Hey guys, I'll be installing a set of Swift lowering springs on my '05 next weekend. the install seems pretty straight forward except the part about preloading the suspension before torquing everything down. Couple questions...

First off, where should I jack the suspension from when preloading? Is it safe to just use the lower control arm as a jack point?

Second, is there a specific order I should torque things down (ex. upper control arm bolts first, shock to control arm second, etc?

Thanks in advance!

 

Yes you can jack on the LCA. I didn't torque my suspension in any order.

 

If you're lowering by .5'', the easiest way to do it is to measure the suspension at stock height first.

Lets say 14'' from top of the fender well to the hub center.

Then take out your old suspension, leave the bolts loose or loosen bolts that you need to. Some bolts on the RLCA do not need to come off when you install, but do need to be loosed for clocking.

Jack up the LCA with NO suspension in it to 13.5'' from fender well top to hub center. Tighten all the bolts on that corner. Then repeat for the other corners.

You dont have to worry about where to jack it up, etc. etc. With no suspension in there, you only need very little pressure to raise up the suspension.

 

Maybe I'm missing something but I was under the impression that I needed to have the shock assembly in place before preloading and torquing everything down??

 

only for the shock. forgot to mention that. For the shocks, you will need to preload the suspension with the suspension in.

But for everything else, you dont need to.

Front: UCA to chassis
Rear: LCA to chassis (2 spots), LCA to shock and UCA to chassis (IIRC).

 

I successfully installed the H&R springs last night.
I had the car on jack stands and jacked up the LCA to kinda simulate a load on the suspension.
The rears went on very easy. I was pleasantly surprised as I was informed that it's a b!tch to install the rears.

Dan

 

Thanks for the replies everyone!