Intrax Springs and KYB Hardware

[PCGUY112887]

I have some Intrax springs waiting to go in with new front HD strut mounts, new boots, and new struts all from KYB.

 

Since I don't want to play with a spring compressor or mess with this stuff in my driveway and be without my daily till I got it all together, I am going to have my mechanic install all of this for me.

 

Anything special he will need to know? Like cutting bumpers to work with the springs, etc.

 

Thanks.

[GutlessSupreme]

You don't need a spring compressor, the Intrax springs are short enough that you just need to put a little weight on them to get the strut nut back on. You would need the w-body front strut installation tool (I think autozone rents it, if not ebay usually has them cheap). I didn't have to do anything special when putting my struts back together.

 

I think TurboSedan had said he had to cut down the size of the strut bumpers, but that was on some where they were attached to the dust boot? or something like that. I don't remember. You won't have to for all brands.

[CSI_MuNkY]

You would need the w-body front strut installation tool (I think autozone rents it, if not ebay usually has them cheap).

 

I payed $40 shipped for mine off ebay.... its already gotten its share of use...

 

Jamie

[19Cutlass94]

If you buy aftermarket jounce bumpers, they will be attached to the dust boot. I cut mine down soo much that there is only about 3/4" left of the jounce bumper and my car finially stopped bottoming out. ( even though over some bumps I think it still does )

[PCGUY112887]

Oh wow... that sucks. I have KYB boots here so I guess these bumpers are integrated? Should I go another route so I don't have to have hacked up bumpers? Mechanic may throw at WTF at me if I tell him he has to cut bumpers for this to work. He already thinks I'm strange for lowering the front but not rear (rear already sits lower!)

[19Cutlass94]

Well some of the aftermarket bumpers kinda fit like a glove in the groves of the dust boot. Its two seperate pieces though. If you can get away with using the stock hardware, the better. But if you do lower the front, youll need to cut those bumpers.

[Rdrckt_92]

I think I used napa jounce bumpers, they are seperate from the dust boot

[Born2Run]

Doing the exact same project right now and have run into similar problems with my build. Check out the post and photos I put up here a few days ago.

 

http://www.w-body.com/forum/index.php?topic=67298.0

 

What you will find is that the KYB front struts do not seat flush in the strut tubes when compared to the standard hydraulic struts. When the new KYB supplied strut retaining nut is installed, the retaining nut top flange is raised up off the strut by about 1/2" when fully seated. This is bacause the KYB strut body is slightly longer then the OEM hydraulic strut. As a result, this is going to limit suspension travel another 1/2" when the lowering springs are installed. Yes, you will have to cut the stock jounce bumpers at least in half and possibly more. You cannot use the KYB style strut boots as the jounce bumber is integrated into the boots and there is no way to cut the bumpers without destroying the boot. TurboSedan has already been through this issue before here. I decided to go with the OEM jounce bumpers on my build rather than after market, but since my old jounce bumpers were pretty much starting to decay from age and wear, I decided to order a new set through GMPARTSDIRECT.com. They were about $10.00 each through GMPD vs. $18.00 each through the dealer. I'm also using the stock GM strut boot and the reason is that most aftermarket do not entirely cover the bottom strut plate bearing whereas the GM boots do. This is important because if the lower strut bearing is left unprotected and exposed to the elements of daily driving (dirt, salt, water, etc.) over time they will bind up and your steering ease will suffer, not to mention the extra load on your steering rack when they do. When I began my project I attempted to use many of the existing parts from the old strut assemblies but found that the old lower strut plate bearings would barely rotate. Contacted ShockWarehouse.com and purchased a new pair of Monroe lower strut bearing plates for about $40.00 shipped. The bearing plates also came with new (OEM style) boots and they fit like a glove. I'm also using KYB HD upper strut mounts and purchased these from Shockwarehouse as well. Nobody beats their prices or service and shipping is free on orders over $50.00.

 

The scope of my build is a little more involved and expensive since I'm also doing a front brake upgrade at the same time. In doing so, I've also installed (2) new front hub assemblies (with Federal Mogal bearing vs. imported Timken), new greaseable and sealed ball joints, (2) new caliper assemblies (yes, painted red!!!), SS front brake lines, 11 1/4" crossdrilled/slotted and plated Baer DecelaRotors (un-godly expensive!!!), Raybestos Quiet Stop ceramic brake pads (Baer recommended these over Hawks for use with their rotors), new inner and outer tie rods and (2) completely rebuilt front lower control arm assemblies (blasted, powdercoated and rebushed). Have a few tricks up my sleeve in regard to providing a method to relube the the front control arm bushings and will show what I'm doing in a future post if any of you are interested.

 

Hope this helps and good luck with your install!!!

 

Rob....

[PCGUY112887]

OK, so like this...

 

 

Part of that would need to be cut off? How much?

[Born2Run]

No...what you're showing is a KYB boot and bumper assembly. If you cut the integrated jounce bumper, the boot and bumper will seperate and the part you need to retain is the part you would cutting away. Get some OEM boots and jounce bumpers and you'll be much better off. Mine just arrived today from GMPD and have already cut them down. Will post some photos later.

 

Rob...

[19Cutlass94]

x2 on the OEM jounce bumper and boots.

[PCGUY112887]

Yes please post pictures since I am not sure what you guys mean. So I might as well try to sell these KYB boots to someone who isn't lowering?

