SmoothSteve3 Posted September 10, 2003 Report Share Posted September 10, 2003 Hey guys- Ok, so i'm considering getting the rear coil-overs from FFP for my 1990 Chevy Lumina. They talk about needing to remove the leaf spring when the coil-overs are installed, but do they mean just the actual leaf spring, or the entire leaf spring assembly? On the same topic, how hard would it be to install brand new struts and coilovers on my lumina.......the labor that many of the companies locally offer is nearly insane........ Thanks! 1990 Chevy Lumina 3.1 Liter V-6 Ride on White Lightning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TurboSedan Posted September 10, 2003 Report Share Posted September 10, 2003 i have TDC coilovers on my car and installed them myself - they are the same basic design as the FFP's but not as refined. to remove the rear leaf spring requires a monoleaf compressor, or put the car up on jackstands, unbolt the spring retaining brackets, lift up on one end of the spring with a wooden block & hydraulic jack, and try to push the spring out of one of the knuckles, then SLOWLY lower the jack. i could be wrong tho it's been so long. installation was a breeze, just slide the adjustment sleeve over the strut so it sits on it it's base, then screw the lower spring mount onto it, and then put the spring on over it. the FFP upper mount is different (alot better) than my upper spring mount, but that shouldn't be a problem to install. bolt the strut back up and adjust ride height evenly on both sides and you're ready to go. and strut changes are REALLY easy with coilovers since you don't have to compress the leaf spring anymore.....just jack the car up and ALL weight is taken off of the coil spring. when you lower the car back down make sure the coil spring seats correctly. i can slam the rear to the ground or lift it 1-2" above stock. i think the FFP kit would allow you to go higher than that if you wanted to since the adjustment sleeves look longer than mine. fwiw, i plan on getting rid of my TDC coilovers soon and getting the FFP coilovers instead with new KYB's all around. or maybe someday we'll see a W-body with the new Flex-a-Form lowering mono-leaf spring....i sure wouldn't buy it until i saw the ride height it gave....with coilovers you can adjust to about any ride height you want within mintutes. BUT: my big complaint about the TDC coilovers (not available anymore anyway) was that i stripped the lock nut out on both sides even tho i was extremely careful not to over tighten them like the directions said. it's an allen wrench head screw with a nylon tip that goes thru the lower spring mount and pushes up against the adjustment sleeve to prevent the ride height from changing (IOW to prevent the lower spring mount from turning thus changing ride height & alignment). the allen wrench nut was just too small and easily stripped out so now if i want to adjust the ride height i have to use two pipe wrenches: 1 to hold the adjustment sleeve still, while the other turns the stuck lower mount. hopefully FFP has a better design for this problem, i haven't checked it out yet tho... joshua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothSteve3 Posted September 10, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2003 Ok, so it seems that I only have to take out the leaf spring.....not the giant metal cross bar that holds it in position.....right? Man, I cant wait til I have the money to get the FFP coilovers.....my rear struts are COMPLETELY shot, and I'd sure love to lower the rear of my lumina some more SmoothSteve3 1990 Chevy Lumina 3.1 Liter Engine Ride on White Lightning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TurboSedan Posted September 10, 2003 Report Share Posted September 10, 2003 yes just the lateral monoleaf spring itself. Leave the crossbars there!!!!!! those are the rear lateral trailing arms and are kinda important joshua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Posted September 11, 2003 Report Share Posted September 11, 2003 get them asap, the rear coilovers are soooo sweet, the ride might scare you at first because your used to the saggy assed mono leaf but it's sooo nice, can't wait till the fronts are done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothSteve3 Posted September 11, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2003 Hey xtremelumina92- How did you get your coilovers installed.....did you do it? or did you have someone do it? SmoothSteve3 1990 Chevy Lumina 3.1 Liter V-6 Ride on White Lightning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Posted September 11, 2003 Report Share Posted September 11, 2003 we did it at my buddies dad's shop on a hoist, we jsut used trans stands tp put pressure on the mono leaf and took it apart carefully. Later Jay Don't forget to measure your cars height before (if it's not sagging bad) so you can put it back to the height until the fornts come out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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