DIY coil over install tips
03-10-2015, 06:50 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
DIY coil over install tips
Hey guys .....
If your thinking about a DIY Coil Over install ... Its not too bad ( if you can Change your own oil ... you can do this ) so dont be afraid to do this job yourself ... it will save you a bundle on install fees anywhere from 200-500.00 or more ... If you decide to do the install here are a couple issues that I came across when Installing my FOX 2.0 Performance Coil Overs on my 2013 f150 .. (these tips work for any brand ) Sorry no pics other than after they were installed ....
First off you will need a good floor jack and jack stands , second make sure you have the sockets and wrenches you need before you start the job ....(an impact wrench is the best way to go if you have one ) and a 1/2 drive torque wrench if you can get one ... sockets you need ... a 27 mm and a 29 mm for the lower shock mount bolts , and 21mm UCA ball joint and tie rod , and 15mm oem (top Mount bolts) the FoX 2.0 came with I believe 17mm replacement nuts , you'll also need a big sledge hammer .... In most of the videos I watched , when they took apart the tie rod and UCA ball joint they just tapped it and they came apart ...... another member and myself installed the Fox coil overs separately but PMed back and forth prior and after the install ...... Both of us had trouble with those joints ... when they say tap it and it comes loose .... not in our case .. you have to beat on it hard to break them free , so dont be bashful whack it with a sledge hammer if need be , It also helps to remove the bolts holding the lines to the wheel to free them up from over stretching , remove your end links so the LCA will drop down far enough to remove the old coil over and install the new one ..... also Be sure to support the spindle prior to breaking the joint free or it will just fall and stretch or break the lines . The oem coil over should come out fairly easy when you have everything out of the way .....
When your putting the new coil over in place be sure to line the bolts with the holes before you try stick it up in the hat (top Mount) , its hard to try and feel for them while holding the coil over in one hand and hard to see in low light , took me a while on the first one because I had poor lighting .... Once the top is in the upper hat the bottom will slide in but its real tight and takes some finagling to get it in there , I used a jack to help line up the bolt holes ... also I would grease the billet bushing so they dont make noise from dirt getting inside them ...... I just wanted to save some of you from being as frustrated as we were .. If Id had this info prior to my install , it woulda only took a couple hrs and saved a ton of frustration and cussing .. and now that its all done the ride is absolutely great , the eibach 650 lb coil springs pretty much eliminated the body roll , there is really no comparison between the ride of these Fox 2.0 coil overs and the Pro Comp Pro runner coil overs other than they both level the truck , .. I use to think the Pro Comp Pro Runners were pretty good until I swapped them out for these Fox 2.0 's ..... Im just going to say that the Pro Comp Pro Runners are far better than the oem shock and will level your truck but are really harsh compared to the smoothness of the FOX ... Its Day and Night ... But then again so is the cost ... Broke my own rule .. buy nice or buy twice .... Now all I need are the rear set .. these Pro Runners in the rear are not up to par ... BTW ... I forgot to measure before I started and really dont plan on doing so but as you can see the Fox 2.0's are set to dead level from the factory so If that's what you want .. save yourself the 30.00 and dont buy the Spanner wrench .... But ... if you do want one .. look on ebay or amazon they can be found for pennies on the dollar 3.00 free shipping ....
Im happy to say my 2013 f150 4x4 now rides much more like a truck than a bus ... Props to those guys at FOX
If your thinking about a DIY Coil Over install ... Its not too bad ( if you can Change your own oil ... you can do this ) so dont be afraid to do this job yourself ... it will save you a bundle on install fees anywhere from 200-500.00 or more ... If you decide to do the install here are a couple issues that I came across when Installing my FOX 2.0 Performance Coil Overs on my 2013 f150 .. (these tips work for any brand ) Sorry no pics other than after they were installed ....
First off you will need a good floor jack and jack stands , second make sure you have the sockets and wrenches you need before you start the job ....(an impact wrench is the best way to go if you have one ) and a 1/2 drive torque wrench if you can get one ... sockets you need ... a 27 mm and a 29 mm for the lower shock mount bolts , and 21mm UCA ball joint and tie rod , and 15mm oem (top Mount bolts) the FoX 2.0 came with I believe 17mm replacement nuts , you'll also need a big sledge hammer .... In most of the videos I watched , when they took apart the tie rod and UCA ball joint they just tapped it and they came apart ...... another member and myself installed the Fox coil overs separately but PMed back and forth prior and after the install ...... Both of us had trouble with those joints ... when they say tap it and it comes loose .... not in our case .. you have to beat on it hard to break them free , so dont be bashful whack it with a sledge hammer if need be , It also helps to remove the bolts holding the lines to the wheel to free them up from over stretching , remove your end links so the LCA will drop down far enough to remove the old coil over and install the new one ..... also Be sure to support the spindle prior to breaking the joint free or it will just fall and stretch or break the lines . The oem coil over should come out fairly easy when you have everything out of the way .....
