Canuck Springs/KYB Shock Upgrade - Revisited

Good morning.

This post will be to revisit the topic of the "Frankensuspension" and give some updated images. Just to clear the air, I didn't take many pictures of my rear upgrade, but the basic steps for removal and reassembly apply. Naturally, you're gonna want to use two jack stands and hit the nuts and bolts with heavy amounts of PB Blaster/WD40 the night before.

About my decision to keep the stock setup: I'm planning to drift this car in a recreational manner, but if it becomes more than that, the S13 swap will happen.

About my S12: 1985 base hatch with a KA swap, thanks to Schizo.

About purchasing: These were the sites that I ordered from. Some folks have gotten the struts through cheaper venders, but where I was living at the time that I placed the order, I didn't trust the mail service to fully deliver a big heavy box and Summit would ship them individually to keep them from getting stolen. See the links below -

http://canuckmotorsports.com/cat_car_import.html#Nissan
765015 https://www.summitracing.com/parts/kyb-765015/overview/year/1992/make/toyota/model/mr2
743021 https://www.summitracing.com/parts/kyb-743021/overview/year/1996/make/ford/model/mustang

About the install: The guides on the forum weren't of much use without images that haven't been kept up with but, since I've only done the rear so far, I can say it's pretty straight forward. You will need to only use the cone shaped bushing from the shock box where it is needed and hold onto the other supplied bushing and another 1/2" bushing for the lower mounting point.

What will come a little bit later, with few pictures, is the write-up for the rear. I plan on knocking out the front this coming weekend. :)
Post Merge

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Rear Suspension Upgrade Time

What you need-
Jack
Jack stands x2
Wrench set
Socket set
A good "Clarkson" (hammer)
Spring compressors (outside coil ONLY) x2

What to do
0. Chock the front wheels and break the lugs on the rear wheels.
1. Jack the rear of the car up high enough to give yourself plenty of working room in the wheel well while in a seated position.
2. Jack stands, lower the car, and remove the wheels.
a) There may be two plates protecting the bolts at the base of the shock that you'll need to remove with a phillips head screw driver.
3. Pick a side and position the jack under the flattest point, close the bottom of the shock. The cup is to rest against the bottom of the arm and provide no tension.
4. Start working on loosening the nut-bolt-combo with a pair of wrenches and, depending on how much tension is in the system, possibly a jack handle for leverage...
5. Once the nut is off, you may need to use the jack to lift the suspension assembly to relieve a little tension on the bolt for removal. Don't mangle those threads, Jimmy.
6. With a wrench and a socket, remove the 2 nuts at the top of the shock and throw them into the stratosphere. They've served their purpose.
7. Pull the old shock out.
8. Position your spring compressors in a way that will allow for full compression AND allow you to remove them.
9. Now for the first longest step: start compressing. If you have compressors that you have to hand crank, like what I rented, you'll get a bit of an easier turn on it by jacking up the arm progressively.
10. Once you feel like it'll come out, give it a yank.
11. Take the compressors off and start compressing the new springs.
12. Time to mount the hat to your new spring and install. I put the tight side of the coils at the top, but I've seen that it doesn't really matter because everything settles the same way.
13. Once you get it placed, start decompressing and be methodical. This isn't something that should be done quickly for safety reasons.
14. Now for the shock. Put the included cone shaped bushing onto the shaft pointing down, followed by the cup shaped washer facing downward as well. As I mentioned before, keep the other bushing, included in the kit, handy for the bottom mount.
15. Insert the new shock with the dial facing outward so there is no chance of debris ripping that sucker off and put the locking nut on hand tight.
16. Align the base of the shock with the mounting point and get your 1/2" bushing and spare bushing handy. Use the jack to hold the arm in place while you start placing the bushings where they'll go.
17. Put the spare bushing from the kit on the INSIDE and the 1/2" bushing on the OUTSIDE. It will be snug, so take your time. Lubricant may not be necessary.
18. Start feeding the bolt through. A hammer may be necessary to tap it in all the way. Now put the nut on and get it hand tight all the way down the bolt.
19. Inspect your work and enjoy a cool, cool beverage.
20. Wash, rinse, repeat baby.
21. Set the desired dampening strength following the guidance of the instructions. Remember, this is adjustable!
22. Put the wheels on! Get the lugs hand tight and clean up/clear your work space for setting the car down.
23. Jack the rear up to get the car off of jack stands, clear them out, double check that your e-brake is set, watch your lips, and set her down slowly.
24. With the car on the ground, torque down the shock mount nut-bolt-combos and the top nuts.
25. Give the rear-end a bit of a bounce to ensure the aftermarket springs set. Mine made an audible "kung" sound.

That's it, folks. See my pictures below. If you have any comments or concerns, PLEASE say something.
Old -

Where the bushings go -

Driver's side - (with help from a firend)

Passenger side - (friend had to leave)

Final clearance/work check -

Wheel space immediately after upgrade -


Next will be the front suspension, but I need to look into a sway bar upgrade...

Front Suspension Upgrade Time

This will be an guide for upgrading from stock to aftermarket. Naturally, some things vary from year to year, model to model, so expect a difference and be prepared to adapt and overcome. You will need a friend and plenty of time...go ahead and hit the nuts and bolts in this thread with WD-40/PB Blaster if you're even semi-serious about doing this.

