Front Coil-Over Shock Mounting

<< Coil Over Assembly                                                            Front Tie Rods >>


Major System Category: Brakes & Suspension
Task: Mount front shocks
Parts: Koni Coil Over assembly
Prerequisite Tasks:

• Mount front suspension
• Assemble coil over shocks

Additional Costs: N/A
Time Requirement: 1 hour (provided no modification is required for spacers); Otherwise, 90 minutes.
Date Started: July 21, 2012
Date Completed: July 21, 2012
The shock mounts go on pretty easy. They are packaged together in a zip lock bag under the major part number for the assembly. Everything is off the shelf with the exception of the mount itself. Ensure the 450 lbs spring set is mounted on the front. This is a good time to check that the shocks are set up the same way. This isn't to say that you are done with adjustments, but it is best to start with everything as close to same on both sides as possible.

This is the mount for the front coil over shock. It bolts to the lower control arm.  Orientation is driver's side front suspension looking from the front of the car towards the rear.

 Issue: I ran into two issues related to the spacers.

1. The spacers need to be enlarged so they fit on the bolt. This is easily handled by drilling out the center with a half inch drill bit.
2. The spacers were too wide to fit on the mount points. This is solved by filing down one spacer for each pair. I used a hand file. You don't need to take too much off. Just enough to fit.

Issue: I ran into problems with the steering rack due to excess powder coating. The same thing happened with the shock mount point on the chassis. This was handled with a Dremel tool.

This is the coil over shock installed. It is my understanding that we currently install the shocks right side up . This is a departure from the manual.

I used a small floor jack to lift the suspension so it was roughly parallel to the ground. Based on this height and the same number of turns on the shock collar, I mounted the front coil overs. I will worry about alignment and that sort of thing when I have an engine (some 13 to 14 months off).