Coilover Installation
07-21-2004, 12:55 AM
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Coilover Installation
CREDITS: This article was blatantly ripped from the pages of OVERBOOST. You should visit OVERBOOST because they took great care in preparing this article for you. I hope they don't sue me.
DISCLAIMER: Scionlife.com does not take any responsibility in what you do to your car. This FAQ could be filled with incorrect information. You could be voiding your warranty if not installed by a certified mechanic or dealership. It is quite possible that you can totally mess up your car by using this as a guide to install your springs. This can result in serious bodily injury, death, dismemberment, sexually transmitted diseases and so forth to you and anybody else in case of an accident resulting from failure to take safety precautions and/or following the instructions in this write-up.
Get Ready:
Calm down everybody. We know project Little Blue Short Bus hasn’t been featured on the site in a while, but we have an excuse. Actually it is more of a reason than an excuse so here it is: Barely anybody in the aftermarket industry has parts available for it yet. Somehow we were able to coerce Tein to let us come down to their new facility and have our Scion fitted with a pre-production Super Street (SS) suspension system. Why did we choose Tein? Along with having the signature green suspension underneath our Scion for all to envy, the system will give the car an adjustable ride height, better handling with the 16-way adjustable dampers and all the while maintaining a civilized ride. The decision was just too easy.
Before we get started with the logistics of the install, it is fitting that we give credit where it is due. Tein’s research and development manager, Ippei Sugano, performed all the manual labor. This guy approached rock star status by completing the install in less than two hours even though we constantly had to slow him down to get pictures. We didn’t have to get a speck of dirt on our recently manicured hands and by the time we could finish our Java Fudge Frappuccino the car was already on the lift with the tires removed.
Front Installation:
1. The front struts are removed by first removing the bolt holding the brake line bracket to the strut and pushing it to the side, and then removing the two large bolts and nuts that hold the knuckle onto the strut.
2. With the knuckle and strut separated, the three nuts holding the strut to the chassis are removed and the whole assembly can be pulled out from the bottom. Once it is removed it is a good idea to not just throw the stock unit over in the corner of the garage with all your old car magazines since some of the parts will need to be reused.
3. Sugano then took the stock strut over to the workbench and removed the rubber seal on top of the mounting plate to reveal a hidden nut that keeps the plate attached. Once that bolt is removed the plate slides off. The bushing below the plate the plate itself are then fastened to the Tein damper.
4. With the bushing and top mounting plate now in place, the Tein SS assembly can be installed by carefully guiding it through the top mounting holes and lining up the lower portion with the knuckle. The stock nuts and bolts are reused. The Tein damper has provisions for the brake line bracket and once the lower portion is attached to the knuckle the stock bolt is reused to hold the brake line bracket into place.
5. In the engine bay you can now use the factory nuts to secure the mounting plate. Sugano used a combination wrench on the top because he said that using an air ratchet or impact wrench will result in over tightening the nuts. Once that is completed you can take a moment to marvel at your mechanical talents before the focus is shifted to the rear of the vehicle.
Rear Installation
1. The rear suspension of the Scion is much different than the front’s McPherson strut setup. In the rear, two coil springs are held in place by the "rebound" travel limitation of the damper. A jack was put underneath the center of the beam and pumped slightly to put a small load on the one-piece rear suspension so springs don’t come flying out once the shocks are loosened. With a jack serving as a safety net, the nut on each shock is removed and they can then be pulled off the mounting stud.
2. With the hatch opened, the plastic covers on each side need to be removed to gain access to the last nut holding the factory damper in place. Once the nut is removed the shock is then easily removed by lowering it out from the bottom of the car.
3. The jack can then be slowly lowered and the stock springs should effortlessly pull away from the beam. Once again, don’t go tossing parts around the garage because both the lower and upper bushings will need to be reused.
4. Place one of the factory bushings on the beam and then put the spring adjuster on top of that. The Tein kit comes with a new washer and nut that will be used to hold the adjuster in place.
5. Tein also proves a shim that needs to be places on top of the adjuster before the spring is installed. With the shim installed onto the adjuster, put one of the factory upper bushings on top of the Tein springs and install the unit. Don’t worry, it will fit loosely at first but it won’t stay that way for much longer.
6. The Tein damper can now be lifted into place and the lower portion can be slid onto the factory stud. Before tightening the nut, place a jack underneath and raise it until the spring is loaded. If you prematurely tighten the nut without a load the clevis may slip around the bushing (causing the bolts to loosen) and the arc of suspension travel will cause the bushing to wind up like a spring. Slide the factory bushings over the Tein damper and reuse the nut to hold everything in place. Reinstall the factory plastic cover and you’re done… well, sort of.
As a result to changes in geometry, anytime you change the suspension a trip to get it aligned is a must. Before Sugano sent us on our way so he could enjoy the rest of his day without our harassment he aligned the car for us. If a picture is really worth a thousand words, enjoy the before and after shots above. Little Blue Short Bus cornered remarkably better, the annoying wheel gap was eliminated and it road smooth enough to not send us back to the dentist to get our fillings put back into place. Within the next few months the Tein SS system for both the Scion xA and xB will be available to the public. The worst part about our newest mod was that it brought attention to our need to junk the stock wheel and tire setup for a set of wider sticky meat. Hmm, anybody wonder what our next step might be?