When your putting the new coil over in place be sure to line the bolts with the holes before you try stick it up in the hat (top Mount) , its hard to try and feel for them while holding the coil over in one hand and hard to see in low light , took me a while on the first one because I had poor lighting .... Once the top is in the upper hat the bottom will slide in but its real tight and takes some finagling to get it in there , I used a jack to help line up the bolt holes ... also I would grease the billet bushing so they dont make noise from dirt getting inside them ...... I just wanted to save some of you from being as frustrated as we were .. If Id had this info prior to my install , it woulda only took a couple hrs and saved a ton of frustration and cussing .. and now that its all done the ride is absolutely great , the eibach 650 lb coil springs pretty much eliminated the body roll , there is really no comparison between the ride of these Fox 2.0 coil overs and the Pro Comp Pro runner coil overs other than they both level the truck , .. I use to think the Pro Comp Pro Runners were pretty good until I swapped them out for these Fox 2.0 's ..... Im just going to say that the Pro Comp Pro Runners are far better than the oem shock and will level your truck but are really harsh compared to the smoothness of the FOX ... Its Day and Night ... But then again so is the cost ... Broke my own rule .. buy nice or buy twice .... Now all I need are the rear set .. these Pro Runners in the rear are not up to par ... BTW ... I forgot to measure before I started and really dont plan on doing so but as you can see the Fox 2.0's are set to dead level from the factory so If that's what you want .. save yourself the 30.00 and dont buy the Spanner wrench .... But ... if you do want one .. look on ebay or amazon they can be found for pennies on the dollar 3.00 free shipping ....
Im happy to say my 2013 f150 4x4 now rides much more like a truck than a bus ... Props to those guys at FOX
The following 3 users liked this post by GotHonks?:
03-10-2015, 07:50 PM
#2
Not bad, and pretty good information. I hope you do not mind if I add a bit of extra information that I ran into, and some others might as well.
depending on what lift setting you have the coilovers set at when they are sent to you (some are at 2", some 2.5, others will set to what you want up to 3") you may or may not be able to get the lower control arm down far enough to leverage the lower shock mount into the little cradle. Don't forget to disconnect the sway bar from the end link. If you have a socket large enough one option is to remove the axle nut and let the axle out of the hub to give you more travel to get the axle end into the cradle.
If you were like me and didnt have a socket large enough to pull off the axle nut (or just didnt think about it at the time either) you can take a drastically different approach which may be easier for you and certainly was for me. Drop the LCA off the frame. It needs some pretty large wrenches/sockets but I gave up on trying to shoe horn in the strut bottom after 3 hours and just bought the wrenches and dropped the LCA off the truck frame. The lower mounts are where you also do alignment settings, so mark where the bolts are before you loosen. Also this might be a good time to add the Moog/SPC cam nuts and alignment plate. You will need a rolling floor jack to be able to re-align and get the LCA back up in there, though I used two to make it a bit easier.
Worst case scenario option. This requires you to have the spanner for adjustment, but will work with more time and less tools. Reduce the built in lift. First measure the distance from the bottom of the threads on the shock body and the bottom of the collar. Write it down. then use the spanner and turn the collar to lower it down the shock body. you are not essentially making it "shorter" but you are reducing the spring tension and this will make it easier to leverage it into the cradle on the LCA. Once you get it in, simply raise it back up to where the measurement was. This way is not ideal by any means, but it's another possible solution if you are banging your head against the wall and simply are out of other options. The final step for this method is kinda time consuming. Once both sides are on measure the distance from the muddle of the wheel hub to the top of the wheel arch. make sure both sides are equal.
Coilovers being installed is not hard, but there are a LOT of potential hurdles that can really trouble someone that is not overly comfortable with: dumping hours with trying to leverage in a shock mount, break a hammer off trying to knock a ball joint out (happened to me), or not knowing what the next step is if "for some reason" it's not working out the way everyone else said it does. So, have options at the ready if the "normal way" just doesn't work. Best recommendation is to have a friend in case you find the need for a second set of hands, or find a tool while you are occupied, assist in applying force or simple reassurance. If possible, take the wheel off and look through the instructions and walk through what you need to do in a dry run. put the wheel back on, attain missing or needed parts/tools, then try the next day or weekend.
I know that some of these ideas and suggestions are "not needed" or stupid, but if you know exactly what you are doing then these suggestions are not for you. Between rare instances, my own experience, and reading other threads there is always the possibility that it's just not going to work like planned. Never hurts to know of other possible avenues. When in doubt, reach out to us here. Lots of us are willing to help. Good luck and happy wrenching.
depending on what lift setting you have the coilovers set at when they are sent to you (some are at 2", some 2.5, others will set to what you want up to 3") you may or may not be able to get the lower control arm down far enough to leverage the lower shock mount into the little cradle. Don't forget to disconnect the sway bar from the end link. If you have a socket large enough one option is to remove the axle nut and let the axle out of the hub to give you more travel to get the axle end into the cradle.
