Changing Front Shock Absorbers (Honda Civic 1999 EK3)!

My ten year shocks in my honda civic 1999 needed changing. Ride was bumpy plus the front had dropped approximately 2 inches lower for about 6 years now.

Here is the pic of the old and new shocks. First I needed to take the old one out.

Safety First!

Handbrake up, back wheels chucked, safety stand on the front support of the car. I used power lube on all the bolts and nuts involved in this job.

Honda Instructions.

As per the service manual l removed the old and installed the new!

Remove the Brake Line Bolts.

Two 10mm bolts I removed. I initially used my electric wrench but the noise from that device always made my ears ring! So back to hand tools.

Remove the Pinch Bolt.

A 14mm bolt was removed next to free up the fork.

Remove the Fork Bolt and Nut.

I used two 17mm sockets to remove the bolt and nut.

Remove the Shock Absorber Nuts.

Two 14mm nuts were easy to take out.

Getting That Old Absorber Out.

Basically the old absorber slid out between the drive shaft and the outer tie rod. The hub needing a little hand lifting to make the removal easy.

Removing the Old Absorber and Install the New One.

Spring clamps to remove the old and install the new. I made sure to get the spring base into its groove. Installation is the reverse of removal however the final torque tightening is done when the suspension is jacked to the height when the car is sitting on its own. For my car that is 14 inches from inside of the well to the spindle nut centre.

I used my digital Torque tool to get it right. Now the car rides sweet. Also it's a bit higher so no more scraping on speed bumps!