[19Cutlass94]

This is the stock rubber boot:

 

 

As you can see it covers the bearing on the bottom, and up top, the jounce bumper is NOT intergraded into it. This means that the jounce bumper does not follow the boot. And the OEM boot protects more than aftermarket ones.

[PCGUY112887]

So in theory as long as the boots on there are OK and the bumpers on there already are OK, I could just cut some off the stock bumper and leave it? I just want to be sure how much to hack off (with a picture hopefully someone has!) so I don't end up having to take things apart to cut a stupid bumper.

 

Are the bumpers something that is common to have to replace due to wear, or will it be fine reusing the current one if it looks OK?

[19Cutlass94]

If the boots are not torn or ripped or dont have any holes, deff reuse them. The jounce bumper is some sort of hard ass foam ( believe me, a hacksaw wont even cut it ) More than likely yours will be OK. So you can reuse everything. I started off by cutting about 1" off the jounce bumpers. I felt like mine was bottoming out, so I took it apart and cut it again. I only have about 3/4"-1" left of the jounce bumper still on the strut. So I had to cut mine twice.

[PCGUY112887]

Alright, humm...

 

I got out the GM manual, this doesn't SEEM too hard to do if I don't have to use a spring compressor to put the new spring back in. It looks like ya just...

 

-Jack side of car up so wheel is in the air

-Take off tire

-Undo strut nut from under the hood under the strut plate

-Use w-body strut removal tool.

-Strut assemble starts to all come apart? Like the control arm will just move down and the strut/spring/everything else just kinda come apart? Does the actual strut assembly and ball joint stay on the car?

-Redo everything but using the cut bumper and spring, and force spring in a bit like the spring compressor would.

 

I see it shows using a strut alignment tool however it doesn't really say how to use it or what exactly it does...

[19Cutlass94]

Alright, humm...

 

I got out the GM manual, this doesn't SEEM too hard to do if I don't have to use a spring compressor to put the new spring back in. It looks like ya just...

 

-Jack side of car up so wheel is in the air

-Take off tire

-Undo strut nut from under the hood under the strut plate

-Use w-body strut removal tool.

-Strut assemble starts to all come apart? Like the control arm will just move down and the strut/spring/everything else just kinda come apart? Does the actual strut assembly and ball joint stay on the car?

-Redo everything but using the cut bumper and spring, and force spring in a bit like the spring compressor would.

 

I see it shows using a strut alignment tool however it doesn't really say how to use it or what exactly it does...

 

Are you just trying to change the strut or change the spring?

[PCGUY112887]

Everything, I have KYB HD mounts, new front cartridges, and springs. I always thought I had to have the spring compressor to get everything apart...

[19Cutlass94]

Everything, I have KYB HD mounts, new front cartridges, and springs. I always thought I had to have the spring compressor to get everything apart...

 

Well heres the thing. To change springs you need to take out the whole assembles, and theres a special press youd put them in, remove the strut top nut, then slowly decompress it. The stock spring is like twice the height/length when not compressed. Once its decompressed, then you can change your mounts and bearings and such.

 

Honestly I didnt even mess with it when I got lowering springs. The dealer installed the springs and lower spring seats with bearings and 2 wheel alignment for $180.

[Born2Run]

Here's a photo of the old jounce bumper that I used to make a test cut on before I made a final cut on the new jounce bumpers I just received. Yes, the bumper is made from high density polyurethane foam and somewhat difficult to cut. Started by using a hack saw blade, but the cut quality really sucked and caused the foam to shread at the cut line. Switched to a utility knife (see photo), the type with a long, extendable blade and scored the radius of the bumper before cutting completely through. Just take your time and it will come out great. The photo shows the old jounce bumper cut down to an overall length of 1.5 inches. However, when I did my final cut on the new bumpers, I cut to where I have marked the black line on the bumper in the photos. This is the thickest part of the bumper and will provide solid surface for the bumper to rest on as well as resist "crushing" when bottomed out. Overall, I wound up with a bumper that measured 1.25 inches in length and feel that I shouldn't have a problem bottoming out under full spring compression. Hope this helps!!!

 

Rob...

 

 

[PCGUY112887]

Great, thanks for the pictures. So what your saying is that in the picture above, that has already been cut down once, but where the line is is your final cut? So it's about 1.25" total now? How long did the thing used to be stock?

 

This is getting installed on Friday BTW, mechanic is doing it.

[Born2Run]

That's correct. The jounce bumpers in the photos are shown with the first "test" cut and they measured 1.5" in overall length. My "final" cut was made where I marked the line on the bumper giving me 1.25" of length and have had no bottoming out problems since they were installed. If I recall correctly, the overall length of the "stock" (uncut) jounce bumper was exactly 2.75". Just cut your bumper where I have indicated with the black line and you should be good to go.

[PCGUY112887]

Thanks for the info guys! I got everything installed and back to me. Car handles like crazy now! So much difference...

 

Question though...

 

Ball joints were replaced at the same time of all of this. I know I need an alignment, but turns out my mechanic can't do alignments (doesn't have the setup for it). I have noticed a very slight vibration when accelerating through certian RPM's. The car doesn't pull or anything, but I know I have to be in bad need of an alignment. Could a misalignment have anything to do with a slight vibration while accelerating?