Fitting Lowering Springs

By Neil (geetee)

Introduction

The following guide is to help lower your 323F/Astina yourself. You do not need any specialist tools except for a pair of coil spring compressors (most good tool shops will sell these for about £15-£20).

Time Required

Depending on your experience, but you should give yourself at least 6 hours.

Tools Required

• Coil spring compressors
• 2 x 17mm ring spanners
• 14mm spanner or socket
• Pipe wrench or large adjustable spanner
• Torque wrench
• Hammer and punch
• 2 x axle stands
• Jack (trolley jack recommended)
• Can of WD40
• Tools for removing boot trim etc. (screwdrivers, pliers)

Instructions - Rear Springs

1. Before you start spray the lower strut bolts with WD 40. This will give it a chance to penetrate while you get the car in the air.


2. Remove all the trim and the carpet from the boot. Do this with the car on the ground, it`s much easier. There`s a pretty good chance you`ll break some of the clips during removal so have some spares to hand for reassembly.


3. While you're in the boot, loosen the rear strut top mounts (2 x 14mm bolts) but do not remove the bolts just yet. Also loosen the shock absorber top mount (17mm bolt).


4. Loosen the rear wheels, jack the car and place the axle stands under a secure part of the chassis or sills, make absolutely sure the car is safe and remove the wheels.


5. While you're in the wheelarch area, clean off any mud and rust from the lower strut bolts, and give them another good spray with WD40. Also take the opportunity to familiarise yourself with the strut assembly and how it goes together.


6. Remove the clip holding the flexi brake pipe to the strut, you should be able to knock it off with a screwdriver and a gentle tap with a hammer.


7. Loosen the lower strut nuts and bolts. These are likely to be very tight and a good quality, tight fitting spanner is essential to avoid damage to the nuts or yourself! Once the nuts are off you need to use a hammer and punch to knock the bolts out. (see picture). Use 2 x 17mm spanners.




8. Go back into the boot and remove the two strut top mount nuts (14mm). Have a friend ready to catch the strut or support it with a screwdriver through one of the bolt holes to stop it dropping when you remove the top nuts. DO NOT REMOVE the middle shock absorber nut at this stage.


9. Once you have the strut away from the car, fit the spring compressors and tighten them up until the top mount is free from any spring tension. For extra safety place a couple of heavy cable ties around the spring compressors to hold them in place. (see picture).




10. Make sure the compressors are 180 degrees apart and tighten each side half a turn at a time to compress the spring evenly.


11. You can now undo the shock piston nut (17mm) and lift off the top mount. Make sure you note how it all goes back together. Remove the compressed spring and carefully remove the compressors.


12. If necessary fit the compressors to the new springs and fit the spring to the strut making sure that the bottom end of the spring is seated correctly.




13. Place the top mount components, again making sure that everything is the correct way round and that all rubber insulators and thrust bearings are in place. The bump stops which are on the shock piston shaft should not need shortening unless your new springs are extremely low. Most spring kits will lower a BG 30 to 45mm. Also note that the top threads of the piston have flat sides which fit into the top mount hole. This is to stop the shaft turning when you tighten it up.
14. Tighten the top nut using a pipe wrench or large adjustable spanner on the gold coloured flange to stop the piston shaft turning while you tighten. Don`t tighten fully just yet as final tightening with a torque wrench should be done when the car is back on the ground. Release the compressors carefully and check that the spring has seated correctly. It`s worth double checking everything at this stage as you don`t want to have to remove the strut from the car later because of some silly mistake!
15. Feed the assembled strut into the wheelarch and up into the top mounting position. A friend will be very handy at this stage as the strut is quite heavy but you should be able to hold it in place long enough to get the top nuts on a couple of turns.
16. Manoeuvre the lower strut and hub/spindle assembly to match up the bolt holes and feed the bolts through. They are a tight fit so a light tap with a hammer will be necessary. Fit the nuts and tighten them to 70 to 93 lbf/ft with a torque wrench. (17mm socket).
17. Replace the clip that holds the brake pipe in place.
18. Do exactly the same for the other side, refit the wheels and lower the car to the ground.
19. Tighten the top mount nuts to 35 to 45 lbf/ft with a torque wrench.
20. Tighten the shock absorber piston nut to 41 to 49 lbf/ft.

Front Springs

1. Make sure you do not let the inner CV joints pull out of the gearbox when working on the struts.
2. The torque settings are the same as the rear except the piston top nuts which are tightened to 60 to 80 lbf/ft.
3. Make sure when fitting lowered springs that you put them on the correct way up. Most springs are fitted with the writing/part number the correct way up but if in doubt then check with the spring manufacturer.
4. Some 323F`s will have ABS brakes. This will require disconnecting the sensors from the struts. My car has no ABS so I don`t know how/what to disconnect but it should be obvious.
5. These cars benefit hugely from this fairly simple and cheapish modification and I would recommend lowered springs to anyone with a 323F. However wheel alignment checks are always highly recommended after any suspension work and a slight adjustment may be necessary to reap the full benefit of lowered springs.

Here`s a before/ after shot of a 323F BG.