[ponchonutty]

I'm at it again. Just had enough of the back end bouncing all over the place. I know the springs were replaced before but prior to me owning the car and were a lot of miles ago too. I doubt that I really needed to swap springs but since these Korea parts are so cheap and I've noticed the rear looks like it sags a little I decided to do it all at the same time. From start to finish this took me about 2 hours. It wouldn't have taken me that long but I installed the first spring upside down so I had to tear it all back apart.

Starting the mess!

Remove the braket that holds the brake line to the unibody. Failure to do this may result in a torn hose and certainly won't be able to remove the springs if you are doing so.

Then take off the shock by removing the upper and lower bolts. Place a jack upper the a-arm because the shock helps control the amount of travel. If you don't, it shouldn't hurt it but it's harder to remove the bolts until the tension is released.

Bottom bolt is out.

Remove endlink

If you look at this picture below you will see the large bolt. There's 2 of these on the bottom of the a-arms that you must disconnect in order to get the rear suspension to travel enough to get the springs out. You will still need a spring compressor to get the spring small enough to get past the bump stop and bottom guide. There's washers everywhere so make note what came from where. They are mostly all the same. Once you get the bolts out you will need to lightly pry or tap on the a-arm to get it to move. Once you have that you can compress the springs. I didn't have that good of spring compressor so I had to use leverage on the a-arm to get it to travel downward a little more.

One shock was completely shot

The "good" shock as you can see had bottomed out and cracked the dust cover.

New shock. These I ordered with out the top mounts like you see them advertised on Ebay.

New spring with old spring. The new one was actually about 1/2" taller but you can't really tell in the pictures. This confirms my suspicions that the rear springs were weak. Sorry I don't have pictures of the installed componets or pictures of it going back together. It was mostly the reverse of the take out of the old parts. The top and bottoms of the springs look very, very simular so you have to pay close attention the way they came out.

Here's the part number shown for the shocks

 

[rbarrios]

So there was no danger of the spring flying at you?

If not- good to know its 'easy' to remove.

Ive removed coils before on my 70 Chevy- and used the tool and a chain to make sure it didnt fly out and kill me.

ALso surprissed at the amount of road debris..

Ill be rotating my tires this weekend-- ill look at my components too..

How many miles on yours?

 

[ponchonutty]

I used the screw/clamp style of compressors that have a 3/4" bolt through the assembly. You don't really need to compress them too much. Once you have the assembly completely loose you can move the spring around a lot to the point you'd think you could just yank it out of there. Yes, my car is EXTREMELY dirty and I usually clean underneath and around the wheel wells but this weather we have has made it pointless. I should have taken a picture of the upper bumpstops when I had them out. The inside cup had enough grit inside to fill a literbox! I cleaned all that out and coated the inside with some grease to help combat rust in the upper mount and also to make it easier to assemble.

I have just over 106,000 miles on it so far.

 

[XRDreamliner]

Do you replace the end links? Usually the bushings with over 100k miles dry and crack, and then eventually the link ends will knock under load...

 

[ponchonutty]

Do you replace the end links? Usually the bushings with over 100k miles dry and crack, and then eventually the link ends will knock under load...

No, I inspected them and they looked fine. Never had any knock noises from the rear. I have had to replace the fronts once and it sounds like I will have to do it again.

 

[6Sixathome]

Nice job :thumb: those shocks looked tired. You'll probably want to get an allignment, new springs and shocks will wear the tires if not alligned.

 

[ponchonutty]

Yeah I know. I'm going to wait till next week. Driving it before you could tell the rear was real spongy and soft. Now, it feels like new but the front feels spongy and soft. Could be just because I know the rear is all new???? Anyways, I plan to do the front this coming weekend. Ordering what I need tomorrow morning.

 

[bigblumer]

Our 08 Outlook just broke a spring this weekend. I think my wife has been taking the Outlook off jumps on her way to work each day. This car has been something else, that's for sure.

ponchonutty: Do you still have the part number for the springs? I've looked online and I can't find any aftermarket replacements, except for some kits that will lower the vehicle, which is something I don't want to do. I figured I'd have to get them from the dealer, but I wanted to check around first.

Anything else I should replace while I have the thing apart. I was thinking of doing the struts at the same time.

Thanks,
Paul

 

[ponchonutty]

Sorry, GM has this market cornered. No one has either springs OR shocks/struts for these so you have to buy GM

 

[medicrxdoc]

Sorry, GM has this market cornered. No one has either springs OR shocks/struts for these so you have to buy GM

False. Monroe has made a rear shock for a while and now they have a listing for a front strut. Front Sensa-Tract strut part#72518 and rear Sensa-Trac light truck shock part#37315. Never used them so I can't speak to their quality.

 

[bigblumer]

Yeah, I found the shocks. I can get 2 Monroes shipped to my house from Rock Auto for 87.00. ACDelco are a little less, but from what I have read, the ACDelcos aren't fantastic. I will pay the extra 7.00, and take the chance that the Monroes are a better part.

Its a shame that nobody has aftermarket shocks. The other lambda forums all have numerous stories of broken springs. I was hoping to try another brand, even if its also made in China, just in the hopes its a better part. Oh well. Here's to hoping they found a better supplier in the meantime.

 

[Andrewph]

Sorry, GM has this market cornered. No one has either springs OR shocks/struts for these so you have to buy GM

unity, bilstien, trq, and fcs all make shocks and strusts for our outlooks.... im replacing all my front and rear suspension, its all shots, every bushing gone. i went with mevotech ttx sway bar links up front, im looking at mevotech for the rest.. heavier than oem parts