WackyDan
New member
UPDATE: 4-10-2011 - Took her for a quick spin Mad Maxx Style up and down some nearby roads. Seems much more responsive to steering input and seems like I can life one of the wheels far easier than before? Is this more common with the stiffer shocks and sway bar? I'll have to get used to the new feel.
Finally installed my RT shocks today (Thanks DocRiverside!). They only had 5000 miles on them from Doc's RT. I also installed the new sway bar.
I shot a cheesy video of the deal. Here are some things to consider if you are replacing your shocks with either the original OEM, RT, or 3rd party vendor.
- Bolts were corroded. Not terribly bad, but warranted a wire wheel to clean them up.
- Bolts are $1.95 and the elastic lock nuts are in the same ball park. You would need 4 of each to replace them all. I just ordered a set and will be replacing mine as the trunk will be off yet for a couple of weeks. Honestly, you should replace them to maintain the best locking capability that a new nut will give you. Peace of mind. I imagine many of you have used the same bolts and are just fine.
- Torque the bolts and nuts to required tightness. This is a bit confusing but I'm pretty sure the rear shock bolt is an M10 at a 10.9 grade. The front shocks bolts should be M10's but are an 8.8 grade. According to the Spyder manual, these front bolts should be torqued to 35 foot pounds and the rear should be 45 foot pounds. I made the mistake of assuming the fronts were also 10.9 grade and torqued to 45 or so pounds... which is another reason to get new bolts and nuts.
- Do not lube the bolts or the recess in the frame where the shocks are pinched between. Most lubes will degrade the plastic in the lock nut, and affect your torque spec when installing. It will also degrade the rubber/urethane bushing on the shock ends. Finally, any lube won't last as any water, and any detergents from washing the Spyder would flush it away anyway. I bring this up as the thought crossed my mind briefly before I came back to my senses.
I left the shocks the way DocRiverside had them set... 2nd step down from stiffest.
I have not taken the Spyder out today to check out the ride. I'm hoping the dealer comes back with my estimate for the 12k (now 13k) service. I have done about half the 12k service stuff myself already and I want a clear picture of what they will charge for the reduced labor. I'd rather just ride it there tomorrow or Friday and let them work on it while I'm gone for the week.
Anyway... here is the video. I hope it helps people realize how easy a shock swap is. Ideally you would use an ATV lift, so no wise cracks on my Rube Goldberg set up.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylp03y78Umw[/ame]
Finally installed my RT shocks today (Thanks DocRiverside!). They only had 5000 miles on them from Doc's RT. I also installed the new sway bar.
I shot a cheesy video of the deal. Here are some things to consider if you are replacing your shocks with either the original OEM, RT, or 3rd party vendor.
- Bolts were corroded. Not terribly bad, but warranted a wire wheel to clean them up.
- Bolts are $1.95 and the elastic lock nuts are in the same ball park. You would need 4 of each to replace them all. I just ordered a set and will be replacing mine as the trunk will be off yet for a couple of weeks. Honestly, you should replace them to maintain the best locking capability that a new nut will give you. Peace of mind. I imagine many of you have used the same bolts and are just fine.
- Torque the bolts and nuts to required tightness. This is a bit confusing but I'm pretty sure the rear shock bolt is an M10 at a 10.9 grade. The front shocks bolts should be M10's but are an 8.8 grade. According to the Spyder manual, these front bolts should be torqued to 35 foot pounds and the rear should be 45 foot pounds. I made the mistake of assuming the fronts were also 10.9 grade and torqued to 45 or so pounds... which is another reason to get new bolts and nuts.
- Do not lube the bolts or the recess in the frame where the shocks are pinched between. Most lubes will degrade the plastic in the lock nut, and affect your torque spec when installing. It will also degrade the rubber/urethane bushing on the shock ends. Finally, any lube won't last as any water, and any detergents from washing the Spyder would flush it away anyway. I bring this up as the thought crossed my mind briefly before I came back to my senses.
I left the shocks the way DocRiverside had them set... 2nd step down from stiffest.
I have not taken the Spyder out today to check out the ride. I'm hoping the dealer comes back with my estimate for the 12k (now 13k) service. I have done about half the 12k service stuff myself already and I want a clear picture of what they will charge for the reduced labor. I'd rather just ride it there tomorrow or Friday and let them work on it while I'm gone for the week.
Anyway... here is the video. I hope it helps people realize how easy a shock swap is. Ideally you would use an ATV lift, so no wise cracks on my Rube Goldberg set up.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylp03y78Umw[/ame]
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