shift_2kmaxima

iTrader: (4)

hey guys,
i got my tokico illumina struts yesterday,
i bought tein s tech springs 2days ago, and the guy that i bought them from shipped them out yesterday, and they'll be here friday , iam so happy.....
i talked to my dad, and he told me that we'll be fine installing the struts, so we'll give it a shot, he has done it b4 on my bros jetta, and it wasnt pita....
i cant wait till i install them, so i can get rid of that U.G.L.Y. gap up front....
here are some pics of the struts:



---anyone has any additional info, on how these go, i'll be using housecor's website to do this, if there is anything that i need to know before i start let me know....
and i'll talke bunch of pictures,
thanks a lot guys
huso selimovic

fishpony

iTrader: (2)

Awesome i wish i had some illuminas to install. Good luck with the installation it shouldnt be too bad. Also dont forget to get it aligned. Air tools are a musthave also.

The Law

iTrader: (39)

take pics of before and after wheel gaps. also get all the tools that you will need especially a spring compressor

illlojik

iTrader: (2)

The backs were a motha frikka for me. That black shielding or whatever it is that blocks the 2 bolts gave me some trouble. ALSO.. remeber NOT to jack the rear up by the suspension. Learned the HARD way. Hmmm, other that that, just remeber not to drop the front bolts in the engine bay like I did. I think I lost about 5 of them and had to buy new ones.... SUXOR (I always wanted to say that. lol)

BRINKLEY

iTrader: (4)

a breaker bar is a must!!!!!! I used a dewalt drill to compress the springs and it worked great. You shouldn't have to compress your springs much since you are going with s-tech. I thought about the s-techs, but I had a slammed truck a long time ago, and I still remember some of them bad bumps.. Do a search, there are some good threads and tips on the installs. The really only trouble I had was matching up the rears when I was putting them back on, It took a few different trys to finally get it, you'll see what I mean when you get there. Good luck.

shift_2kmaxima

iTrader: (4)

yeah i got most of the tools, i got the spring compressor....
and our family friend is a car mechanic, and he told me that if i need any tools i can just stop by his shop and borrow them, and he asked me if I want him to install it, but i was like no, i want to do it, and be proud of the work at the end

flipinstyxs

hey shift_2kmaxima where did you get your tokico illuminas from?

The Law

iTrader: (39)

all you got to remember is have fun and take your time cause there is no rush. also torque everything to spec

ColdSHO

iTrader: (25)

again go slow, a compressed spring is capable of a lot of damage. also be careful with the rear lower bolt. i know lot of people on here that have either stripped it or almost have, me included.

shift_2kmaxima

iTrader: (4)

ColdSHO - lower rear bolt? more info on that pls....
flipinstyxs - i got my illuminas from ebay, 433 shipped....
The law - where can i get the torque specs, manual? housecors' site?
thanks guys

steven88

iTrader: (28)

Huso, the tq is listed on housecor's site...

The Law

iTrader: (39)

steven you *ucked up, its not huso that asked it was shift_2k

steven88

iTrader: (28)

sorry law...but u just got pwnt

gong hay fat choi!

shift_2kmaxima

iTrader: (4)

My real name is Huso Selimovic, that is my real name lol, and andrew (steven88) knows me by that name lol....
funny

shift_2kmaxima

iTrader: (4)

one more thing....who is "shift_2k" bro?
i am shift_2kmaxima man....

The Law

iTrader: (39)

didnt know that so i guess its my bad. *UCK!

Penguin215

iTrader: (1)

I'll be doing my install this weekend aswell, but I have a question pertaining to illuminas, what torque ratings do I use for the front strut piston and the rear aswell?

Swisscheese

iTrader: (2)

If you cut the rear bumpstops, better have some serious tools, a serated knife works for the front, but we needed a Saw-zaw with a new blade and a vice for the rear, they are THICK. get you some zip-ties for the front, one of the slots for the brake line is too small on tokicos. I just zip-tied the line to the shock.

