Length: 5:16
Created: August 13, 2010
I’m Tyler with SuperATV. Today I am going to show you how to replace your springs. First off, you’re going to need four hookless ratchet straps, a vise mounted to a table, and maybe a cloth to help protect the shock when you tighten it in the vise. So, let’s get started.
Place the shock in the vise. Tighten it down. Once you have the shock secured into the vise, you’re going to get your first ratchet strap. You want to make sure you get the strap straightened all the way out. Take it and then fish it through here. You want to run the strap down the inside of the spring all the way to the bottom. You want to bring it through between the bottom one and the next one up. Bring your strap through and fish it through your ratchet. Get it snug up there and leave it loose.
[01:10] Then you are going to proceed to place the other three around this shock in an orderly manner so you can compress this spring straight down.
Once you’ve got all four ratchet straps evenly spaced around your shock, go around and slide the ratchet all the way to the top. Get that one started a little bit then tighten the one across from it a little bit. Then you’re going to ratchet them both down at the same time.
Go a couple of clicks then come over to the opposite two and you’re going to get them all the way to the top. Get that one started a little bit, get this one started a little bit. You’re just going to get a couple clicks in there. Go to the other set. Repeat until you get this spring compressed enough to get the ring off here. Once you get it far enough past where this thing comes out you want to take this piece off, slide this over and the shock will come right off. Be careful not to hit these, these two can smash your fingers.
Okay, now once you have removed the spring from the suspension here, you want to be careful taking these ratchets loose.
You just want to kind of get that there. Get that there, we’ll lift that. You just want to gradually let all the pressure off of this shock. There’s quite a bit of pressure on here so you want to be sure not to smash your fingers.
Alright, now for compressing your new spring. You want to go ahead and take your ratchet strap and notice where this top coil comes into the tight spot here. You want to go ahead and fish this strap down through here you don’t want to go all the way down to the bottom coil. Go in-between that one and you’re going to slide this around.
Go ahead and get it where the straps are going to be on the tightest part, which is right there, before you go to getting this one tight. So, once you kind of get that one started you’re going to do the same as like removing the spring. You’re going to place four of these around this spring so we can compress the spring down to put it back on your suspension.
Alright, now once you have placed all the four ratchet straps again, we are going to do the same technique we did when removing the old spring.
You’re just going to go around this gradually. So we want to make sure this spring compresses evenly down. As you can see, it’s starting to bend a little bit so you want to come over to this side. Make sure you got it straight. Start bringing that down. Be patient with this and just work them all down evenly. Make sure you don’t get the spring all crooked because that’s going to cause an issue when it comes to putting it on.
Next, we’re going to install the spring back onto the suspension. First, you want to look at, notice that one side of the spring is smaller than the other. You want to be sure that that smaller is facing upward. Another thing to look at is look down in the middle of that spring and make sure it looks pretty straight. Now, if it was to curve a little bit you want to ratchet the opposite side that it is curving to.
So, next you are just going to slide this down over the suspension. You are going to take your piece that you took off here and you are going to slide it under there.
Then, once again, you want to be very careful loosening these up one by one. Make sure that you keep, make sure that’s going to land right in the center of that. Once you get close, so you just kind of take you ratchet. Bust them all loose, remove your ratchet straps, and there you have a new spring on your suspension.
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Buying a new motorcycle can make you feel like you are on Cloud Nine. If it has the wrong suspension, however, it can feel more like an unruly petrol jackhammer relentlessly attacking your vertebral column.
People change their rear motorcycle shocks for a variety of reasons: to gain better performance and greater adjustability, to get suspension that is suited to the rider's weight and riding style, to change ride height, or just to replace worn-out parts with fresh new units. As long as you have the right tools (mainly the ability to handle Step 1), learning how to swap motorcycle shocks will take far less time than actually changing them, and changing them goes fast! That being said, there are a few tips and tricks that you can employ along the way to help increase efficiency, and decrease frustration as you go.
Keep in mind that this step-by-step how-to is strictly for twin-shock motorcycles. Changing the rear suspension on a single-shock motorcycle will obviously be a different job.
Changing the dual rear shocks on your motorcycle is not a hard task. In the end, it is four total fasteners that need to be taken out, and put right back in. That being said, the ease and efficiency of your experience all comes down to having the right tools for the task (as is generally the case).
For this job, the integral “tool” is a reliable way to lift the rear wheel of the bike off of the ground. Unless Paul Bunyan and the Mountain from GoT are on hand to hold your bike up in the air, the first thing you are going to need is some form of a motorcycle lift, chock, blocks, or overhead suspension system for keeping the rear tire elevated while you work away.
