.??

RC000E

Suspension is a lot more about the damper than the spring rate to be entirely honest. Get those things outa there...you crazy or somethin?

Why are you even messing with the lowering bolt anyway?

1. Safely lift the front of the car and support it with jack stands
2. Remove the front wheels.
3. Support the lower control arm with a jack and remove the 4 bolts holding the upper control arm to the frame
(note the location of any shims on the bolts). Repeat on the other side.
4. Remove the lower bolts from the factory shock absorbers.
5. From under the hood remove Coolant overflow tank (and windshield washer tank on a C5) to access the
upper shock mounting nuts. Remove the nuts.
6. Remove the factory shocks from both sides
7. Remove the caliper from the upright on one side and tie it off out of the way
8. Remove the lower sway bar link from the control arm on the same side
9. Remove the bolts and brackets that retain the spring to the subframe
10. Pivot the control arm down on the side that is free of it’s caliper and sway bar link, this will free the spring
enough to be removed.

RBbugBITme

Thanks. I didn't realize it was so easy to remove the whole spring so I'm just going to do that and start with some 400/550# coils.

RC000E

Sounds like a plan...get it done...

The rears are even easier...get that off of there. Getting the front end apart is pretty simple on these cars. Small job overall versus some other machines I've worked on that's for sure.

lionelhutz

It's way easier than that to remove a front spring. Remove 6 bolts and you can get the spring out. No need to remove a caliper, or undo the sway bar links or even mess with the suspension on one side at all.

1. Mark the lower a-arm bolts so you get them back in the same position.
2. Put a jack under the spring in the Y of the lower arm and take the tension off the arm.
3. Pull the lower a-arm bolts.
4. Lower the jack while pulling out on the suspension to get the arm above the spring.
5. Jack up the spring again then remove the retainer plates and lower again to remove it.

It's simpler to do than changing the shocks.

RBbugBITme

Thanks I saw that procedure and plan on doing it that way.

RBbugBITme

Someone let me know if I'm way off base here for a street car. I'm ordering 800# front/ 550# rear springs. No one at work has experience with anything other than dedicated race cars so I'm not getting much help.

I believe this will equate to ride frequencies of about 2.01/2.03.

Evilash

Even easier is use a cut off wheel to cut the spring then drop it out the middle.
No resale value on the base spring and then it also fits in the trash can.

RBbugBITme

Great idea

RBbugBITme

So I ended up not having the tools needed to cut the spring and had to go with the method of unbolting the lower control arm. Got it done though and I could not be happier! These shocks are incredible. The range they cover from streetable comfort to hard cornering grip is beyond what I expected.

For the benefit of others searching for help on this in the future....
keywords: penske coilover reservoir install how to

There are a bunch of ways you can do this but I had 90deg fittings out of the body pointing down and straight fittings into the reservoir. I opted for mounting them low behind the radiator. I don't recommend using zip ties for the long term though. It is tight on space with the coils so I removed the tie rod to make life easy.

I was in a rush and didn't snap pics of the rear but its very easy to mount them to the lower control arm. I'm glad I didn't have to cut the chassis at all but I will probably install the Penske Rezi brackets in the rear. There is a great spot to bolt them to but I'll have to switch the rear reservoir fitting to a 90deg. I also removed the tie rod and upper control arm bolts to easily install the shocks in the rear.