If you were like me and didnt have a socket large enough to pull off the axle nut (or just didnt think about it at the time either) you can take a drastically different approach which may be easier for you and certainly was for me. Drop the LCA off the frame. It needs some pretty large wrenches/sockets but I gave up on trying to shoe horn in the strut bottom after 3 hours and just bought the wrenches and dropped the LCA off the truck frame. The lower mounts are where you also do alignment settings, so mark where the bolts are before you loosen. Also this might be a good time to add the Moog/SPC cam nuts and alignment plate. You will need a rolling floor jack to be able to re-align and get the LCA back up in there, though I used two to make it a bit easier.
Worst case scenario option. This requires you to have the spanner for adjustment, but will work with more time and less tools. Reduce the built in lift. First measure the distance from the bottom of the threads on the shock body and the bottom of the collar. Write it down. then use the spanner and turn the collar to lower it down the shock body. you are not essentially making it "shorter" but you are reducing the spring tension and this will make it easier to leverage it into the cradle on the LCA. Once you get it in, simply raise it back up to where the measurement was. This way is not ideal by any means, but it's another possible solution if you are banging your head against the wall and simply are out of other options. The final step for this method is kinda time consuming. Once both sides are on measure the distance from the muddle of the wheel hub to the top of the wheel arch. make sure both sides are equal.
Coilovers being installed is not hard, but there are a LOT of potential hurdles that can really trouble someone that is not overly comfortable with: dumping hours with trying to leverage in a shock mount, break a hammer off trying to knock a ball joint out (happened to me), or not knowing what the next step is if "for some reason" it's not working out the way everyone else said it does. So, have options at the ready if the "normal way" just doesn't work. Best recommendation is to have a friend in case you find the need for a second set of hands, or find a tool while you are occupied, assist in applying force or simple reassurance. If possible, take the wheel off and look through the instructions and walk through what you need to do in a dry run. put the wheel back on, attain missing or needed parts/tools, then try the next day or weekend.
I know that some of these ideas and suggestions are "not needed" or stupid, but if you know exactly what you are doing then these suggestions are not for you. Between rare instances, my own experience, and reading other threads there is always the possibility that it's just not going to work like planned. Never hurts to know of other possible avenues. When in doubt, reach out to us here. Lots of us are willing to help. Good luck and happy wrenching.
The following 2 users liked this post by torinalth:
dieselhunter44 (03-11-2015),
GotHonks? (03-10-2015)
03-10-2015, 09:44 PM
#3
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Yes , by all means
Heck that's what I'd like to see , anybody that has done their own coil over installs and issues they may have had ..... Lots of threads on how to install coil overs but not many tell you what to do when things don't go exactly as the instructions say .... Please chime in , hopefully we can help others install go a little smoother with this info ....
That is the kind of valuable info that I'm talking about .... Thank you !
That is the kind of valuable info that I'm talking about .... Thank you !
Last edited by GotHonks?; 03-10-2015 at 09:51 PM.
03-10-2015, 10:03 PM
#4
Haha.....
And then proceed to a long novel with struggles on how to do it. Unfortunately changing out coilovers is not as easy as changing your oil.
Pictures would definitely help the write up as I'm sure many people don't know the names of each part.
Other than that- good work.
03-10-2015, 10:46 PM
#6
Something to note, since you have a 2014 you may want to look into the differences and needed changes for install process. BEcause the 2014 has a cross bar going on top of the LCA as opposed to the lower shock mounting going into a cradle with a retention bolt, I've read that people HAVE to drop the LCA off the frame. I read this more than once, but it's possible to be done other ways I'm sure. Ask Alex to clarify this for you. If so then follow my insight for the process and if you need to know the bolt and nut mesurements (for the wrenches or sockets to get off the LCA) let me know and I can see what ones fit. I had to buy one wrench for sure, but I think I reused another socket from an axle nut on a different car.
03-11-2015, 01:33 PM
#8
Something to note, since you have a 2014 you may want to look into the differences and needed changes for install process. BEcause the 2014 has a cross bar going on top of the LCA as opposed to the lower shock mounting going into a cradle with a retention bolt, I've read that people HAVE to drop the LCA off the frame. I read this more than once, but it's possible to be done other ways I'm sure. Ask Alex to clarify this for you. If so then follow my insight for the process and if you need to know the bolt and nut mesurements (for the wrenches or sockets to get off the LCA) let me know and I can see what ones fit. I had to buy one wrench for sure, but I think I reused another socket from an axle nut on a different car.