Rear struts and springs

[scott.mohekey]

Has anyone ever taken the rear struts/shocks and springs out, put the wheels back on, and then lowered the car back to the ground? I have to move my project chassis over the next few days and for some reason can't get the shocks back on. So I'm hoping I can wheel it onto the salvage trailer without the shocks.

[Atik]

Had a similar problem myself last week. Ended up needing Nick Mann to stand on the top of the rear brake disk, and push against the ceiling to get the hub low enough to get the shock strut to fit in place.

Dont know about putting the car on the ground without it.

[Nick Mann]

You should be able to put the car on the ground without it, but be careful of the wheels in the wheel arch. They go a long way up in there with no strut on! And the back of the car will be very close to the ground. I'm not sure exactly what stops the wheel hitting the top of the arch, but I have done this on a breaker and it still rolled along. I'd be quite hesitant to do it on a car I wanted to use again.

[Davezj]

you can just about fit one spring compressor on the rear springs to get them in.

bolt up the top mount in place then put the single spring compressor on it will enable you to get the bottom mount on.

ensure you put the wider opening end of the bottom shock bush mount on to the stud on the back of the hub carrier first as this is how it is meant to site, the stud get wider as you get closer to the carrier.

the other option is to get a ratchet strap and make a loop round one of the lower suspension arms and use your foot/body weight to press it down to give you enough room to fit the bottom shock bush to the back of the hub carrier.

or same option as above but put the ratchet strap round the wheel nut studs then sit on the floor pass it under your arse so you are sitting on it, then ratchet it up and the hub should move down enough to get the bush on the stud, and you are in a butter seating position to do it also.

it helps if you are a bit lardy like me. if your not then eat more pie's.

[scott.mohekey]

I managed to get the car moved the day before last, it wheels fine without the springs and shocks in the back, but we did have to use some blocks of wood to raise the rear wheels a bit when getting it onto the trailer. I've attached a couple of shots of how low it is at the moment. If the front had the intended engine in there, it might even sit level!