Shock absorber replacement on 1991 Accord?
Good morning.
How is shock replacement as a do-it-yourself project on a 1991 Accord? I assume I will need a spring compressor. Any other special tools? Is this a reasonable project to tackle myself, or is it likely to be a world of hurt? Thanks -Mark |
Re: Shock absorber replacement on 1991 Accord?
Having just done the same on a 98 civic, here are some insights:
1. Rusty bolts - depending where you live, if there's alot of salt on the roads in winter, lots of these bolts will be seized and very difficult to remove. Highly recommend you have an air impact driver with a good supply of air. Tegger has also indicated success with a higher quality electric impact gun, but I haven't actually found one that compares to the 650ft-lb air gun I use. and LOTS of penetrating oil. The impact makes it easier with the spring compressors too. 2. Shock mount collar placement - The hardest part of reassembling the strut is to ensure that the mounting collar is in the right position. Since the spring compressor you will use is probably similar to the one I used, I found that when decompressing, the arms on the tool tended to shift. This caused the collar to move, thus putting it into the wrong position when the spring was fully decompressed. All thats required here is a good eye and lots of patience. Or the right tools... perhaps a jig of some sort would have helped me in this regard. Make sure you mark the position on the old shocks. The shop manual is invaluable for this too. 3. Hardware - make sure you move over all of the old hardware from the old shocks. Bump stops, washers, sleeves, etc... these are not provided with new shocks (unless maybe OEM), and I didn't do the bump stops the first time around. Guess what, I got to take it apart AGAIN... Now I'm good at it though. The reason I forgot the bump stops is that I thought they were fused to the old shocks. It took some work, but I got the washer off that holds them on. 4. Torque - remember to torque any bolts that are in rubber mounts when the tires are on the ground. 5. Scope Creep - be prepared for the scope of this project to get well out of hand. I had to shell out for a bunch more crap than just shocks. Since I already had everything apart, I ended up springing for: 1. passenger lower ball joint - $60 2. passenger upper control arm - $100 3. passenger tie rod end - $45 4. rear upper arms - $110 5. front brake calipers - $130 6. Monroe Sensitrac shock absorbers - $450 7. driver front wheel bearing - $90 (installed) 8. 2 new front tires Falken Ziex 512- $250 9. 4 wheel alignment - $80 10. Bolts I busted - $30 (2 from the dealer... what a rip!) Total: $1345.00 OUCH All of these parts were purchased from my FLAPS. I would have done OEM, but the cost would have been at least 30-40% higher. We'll see if I regret going non-OEM. Please note that I am located in Canada. Autoparts and tires are definitely more expensive up here, so make sure you shop around, if you're in the US you will definitely get your parts cheaper. Also, make sure you inspect the bushing in the rear lower trailing arm. Tegger and Jim Beam have more information on this. As I aluded to earlier, in addition to your spring compressors, I would recommend you have the following tools handy: Air Compressor Impact gun Hardened sockets to use on impact gun angle grinder Good shop manual (try hondahookup.com if you don't have a factory manual. Hayne's isn't good enough to rely on solely) Good pry bar Job took me about 5-6 hours. (cumulatively, stop and start) Good luck! Terry in Winnipeg Mark G. wrote: >Good morning. > >How is shock replacement as a do-it-yourself project on a 1991 Accord? I >assume I will need a spring compressor. Any other special tools? Is this a >reasonable project to tackle myself, or is it likely to be a world of hurt? > >Thanks >-Mark -- Message posted via CarKB.com http://www.carkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...-cars/200709/1 |
Re: Shock absorber replacement on 1991 Accord?
