How much did you pay to get springs installed?
- Thread starter Protege_Speed
- Start date
Protege_Speed
Member
- :
- 2002.5 ES Auto with MSP Conversion
Thanks. I was getting worried there.
$200 CDN and another $60 CDN for an alignment, both done at a Mazda dealership that also preps some race cars.
Protege_Speed
Member
- :
- 2002.5 ES Auto with MSP Conversion
Oh man! I finally finished my install. Those f'in endlinks!!! They were the ones that kept me from finishing this job sooner. I must have the record with the longest install of springs. I started Friday night around 10:30pm and finished Sunday at 3pm. I know what you're thinking but no, I didn't do it straight. Total must be 9hrs of work. The first night I could not loosen any endlinks so all I did was soak them in PB. Saturday, I still could not loosen the endlink so I went home depot and bought a electric impact wrench. Cost me 179.99. I am going to return it tomorrow but I definitely needed it. I was able to get the front and right rear done on Saturday but I could not get the left rear endlink off even with the impact wrench. 240ft/lbs is just not enough especially when you can't keep the bolt from turning. An air impact tool would have done the trick. So I ended up undoing the rear sway bay and the caliper and just kept the endlinks connected to the strut. Luckily the endlinks rotate. All together, I spent 7 dollars on two cans of PB which I used all but half a can. Beats the 300 dollar install quote that I got. I just need to get an alignment now although when I drove the car it didn't seem like I needed. Thanks for the help guys. With the right tools, this would have been an easy install.
mazdaowner123
Member
Congrats man. Be sure to get the alignment, you'll probably eat up your tires if you don't.
~brian
~brian
question: i'm just double checking here, since i bought my MSP springs and MSP struts separately and they just came boxed up w/ no info.
heavier springs = front, thinner springs = rear?
shorter struts = front, longer struts = rear?
i assume that, at worst, i'll be able to figure it out by what i take off, but like i said, just figured i'd double-check.
heavier springs = front, thinner springs = rear?
shorter struts = front, longer struts = rear?
i assume that, at worst, i'll be able to figure it out by what i take off, but like i said, just figured i'd double-check.
DistantTea
Member
- :
- Mazdaspeed... of DOOM!
I just realized that not many people know how to get those endlinks off. Since its after the fact I'll give a quick 20/20 for you.
Step 1 - Jack up the front or the back... not a side.
Step 2 - Get an allen key that fits inside the bolt... yeah there's an allen key hole in there, its how you keep it from turning.
Step 3 - Use a regular socket wrench or a crecent wrench with a long shank. Hold the key to keep the bolt from moving... move your hands in oposite directions and the dang things come right apart without breaking a sweat. Impact wrench not needed.
I've been out of it, otherwise I would have said something earlier.
Step 1 - Jack up the front or the back... not a side.
Step 2 - Get an allen key that fits inside the bolt... yeah there's an allen key hole in there, its how you keep it from turning.
Step 3 - Use a regular socket wrench or a crecent wrench with a long shank. Hold the key to keep the bolt from moving... move your hands in oposite directions and the dang things come right apart without breaking a sweat. Impact wrench not needed.
I've been out of it, otherwise I would have said something earlier.
Protege_Speed
Member
- :
- 2002.5 ES Auto with MSP Conversion
Oh, I knew that and I definitely tried that. I just could not get enough force to pry it loose. I almost rounded off one of the bolts and I almost rounded off the center with the allen wrench. I used all the right size metric tools but I had no chance without the impact wrench.
DistantTea said:
DistantTea
Member
- :
- Mazdaspeed... of DOOM!
Hmmm... I guess mine were new enough not to be all rusted through. Lucky Me!
Rawny12017
Member
- :
- 06 blk wrx wagon
$100
Protege_Speed
Member
- :
- 2002.5 ES Auto with MSP Conversion
Just got my alignment over the weekend and paid 75 dollars. Definitely handles way better. I never thought I would be able to notice the difference but it just seems to be more planted.
endlink bolts...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
dear god.
so i just finished installing my MSP springs/struts. or should i say, some of them.
on the front, i decided to skip installing the struts and did springs only b/c the endlink bolts are apparently made of play-doh. i bought a nice long breaker bar, high-quality deepwell 6-point sockets, and STILL rounded the nuts. so i istalled the springs w/ the struts still attached to the swaybar.
in the rear, the endlink bolts didn't strip (much) on the outside, but the allen-key hole did. so rather than give up, i removed the struts assemblys and swaybar as a unit.
on one of the rear stock struts, the top nut would not come off...just kept spinning the strut shaft. i had to PB blaster the top nut overnight, then use a pair of vise grips and a piece of rubber to hold the strut shaft this morning. so right now i'm running around w/ no rear sway. hopefully i can find an MSP bar soon...looks like w/ the AWR endlinks, that install should be pretty painless.
oh- one tip for any more DIYs. when you remove the seatbelt housings on the rear, the belt will probbaly retract anfd you won't be able to pull it out. DON'T take off the white cover on the side. trust me, you'll regret it when you spend 20 minutes wrestling w/ greasy spring steel. the gear/ratchet assembly is on the other side under the black plastic cover.
so if anyone out there has a spare MSP rear sway sitting around, drop me a line.
dear god.
so i just finished installing my MSP springs/struts. or should i say, some of them.
on the front, i decided to skip installing the struts and did springs only b/c the endlink bolts are apparently made of play-doh. i bought a nice long breaker bar, high-quality deepwell 6-point sockets, and STILL rounded the nuts. so i istalled the springs w/ the struts still attached to the swaybar.
in the rear, the endlink bolts didn't strip (much) on the outside, but the allen-key hole did. so rather than give up, i removed the struts assemblys and swaybar as a unit.
on one of the rear stock struts, the top nut would not come off...just kept spinning the strut shaft. i had to PB blaster the top nut overnight, then use a pair of vise grips and a piece of rubber to hold the strut shaft this morning. so right now i'm running around w/ no rear sway. hopefully i can find an MSP bar soon...looks like w/ the AWR endlinks, that install should be pretty painless.
oh- one tip for any more DIYs. when you remove the seatbelt housings on the rear, the belt will probbaly retract anfd you won't be able to pull it out. DON'T take off the white cover on the side. trust me, you'll regret it when you spend 20 minutes wrestling w/ greasy spring steel. the gear/ratchet assembly is on the other side under the black plastic cover.
so if anyone out there has a spare MSP rear sway sitting around, drop me a line.
Protege_Speed
Member
- :
- 2002.5 ES Auto with MSP Conversion
95ProLeila
Member
- :
- 1995 Protege ES 5 speed
I paid $350 for install, alignment, and new rear endlinks.
yep, that's longer than mine. i started around 1pm on sat, worked for about 6 hours, and then another 2 on sunday. i didn't use nearly that much PB, but then again, i didn't get a single endlink bolt off.
here's my question: if i'm rounding the endlink bolts as it is (using a 6-point socket and a breaker bar), how will using MORE torque (from an impact wrench) be any better? seems like a tighter fit between the socket and the nut would be the only way to avoid the problem. maybe a set of vise grips and a length of pipe...
here's my question: if i'm rounding the endlink bolts as it is (using a 6-point socket and a breaker bar), how will using MORE torque (from an impact wrench) be any better? seems like a tighter fit between the socket and the nut would be the only way to avoid the problem. maybe a set of vise grips and a length of pipe...