What you need-
WD-40/PB Blaster
Jack handle
Hammer (no, seriously)
Jack
Jack stands x2
Set of metric sockets
Possibly a set of metric wrenches
Cheater bar if you can't get leverage (or if you're a girly-man)
Drill
Stepped drill bits
Adjustable pliers
Spring compressors (rented)
Impact driver
1/2" metric driver sockets

What to do-
0. Set the parking brake and/or chock the rear wheels then pop the hood.
1. Brake the lugs with the car on the ground.
2. Jack up the front of the car high enough for you and a friend to work on it and drop it onto jack stands in the appropriate spot. (Google it if you're confused)
3. Take the wheels off and don't "oh fudge-but I didn't say fudge" the lugs.
4. Remove the 2 bolts securing the caliper and remove it.
*PRO TIP* You own an s-chassis Nissan, I know you have zip-ties...use some to secure the caliper to the steering arm so that it doesn't stress the brake line.
5. Look at the underside of the bottom knuckle and locate/remove 2 nuts right next to each other; they, accompanied by the bolts they're threaded onto, hold the front control arm to the bottom knuckle.
6. Locate 2 bolts, on either side of the shock, threaded up through the bottom of  the ball joint connector (name of part?) into the bottom of shock assembly: remove them but cutting the wheel all the way over one way, locking the steering wheel, removing the accessible bolt, and go the other way for the next one.
7. Open the hood and remove the 3 nuts holding the shock assembly in.
8. Have the heavier of you and your friend stand on the bottom knuckle and the other pull on the bottom of the shock assembly or the rotor.
9. When it comes free, set it down on some card board and prepare your spring compressors.
*SAFETY FIRST* Use spring compressors, for the love of Spaghetti Monster, use them. When the nut is off, the spring will shoot the whole upper assembly off if it's left under pressure. As momma said, the emergency room is more expensive on weekends.
10. Compress the spring, evenly, until you can wiggle it with your hand. Compress it a little more for good measure.
11. Have your friend hold the assembly upright while you put the end of your jack handle between two of the 3 lugs on the hat and remove the locking nut with a 17 mm socket and a/an ratchet/impact driver.
12. The floppy rubber shock dong and a bearing will come off when you relieve the pin at the bottom of the dong. The spring can be removed with no resistance.
13. Get your friend to start working on decompressing while you do some cleaning on the whole assembly and hit the shock retainer nut with WD-40/PB Blaster and tap the side of the shock tube where the retainer threads into it.
14. When ready, have your friend hold the shock so that it doesn't rotate while you grab that retainer with your adjustable wrench and torque on it until it loosens so you can remove it.
15. Push the rod all the way in until it's fully depressed.
16. Now for the potentially messy part: have your friend hold the assembly down while you start tapping on the outside of the tube with your hammer and pull the rod and inner parts all the way out. It is full of hydraulic fluid, so be ready for a spill. Don't throw anything away.
17. Dump that tube out and set it aside, upside down while your buddy pulls the ring that's seated around the rod atop the inner tube. Dry it off as much as possible.
18. Slide that ring down the rod of your new strut. It will serve as the spacer.
19. Slip the strut into the tube of the assembly and reuse the shock retainer nut to seal it up. Tighten it down while your friend starts to compress the new spring.
20. Place the spring onto it's new home and continue to compress.
21. Once it's compressed to your liking, place the strut dong atop the spring, makeing sure the spring seats how it should, and pull the bottom of the dong all the way down and lock it with that clip while your friend preps the drill with your stepped drill bits.
22. Slide the bearing down the shaft and then set the assembly aside.
23. You will now begin drilling the hat out to go over the threads of the new shock.
*CAREFUL APPROACH IS NEEDED* I had to drill down to the next largest step, flipping the hat a couple of times and test fitting it over the threads until I felt comfortable with it. I might come through later and update this post with a measurement of my new hole.
24. When satisfied, slip the hat over the threads and hand tighten the supplied locking nut being absolutely certain not to cross thread it. If you do, you're out a week while you wait on a new part.
25. With your ratchet, get it good and snug with an 18 mm socket and brace the hat bolts with your jack handle. If you use an impact driver only go one erga-derga, no more.
26. Decompress the spring and carefully remove the spring compressors so that you don't fillet their nice coating.
27. Grab your re-built assembly and align the 3 bolts with their holes in the fender while your friend threads the nuts onto those bolt. Have him use the impact driver to tighten them all the way to 3 erga-dergas.
28. Line up the bottom of the assembly with the ball joint and, with the heavier person standing on the bottom knuckle, man handle the assembly base back into place.
29. Making sure everything is aligned, bolt the arm back onto the bottom knuckle. This may require the knuckle be jacked into place.
30. Bolt the ball joint to the base of the assembly, turning the wheel back and forth like you did to take them off.
31. Bolt the caliper back into position and inspect your work.

The other side is wash, rinse, repeat from here. But when you're done and you put the car back on the ground, do so slowly and ensure that the wheel/tire does not contact the tube of the shock. Now, just triple check the tightness of the nuts and bolts and you're done!

Skeeter on 03:28:12 PM / 01-Nov-17
Yep, a shit-ton, maybe standard scale not metric. I'm still compiling options.

Ugh, I feel like a piece of shit for not checking on this since May of 2017. I basically emptied the innards of the OEM strut body, reused some of the damping shits to space the MR2 strut enough so it would sit correctly, and then used the stock nut.