Having just done the same on a 98 civic, here are some insights:
1. Rusty bolts - depending where you live, if there's alot of salt on the roads in winter, lots of these bolts will be seized and very difficult to remove. Highly recommend you have an air impact driver with a good supply of air. Tegger has also indicated success with a higher quality electric impact gun, but I haven't actually found one that compares to the 650ft-lb air gun I use. and LOTS of penetrating oil. The impact makes it easier with the spring compressors too. 2. Shock mount collar placement - The hardest part of reassembling the strut is to ensure that the mounting collar is in the right position. Since the spring compressor you will use is probably similar to the one I used, I found that when decompressing, the arms on the tool tended to shift. This caused the collar to move, thus putting it into the wrong position when the spring was fully decompressed. All thats required here is a good eye and lots of patience. Or the right tools... perhaps a jig of some sort would have helped me in this regard. Make sure you mark the position on the old shocks. The shop manual is invaluable for this too. 3. Hardware - make sure you move over all of the old hardware from the old shocks. Bump stops, washers, sleeves, etc... these are not provided with new shocks (unless maybe OEM), and I didn't do the bump stops the first time around. Guess what, I got to take it apart AGAIN... Now I'm good at it though. The reason I forgot the bump stops is that I thought they were fused to the old shocks. It took some work, but I got the washer off that holds them on. 4. Torque - remember to torque any bolts that are in rubber mounts when the tires are on the ground. 5. Scope Creep - be prepared for the scope of this project to get well out of hand. I had to shell out for a bunch more crap than just shocks. Since I already had everything apart, I ended up springing for: 1. passenger lower ball joint - $60 2. passenger upper control arm - $100 3. passenger tie rod end - $45 4. rear upper arms - $110 5. front brake calipers - $130 6. Monroe Sensitrac shock absorbers - $450 7. driver front wheel bearing - $90 (installed) 8. 2 new front tires Falken Ziex 512- $250 9. 4 wheel alignment - $80 10. Bolts I busted - $30 (2 from the dealer... what a rip!) Total: $1345.00 OUCH All of these parts were purchased from my FLAPS. I would have done OEM, but the cost would have been at least 30-40% higher. We'll see if I regret going non-OEM. Please note that I am located in Canada. Autoparts and tires are definitely more expensive up here, so make sure you shop around, if you're in the US you will definitely get your parts cheaper. Also, make sure you inspect the bushing in the rear lower trailing arm. Tegger and Jim Beam have more information on this. As I aluded to earlier, in addition to your spring compressors, I would recommend you have the following tools handy: Air Compressor Impact gun Hardened sockets to use on impact gun angle grinder Good shop manual (try hondahookup.com if you don't have a factory manual. Hayne's isn't good enough to rely on solely) Good pry bar Job took me about 5-6 hours. (cumulatively, stop and start) Good luck! Terry in Winnipeg Mark G. wrote: >Good morning. > >How is shock replacement as a do-it-yourself project on a 1991 Accord? I >assume I will need a spring compressor. Any other special tools? Is this a >reasonable project to tackle myself, or is it likely to be a world of hurt? > >Thanks >-Mark -- Message posted via CarKB.com http://www.carkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...-cars/200709/1 |
Re: Shock absorber replacement on 1991 Accord?
"loewent via CarKB.com" <u10197@uwe> wrote:
> > 5. Scope Creep - be prepared for the scope of this project to get well > out > of hand. I had to shell out for a bunch more crap than just shocks. Good point. I meant to ask about this, and I forgot. It seems sensible to me to replace suspension parts at the same time, since my car has 180k miles on it. Why did you need to replace the various control arms? I heard a rumor that the rear trailing arm bushings can be purchased separately from new trailing arms, if you can figure out the part number. Can anyone shed any light on this? And again, what tools would be required to replace them? |
Re: Shock absorber replacement on 1991 Accord?
"loewent via CarKB.com" <u10197@uwe> wrote:
> > 5. Scope Creep - be prepared for the scope of this project to get well > out > of hand. I had to shell out for a bunch more crap than just shocks. Good point. I meant to ask about this, and I forgot. It seems sensible to me to replace suspension parts at the same time, since my car has 180k miles on it. Why did you need to replace the various control arms? I heard a rumor that the rear trailing arm bushings can be purchased separately from new trailing arms, if you can figure out the part number. Can anyone shed any light on this? And again, what tools would be required to replace them? |
Re: Shock absorber replacement on 1991 Accord?
my rear upper arms' bushings were worn out.
You are correct on the bushing, I believe Tegger has had some luck finding the Part number. At the very least, you have the car apart already. It gives you a great opportunity to check over your suspension parts, and replace any weak ones. Thats exactly what I did. And then some, because I have had my share of working on my car for some time.... :) t Mark G. wrote: >> 5. Scope Creep - be prepared for the scope of this project to get well >> out >> of hand. I had to shell out for a bunch more crap than just shocks. > >Good point. I meant to ask about this, and I forgot. It seems sensible to me >to replace suspension parts at the same time, since my car has 180k miles on >it. > >Why did you need to replace the various control arms? I heard a rumor that >the rear trailing arm bushings can be purchased separately from new trailing >arms, if you can figure out the part number. Can anyone shed any light on >this? And again, what tools would be required to replace them? -- Message posted via CarKB.com http://www.carkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...-cars/200709/1 |
Re: Shock absorber replacement on 1991 Accord?
my rear upper arms' bushings were worn out.