The most important part of changing rear shocks on a motorcycle is having the ability to lift the rear end off of the ground (safely!).
RevZilla photo.
Note: Consider the type of shocks you are adding to the motorcycle. Are you going taller or shorter than stock? If you are going taller, be sure that you have elevated the bike enough to allow the swingarm enough downward movement to accommodate the new shock length.
The ass end of your motorcycle is pretty heavy. Between the wheel, tire, brake caliper, rotor, and swingarm, there is far more weight back there than you are going to want to try to hold while also removing the bolts keeping your shocks in place. Supporting this portion of your motorcycle not only prevents the whole thing from crashing down upon removal of the fasteners, but it also makes that removal far easier in the first place by relieving the tension on each bolt.
A good method of supporting the rear wheel is to use a wooden block and wedge-shaped shims to slide under the tire. In addition to the wedge shape allowing for the shims to more easily snug up to the tire, the ability to further raise the wheel by pressing in on the wedges will come in handy for Step 4.
Wood blocks and shims are a great combination for supporting a rear tire while changing shocks. RevZilla photo.
Once you have the rear end of your bike elevated and the swingarm supported, you can get to breaking free the fasteners holding your current shocks in place. The best way to do this is to start at the bottom and remove the lower bolts first. Doing it in this order allows the weight of the shock to be supported from above and for the shock to swing free once the bottom bolt is taken out. If you do this in the reverse order and remove the top fasteners first, the shocks do not have as clear of a pathway to dangle freely.
Note: Most aftermarket shocks are going to have you reuse the stock hardware, so don’t go chucking stuff away at this point.
With the motorcycle elevated and the rear swingarm supported, removal of the shocks is a relatively simple process.
RevZilla photo.
Once you have the old shocks removed, it is time to attach the new ones. A good rule of thumb here is to start at the top and work your way down. In attaching the top bolt of one of the shocks first, you are able to better gauge just how much you will need to move the swingarm to properly line up the shocks and their mounting points. If the shocks you are adding to your motorcycle are exactly the same size from eyelet to eyelet as your old shocks, this is less of an issue. However, in all likelihood, the two shocks will be at least somewhat different, thus requiring a bit of maneuvering of the rear wheel on your part.
Another advantage of using wedge-shaped support blocks is that they make it easier to raise or lower the rear wheel when aligning new shocks. RevZilla photo.
This is where the second advantage of the shims, or other wedged blocks, comes into play.
Depending on how much you need to raise the tire (or lower it), the shims can efficiently accommodate the movement by either advancing the wedge further or pulling back.
Note: It is best to loosely assemble the fasteners on each side as you work your way through this step. Not only will this save you the headache of fully tightening, and then untightening if you are off the mark, but if you bolt down one side of your shocks too tightly, it may mask misalignment or swingarm bearing issues when you install the other side.
With both sets of shocks exactly where you want them and loosely installed, go ahead and fully secure each. If you are not a pro, this is a time when you are going to want to pull out a trusty torque wrench and refer to the factory service manual. It should go without saying that your motorcycle shocks are a critical part of your motorcycle, so snugging them down appropriately is equally as imperative.
Depending on how much you have altered your ride height, it is entirely possible that you will need to tweak some additional parts of your motorcycle at this point. The most notable instance of this is with regard to your kickstand.
If your motorcycle uses a side stand, and you drastically increase the size of your shocks, you may see your bike lean at an excessively acute angle. If you do the converse and shorten your shocks, it is possible to see your bike not lean enough. Either is an issue that will need to be addressed. Additionally, you will need check ground clearances for parts such as footpegs and low-slung exhausts, as altering the ride height could cause these to drag in corners.
With everything in place, fully tighten the new rear shocks to factory torque specs, check for any geometry issues with parts such as your kickstand, and have fun riding! RevZilla photo.
So that’s that.
A quick guide to changing your motorcycle suspension. In the end, if it sounds simple, that’s because it kind of is. For all of the high-tech features and intricacies of many motorcycles, the rear shock mounting setup is generally pretty basic. By far the hardest part will be getting your motorcycle into position, and then just paying attention to factory specs when fastening your new shocks in place. Once you become proficient in each of those aspects, changing your motorcycle shocks will be nothing more than a well-cushioned minor speed-bump on your way to a better ride.