DISCLAIMER: Scionlife.com does not take any responsibility in what you do to your car. This FAQ could be filled with incorrect information. You could be voiding your warranty if not installed by a certified mechanic or dealership. It is quite possible that you can totally mess up your car by using this as a guide to install your springs. This can result in serious bodily injury, death, dismemberment, sexually transmitted diseases and so forth to you and anybody else in case of an accident resulting from failure to take safety precautions and/or following the instructions in this write-up.
Get Ready:
Calm down everybody. We know project Little Blue Short Bus hasn’t been featured on the site in a while, but we have an excuse. Actually it is more of a reason than an excuse so here it is: Barely anybody in the aftermarket industry has parts available for it yet. Somehow we were able to coerce Tein to let us come down to their new facility and have our Scion fitted with a pre-production Super Street (SS) suspension system. Why did we choose Tein? Along with having the signature green suspension underneath our Scion for all to envy, the system will give the car an adjustable ride height, better handling with the 16-way adjustable dampers and all the while maintaining a civilized ride. The decision was just too easy.
Before we get started with the logistics of the install, it is fitting that we give credit where it is due. Tein’s research and development manager, Ippei Sugano, performed all the manual labor. This guy approached rock star status by completing the install in less than two hours even though we constantly had to slow him down to get pictures. We didn’t have to get a speck of dirt on our recently manicured hands and by the time we could finish our Java Fudge Frappuccino the car was already on the lift with the tires removed.
Front Installation:
1. The front struts are removed by first removing the bolt holding the brake line bracket to the strut and pushing it to the side, and then removing the two large bolts and nuts that hold the knuckle onto the strut.
2. With the knuckle and strut separated, the three nuts holding the strut to the chassis are removed and the whole assembly can be pulled out from the bottom. Once it is removed it is a good idea to not just throw the stock unit over in the corner of the garage with all your old car magazines since some of the parts will need to be reused.
3. Sugano then took the stock strut over to the workbench and removed the rubber seal on top of the mounting plate to reveal a hidden nut that keeps the plate attached. Once that bolt is removed the plate slides off. The bushing below the plate the plate itself are then fastened to the Tein damper.
4. With the bushing and top mounting plate now in place, the Tein SS assembly can be installed by carefully guiding it through the top mounting holes and lining up the lower portion with the knuckle. The stock nuts and bolts are reused. The Tein damper has provisions for the brake line bracket and once the lower portion is attached to the knuckle the stock bolt is reused to hold the brake line bracket into place.
5. In the engine bay you can now use the factory nuts to secure the mounting plate. Sugano used a combination wrench on the top because he said that using an air ratchet or impact wrench will result in over tightening the nuts. Once that is completed you can take a moment to marvel at your mechanical talents before the focus is shifted to the rear of the vehicle.
Rear Installation
1. The rear suspension of the Scion is much different than the front’s McPherson strut setup. In the rear, two coil springs are held in place by the "rebound" travel limitation of the damper. A jack was put underneath the center of the beam and pumped slightly to put a small load on the one-piece rear suspension so springs don’t come flying out once the shocks are loosened. With a jack serving as a safety net, the nut on each shock is removed and they can then be pulled off the mounting stud.
2. With the hatch opened, the plastic covers on each side need to be removed to gain access to the last nut holding the factory damper in place. Once the nut is removed the shock is then easily removed by lowering it out from the bottom of the car.
3. The jack can then be slowly lowered and the stock springs should effortlessly pull away from the beam. Once again, don’t go tossing parts around the garage because both the lower and upper bushings will need to be reused.
4. Place one of the factory bushings on the beam and then put the spring adjuster on top of that. The Tein kit comes with a new washer and nut that will be used to hold the adjuster in place.
5. Tein also proves a shim that needs to be places on top of the adjuster before the spring is installed. With the shim installed onto the adjuster, put one of the factory upper bushings on top of the Tein springs and install the unit. Don’t worry, it will fit loosely at first but it won’t stay that way for much longer.
6. The Tein damper can now be lifted into place and the lower portion can be slid onto the factory stud. Before tightening the nut, place a jack underneath and raise it until the spring is loaded. If you prematurely tighten the nut without a load the clevis may slip around the bushing (causing the bolts to loosen) and the arc of suspension travel will cause the bushing to wind up like a spring. Slide the factory bushings over the Tein damper and reuse the nut to hold everything in place. Reinstall the factory plastic cover and you’re done… well, sort of.
As a result to changes in geometry, anytime you change the suspension a trip to get it aligned is a must. Before Sugano sent us on our way so he could enjoy the rest of his day without our harassment he aligned the car for us. If a picture is really worth a thousand words, enjoy the before and after shots above. Little Blue Short Bus cornered remarkably better, the annoying wheel gap was eliminated and it road smooth enough to not send us back to the dentist to get our fillings put back into place. Within the next few months the Tein SS system for both the Scion xA and xB will be available to the public. The worst part about our newest mod was that it brought attention to our need to junk the stock wheel and tire setup for a set of wider sticky meat. Hmm, anybody wonder what our next step might be?
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