You are correct on the bushing, I believe Tegger has had some luck finding the Part number. At the very least, you have the car apart already. It gives you a great opportunity to check over your suspension parts, and replace any weak ones. Thats exactly what I did. And then some, because I have had my share of working on my car for some time.... :) t Mark G. wrote: >> 5. Scope Creep - be prepared for the scope of this project to get well >> out >> of hand. I had to shell out for a bunch more crap than just shocks. > >Good point. I meant to ask about this, and I forgot. It seems sensible to me >to replace suspension parts at the same time, since my car has 180k miles on >it. > >Why did you need to replace the various control arms? I heard a rumor that >the rear trailing arm bushings can be purchased separately from new trailing >arms, if you can figure out the part number. Can anyone shed any light on >this? And again, what tools would be required to replace them? -- Message posted via CarKB.com http://www.carkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...-cars/200709/1 |
Re: Shock absorber replacement on 1991 Accord?
"Mark G." <anon40629@hotmail.com> wrote
> I heard a rumor that the rear trailing arm bushings can be > purchased separately from new trailing arms, if you can > figure out the part number. Can anyone shed any light on > this? > And again, what tools would be required to replace them? I know what you propose is true for c. 1990 Civics, but I am not so sure it is for your Accord. The 91 accord's Trailing Arm is very different from the 91 Civic's. For Civics, the TA bushings may be purchased separately. One may also purchase the tool from places like Ebay (where the description refers to using the tool only on certain years of the Civic, CRX, del Sol, and Acura Integra. For some ideas on where to investigate further, maybe see the following: http://home.earthlink.net/~honda.lio...tml#tabushings |
Re: Shock absorber replacement on 1991 Accord?
"Mark G." <anon40629@hotmail.com> wrote
> I heard a rumor that the rear trailing arm bushings can be > purchased separately from new trailing arms, if you can > figure out the part number. Can anyone shed any light on > this? > And again, what tools would be required to replace them? I know what you propose is true for c. 1990 Civics, but I am not so sure it is for your Accord. The 91 accord's Trailing Arm is very different from the 91 Civic's. For Civics, the TA bushings may be purchased separately. One may also purchase the tool from places like Ebay (where the description refers to using the tool only on certain years of the Civic, CRX, del Sol, and Acura Integra. For some ideas on where to investigate further, maybe see the following: http://home.earthlink.net/~honda.lio...tml#tabushings |
Re: Shock absorber replacement on 1991 Accord?
Great info, thanks everyone.
Any recommendations for make/model of replacement shocks to use here in the USA? I'll be doing all four corners of the car. It's my daily driver, not a racer. Also, is it possible to use an impact driver with a "pancake" air compressor, even in short bursts? Thanks -Mark |
Re: Shock absorber replacement on 1991 Accord?
Great info, thanks everyone.
Any recommendations for make/model of replacement shocks to use here in the USA? I'll be doing all four corners of the car. It's my daily driver, not a racer. Also, is it possible to use an impact driver with a "pancake" air compressor, even in short bursts? Thanks -Mark |
Re: Shock absorber replacement on 1991 Accord?
What symptoms does your Accord have that suggest the shock
absorber needs replacement? I replaced the springs on my 91 Civic, but the shock absorbers themselves showed no signs of leakage and seemed to work fine by the usual test (push and watch how they release). Even the springs might have been overkill. Control arm bushings and ball joints are another matter. For 1991, the bushings in particular may be due. "Mark G." <anon40629@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:1189088350.180736@bubbleator.drizzle.com... > Great info, thanks everyone. > > Any recommendations for make/model of replacement shocks > to use here in the USA? I'll be doing all four corners of > the car. It's my daily driver, not a racer. > > Also, is it possible to use an impact driver with a > "pancake" air compressor, even in short bursts? > > Thanks > -Mark > > > > |
Re: Shock absorber replacement on 1991 Accord?
What symptoms does your Accord have that suggest the shock
absorber needs replacement? I replaced the springs on my 91 Civic, but the shock absorbers themselves showed no signs of leakage and seemed to work fine by the usual test (push and watch how they release). Even the springs might have been overkill. Control arm bushings and ball joints are another matter. For 1991, the bushings in particular may be due. "Mark G." <anon40629@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:1189088350.180736@bubbleator.drizzle.com... > Great info, thanks everyone. > > Any recommendations for make/model of replacement shocks > to use here in the USA? I'll be doing all four corners of > the car. It's my daily driver, not a racer. > > Also, is it possible to use an impact driver with a > "pancake" air compressor, even in short bursts? > > Thanks > -Mark > > > > |
Re: Shock absorber replacement on 1991 Accord?
"Elle" <honda.lioness@nospam.earthlink.net> wrote:
> What symptoms does your Accord have that suggest the shock absorber needs > replacement? The car wallows like a pig. The nose dances up and down after braking. It's definitely past-due for new shocks. -Mark |
Re: Shock absorber replacement on 1991 Accord?
"Elle" <honda.lioness@nospam.earthlink.net> wrote:
> What symptoms does your Accord have that suggest the shock absorber needs > replacement? The car wallows like a pig. The nose dances up and down after braking. It's definitely past-due for new shocks. -Mark |
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