Installing rear drop springs on your Neon is fairly simple assuming that you have some knowledge in automotive maintenence and repairs. You will not need a spring compressor in order to install springs on the rear.
Tools you will need:
- car lift jack and safety stand
- spark plug socket
- 10mm socket, 1/4 drive
- 1/4 drive extension
- 1/4 drive ratchet
- a wrench or vise grip pliers
- ratchet and socket to remove your rear tires
- torque wrench
- WD-40
Overview:
We are going to use the weight of the car to our advantage in order to remove the rear springs. First we will remove the nut that holds the strut to the strut top hat. Next we'll remove the tire, jack the car up and let the spring decompress which will force the suspension down. Then we will remove the old spring and replace it with the new one. Finally we will do the above in reverse order to complete the install.
Start by pulling the trunk carpet back to expose the rear strut towers.
These are the tools you will need to remove the nut that holds the strut to the top hat.
Remove the rubber piece from the spark plug socket if it contains one. Insert the 1/4 drive extension into the spark plug socket.
Attach the 10mm socket to the drive extension.
Now using the socket setup and the wrench or vise grip pliers, remove the nut. Give the nut and threads a shot of WD-40 first to help it come off easier.
Jack up your car and remove the tire. Your strut and spring should still be connected at this point.
Now step on your rear suspension setup to decompress the spring and lower your suspension. BE CAREFUL!! Dont place your fingers anywhere inside the wheel well or under the suspension when you do this! It should look something like this when it finally releases.
In order to remove the spring, you will need to compress the strut plunger (correct term?) with your hands. Keeping the strut plunger compressed, you'll need to twist the spring out of place.
I recommend placing a safety stand somewhere under the car just in case the jack slips off the car. Use common sense and be careful!
STOP. Now is a real good time to clean your strut and wheel well. If you want to spay some rust proofing in your wheel well, do it now!
Installing the new spring is the exact opposite of removing. Installing the strut plunger back into the strut top hat will require a lot of force. You'll need to compress the plunger some and just keep pushing until it finally lines up with the hole. Make sure the spring is sitting in the rubber spring bushings correctly.
Now just tighten the strut nut, re-install your wheel, torque your lug nuts, and you're done
I installed used SRT-4 springs. Here are the before and after results. Didn't really drop the car that much. I'm hoping it will settle some with time.
Before:
After:
Stock and SRT-4 springs.
Comments and corrections are welcome
But good to know that someone tried it another way.
