Has anyone put their own springs/shocks and wheels on their car? How hard is it? I am sort of thinking that it might be easier for my friendly neighborhood mechanic to do it...thoughts?
You will need a spring clamp (or whatever it is called -- compressor maybe) for the springs. This really may be better to have done by a mechanic if you are even asking.
If you want to get into working on your car the suspension is very straight forward and simple to do. Problem is compressing the springs.
If I were in your position I would take the front struts out and take them to a mechanic to have compress the springs and reassemble the new struts. Then put them on yourself.
Or, if you've got the extra cash just have the mechanic to the whole thing.
If you decided to go for it yourself I can help you with most of your questions.
I am debating shelling out $150 to have the mechanic do it when i have new wheels, shocks and springs. I figure if the car is there (for new O2 sensor and AC belt), have them do it...but hey, that's $150 for me if i do it myself...as long as i don't kill myself trying.
There is a DIY for front and back springs and front struts. The rear struts are self explanatory once you get in there. One bolt on the bottom and the usual 3 on top. It is in the DIY maintiance or performance section on the second page.
You can get a spring compressor from autozone. Just be care full, I have a friend who had a spring pop out on him and sliced his arm up pretty bad. Easy job to do though. I will do a writeup on it after my clutch. Clutch parts are on the way from alleurasian (they have really good prices on parts comparing to other online vendors). Good luck.
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