NmexMAX

iTrader: (22)

Mine go on in less than an hour Substitute Progress for S-techs ..

ColdSHO

iTrader: (25)

the bolt im talking about is the one that attached the rear strut to the wheel hub, if thats what its called. theres just one large one, ive just heard of a lot of people stripping it. u could always have a shop break them loose for u b4 u start if u dont have air tools, it seems most of my time was spent trying to break stuck bolts loose, if they would have come off easier i would have been done in no time.

btw i did my jic install with just hand tools and a floor jack. nothing fancy.

shift_2kmaxima

iTrader: (4)

welll springs are here iam so happy,,,
they're brand new, box was just opend to look at the springs, but other than that everythign is brand new on them, i even got the manual with it and TEIN stickers (should i put those on or not?) is it too much ricer?
but my dad will be at home in an hour or so, and we'll start on fronts tonite, and finish rears 2morrow, i'll take a lot of pics, i promise, i'll take pics of the whole process, and how evertyhing goes.....
thank you guys
huso selimovic.....
and the springs they' were only 130 bucks shipped,

illlojik

iTrader: (2)

I didnt put my tien stickers on. A bit on the Rice Side for me. I would consider putting it on if it were smaller.. but that thing is HUGE... way too much Uncle Ben's for me.

A33 VQ30DEK

iTrader: (23)

you don't need a spring compressor... just shoot the spring off the strut.. that's what i do.. it's a lot more intense that way.

shift_2kmaxima

iTrader: (4)

good one man

The Law

iTrader: (39)

just make sure if you do shoot the spring off dont point it at anything that can be damaged. just remember have fun and be safe....get before pics and after pics of your car

NmexMAX

iTrader: (22)

Mine are on..

MSchumacher

iTrader: (1)

i recently changed my struts 2 at 67k mi. Whats your milage?

shift_2kmaxima

iTrader: (4)

my milage is 77k....
but i got some bad news, this weekend i had to go to St.Louis cause' my grandfather is going back to Bosnia, so i had to drive there and say hi to him, and i stayed there whole friday nite, saturday, and i just got back...
i was so pissed that i had to go, but next weekend i'll be putting the struts for sure ....
huso

steven88

iTrader: (28)

damn dat blows huso....i was hoping for some pictures! and i know you were so excited about it last week...telling me how your struts came in and everything!

spdfreak

Nice choice!

One day i'll have some combo to install.

shift_2kmaxima

iTrader: (4)

yeah i know man,
i was so pissed, when my dad told me that i had to go, i was so mad at him....
i remmember at 2:45pm, in my chemistry class on friday, my chemistry teacher gave me my test back, which i got B+ on, and she even made my weekend so much better, because chemistry is hard for me lol....
s that B+ made me so happy, i couldnt wait till 2:55 till i get home, and i could start working on struts/springs.....
i was driving home so fast, so excited, waiting for my springs to come...
but than my dad is like, we have to go to stl, i was like "**** that"....
i was arguing with them for a while, but they won at the end....
but this friday/satruday they'll be on, and i have to change my tranny fluid also this saturday...
so i'll spent a lot of time workign on maxima........
springs/struts are in my room, "brand new", i dont like it unless is not "brand new" lol...they' look beautiful, i am so excited, cant wait till i see my max dropped....

huso selimovic

AceofSpds

iTrader: (4)

Has any of you guys had any ebay horror stories with "new" struts? Ive heard a few but not any from this forum yet, makes me kinda hesitant to get my struts from ebay.

shift_2kmaxima

iTrader: (4)

what horror stories lol?
like not getting your struts?
or struts being bad?

AceofSpds

iTrader: (4)

like getting "new" struts and they are "still" in box when you recive them theres a cut in the top of the box and you find out one of the struts are blown, happened to my friend, he was buying struts for his vw golf

shift_2kmaxima

iTrader: (4)

no lol i never heard of it,
my box wasnt open it was brand new,
and i pushed on struts and it took me some power to get the struts to go down, and they released by itself but really slowly,,,,
that is one way to check if they're blown or not
huso