daltmeyer
08-15-2013, 07:23 PM
So I just went ahead and ordered the Progressive fronts(435-1000) and the rear shock(465-1180) from Phat Performance Parts. They had the best prices as far as I could tell.
Then.. They arrived.
May as well slap em on!
Started at the rear. One thing to notice is the mounting points of the new rear shock has ball joints. And yes thats the correct shock according to my phone call to Progressive. You wont go through the trouble I did of worrying why you can move the shock a little bit after installation as I didnt realize it was a ball joint until after I took it back off and noticed the movement is part of the design... I thought I had the wrong shock or they put the wrong bushings in it. So back on it goes... and on to the fronts.
For the fronts, you have to remove the two side panels right under where the gas tank should be. This reveals the last screw holding the panel you really need off which is the panel around the fog lamp area. If you have fog lamps installed like me, its going to be a tight fit getting your hands, wrench, and ratchet in there. You could probably just remove the fog lamps but I didnt. I just unplugged them to get the wire out of the way and pushed on, with slow, tight, hand pinching success.
The old ones come out somehow. Once you get the shocks loose and theyre in your hand trying to get them out of there you might be puzzled. But they do come out. Find the right angle on accident like I did or you can take off the lower a arm plastic piece like I shouldve done. 4 8mm bolts and theyre off but I didnt bother or think of it at the time.
Get the new ones in somehow. Be carefull not to lose any of the little bushing caps on each side of the mounting points. Its tight but they do squeek in there.
Then.. They arrived.
May as well slap em on!
Started at the rear. One thing to notice is the mounting points of the new rear shock has ball joints. And yes thats the correct shock according to my phone call to Progressive. You wont go through the trouble I did of worrying why you can move the shock a little bit after installation as I didnt realize it was a ball joint until after I took it back off and noticed the movement is part of the design... I thought I had the wrong shock or they put the wrong bushings in it. So back on it goes... and on to the fronts.
For the fronts, you have to remove the two side panels right under where the gas tank should be. This reveals the last screw holding the panel you really need off which is the panel around the fog lamp area. If you have fog lamps installed like me, its going to be a tight fit getting your hands, wrench, and ratchet in there. You could probably just remove the fog lamps but I didnt. I just unplugged them to get the wire out of the way and pushed on, with slow, tight, hand pinching success.
The old ones come out somehow. Once you get the shocks loose and theyre in your hand trying to get them out of there you might be puzzled. But they do come out. Find the right angle on accident like I did or you can take off the lower a arm plastic piece like I shouldve done. 4 8mm bolts and theyre off but I didnt bother or think of it at the time.
Get the new ones in somehow. Be carefull not to lose any of the little bushing caps on each side of the mounting points. Its tight but they do squeek in there.