For more information on the intricacies of motorcycle suspension, check out Lemmy’s Harley Suspension 201 article on Common Tread where he gets into the details of everything from the origins to the various styles and characteristics of a wide variety of motorcycle shocks. While the article is specifically geared for Harley’s, much of the info pertains to twin-shock motorcycles in general.
How to change the rear suspension springs (video on the example of VAZ) Replacing the rear springs is most often required in case of subsidence or breaking off of the coils. It is not necessary to delay the repair due to the complexity of the work, since even a novice motorist can handle the replacement with his own hands. We will show the repair procedure using the example of cars with an unsprung beam, which include cars: VAZ, Daewoo Lanos / Sens, Hyundai Solaris, Kia Rio, etc.
You can change the rear springs yourself even in the absence of an inspection hole (only a jack is sufficient). You can find out the dimensions of socket heads, ring wrenches necessary for unscrewing the upper or lower shock absorber mounts in the repair and operation manual for your car model. In some cases, the process will be greatly facilitated by the presence of two jacks.
Replacing the rear suspension springs will be much easier if you use special ties. For example, on a VAZ 2101, 2102, 2106, 2107, you can pull out the old one and install a new spring using a conventional installation, but the design of the rear suspension of many other cars will no longer allow such a trick.
We will show you how to change the rear springs without ties, but we recommend that you use this method only if absolutely necessary. The price of ties is not so high as to sacrifice your own safety.
We will demonstrate the replacement procedure using the VAZ 2101-2107 as an example. After reading the instructions, you can easily perform this procedure on another car, since the basic provisions apply to all types of rear suspension.
When tightening, make sure that the coils are tightly fixed with the legs of the ties. If the spring jumps out, it can cause serious injury!
Many vehicles have special slots in the upper and lower cups for fixing the outer coils. When installing, it is important not only to clean the seats from dirt, but also to monitor the correct location of the extreme turns.
Just on the VAZ 2101-2107, the upper rubber spacer, like the metal ring, has a special groove. In order not to guess the location of the spacer, before installation, secure it with adhesive tape to the upper turn, and then install it as an assembly in its seat. During the operation of the car, the rubber damper often sticks to the body, so a large impact screwdriver or crowbar is required to remove it.
We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the video, which shows the process of self-replacement well.
The springs must be changed in pairs - on both sides of the axle at once.
This type of beam is installed on Daewoo Lanos, Opel Astra F, Vectra A and many other foreign cars. In order not to tear the silent blocks, it is advisable to unscrew their fasteners. In case of detection of defects in rubber products, we recommend replacing the silent blocks of the rear beam along the way. Please note that the replacement must be done one by one, since the beam is attached to the body only with silent blocks and shock absorbers.
If you can do without ties on the VAZ classic, then on many other cars, removing old and installing new springs without tightening is simply impossible.
In the absence of a puller, you can get out of the situation as follows:
Only use this replacement method if safe repair methods cannot be used!
If they have not sagged and all the coils are in place, then it is not necessary to change the springs when replacing the suspension struts.
The suspension of a modern car consists of many elements and parts that are complex in design.
All of them have and perform their functions, but their ultimate purpose boils down to one thing - ensuring the correct operation of the suspension spring. The main purpose of the spring is to compensate for unevenness in the roadway by absorbing shocks and vibrations. Compressing and stretching, it ensures the safety of the ride, the smoothness and comfort of the car. Despite the simplicity of design and reliability, these parts, like all others, have wear properties. When a part becomes unusable, a motorist has a logical question - how to change the rear springs? The article will tell you how to carry out this event yourself.
Replacing the rear springs is fairly easy
Contents
Experienced auto mechanics argue that the replacement of springs on a car should be carried out when their mechanical damage is detected or the car's draft increases.
There are only two reasons for the occurrence of such malfunctions - long-term operation and difficult conditions during it. More precisely, the need to replace the springs can be determined by a number of signs, the most common of which are:
When carrying out such work in a car service, depending on the make and model of the car, mechanics use different technologies, tools, equipment, and even the place of work - a viewing hole, an overpass, a lift. However, how to change the springs on the rack, without professional equipment? It turns out that everything is much simpler than many imagined.
Springs can also be changed at home
Many auto mechanics say that it is best to carry out work on self-replacement of springs in a viewing hole. They note that other methods are extremely inconvenient. However, as practice shows, "Russian ingenuity", a jack and a log can work wonders.
Directly for the work you need to prepare some tools:
The replacement itself takes place in several stages, let's consider this process step by step.
Replacing the springs on the lift - much more convenient
