Despite borrowing a set of spring compressors, it still took me nearly three hours to put the car up on stands, remove the wheels and then remove one shock. The other night I realized it would be easy to simply cut the shock in half and just pull out the lower portion of the damper from the bottom mount. It worked like a charm- a sawzall (reciprocating saw) with a metal blade cuts through the shock like butter. If you try this, first be sure to drill a hole in the lower part of the shock to let the gas pressure and oil drain out. Since the car would be on stands, there is no chance of hitting the damper rod if you make the cut low enough. Three hours for one shock and then one hour for the remaining three- got to love that. You may want to arrange a shield or something to block the spray of oil when you drill into the shock- it comes out with a lot of force and can coat anything that happens to be behind your vehicle. Needless to say, you will be throwing the damper away after using this technique- who is going to want it anyways, mine were 20 years old- may they RIP!
quick way to remove shocks-SAWZALL
- Thread starter whitebois
- Start date
Despite borrowing a set of spring compressors, it still took me nearly three hours to put the car up on stands, remove the wheels and then remove one shock. The other night I realized it would be easy to simply cut the shock in half and just pull out the lower portion of the damper from the bottom mount. It worked like a charm- a sawzall (reciprocating saw) with a metal blade cuts through the shock like butter. If you try this, first be sure to drill a hole in the lower part of the shock to let the gas pressure and oil drain out. Since the car would be on stands, there is no chance of hitting the damper rod if you make the cut low enough. Three hours for one shock and then one hour for the remaining three- got to love that. You may want to arrange a shield or something to block the spray of oil when you drill into the shock- it comes out with a lot of force and can coat anything that happens to be behind your vehicle. Needless to say, you will be throwing the damper away after using this technique- who is going to want it anyways, mine were 20 years old- may they RIP!
shawn110975
Suspended
well if you dont wanna take the 3 nuts on top and the one bolt at the bottom off.
then go for it. but you could have sold the old shocks and got some money for them.
but the amount of time it took to get the drill, find a drill bit, drill a hole, wait till the pressure is gone, get the sawzaw, put the metal cutting bit on, plug it in, then start cutting, then push the lower half to the side, and then wiggle free the upper half, remove it, then take the bolt out of the bottom and wiggle that free,
you could have removed all 4 bolts, then used a screwdriver to press the lower arm out and free, then pull down and done.
but if your needing to drop a subframe super fast before the owner gets home then I think your way is better if the tools used were cordless. LOL
I actually did this once, the insurance company were towing my totaled Accord away and I was like wait ran inside and got a cordless sawzaw and cut the 4 inch mufflers pipes off the custom exhaust and told the guy now you can have it LOL.
I actually did this again, I wanted all the parts to a Legend moonroof,
took a cordless sawzaw and like 4 batterys and went to the junk yard and cut the top off of a legend and threw it on the wheelbarrel and took it home took me about 45 minutes as cutting thru cables, and wires and rubber tubes took forever LOL
it brings me back to my youth. LOL
p.s. I have the same Dewalt sawzaw with the right blades it can be used to cut down trees, trust me I know
then go for it. but you could have sold the old shocks and got some money for them.
but the amount of time it took to get the drill, find a drill bit, drill a hole, wait till the pressure is gone, get the sawzaw, put the metal cutting bit on, plug it in, then start cutting, then push the lower half to the side, and then wiggle free the upper half, remove it, then take the bolt out of the bottom and wiggle that free,
you could have removed all 4 bolts, then used a screwdriver to press the lower arm out and free, then pull down and done.
but if your needing to drop a subframe super fast before the owner gets home then I think your way is better if the tools used were cordless. LOL
I actually did this once, the insurance company were towing my totaled Accord away and I was like wait ran inside and got a cordless sawzaw and cut the 4 inch mufflers pipes off the custom exhaust and told the guy now you can have it LOL.
I actually did this again, I wanted all the parts to a Legend moonroof,
took a cordless sawzaw and like 4 batterys and went to the junk yard and cut the top off of a legend and threw it on the wheelbarrel and took it home took me about 45 minutes as cutting thru cables, and wires and rubber tubes took forever LOL
it brings me back to my youth. LOL
p.s. I have the same Dewalt sawzaw with the right blades it can be used to cut down trees, trust me I know
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WOW!
I am willing to bet serious cash that I could actually pull the shock out faster than you could drill, drain and sawzall it - you still have to unbolt it!!!
If you had a hard time doing it, you could have just asked us for some pointers...
One time I bet a few guys in the shop that I could change the alternator in a civic blindfolded...
I am willing to bet serious cash that I could actually pull the shock out faster than you could drill, drain and sawzall it - you still have to unbolt it!!!
If you had a hard time doing it, you could have just asked us for some pointers...
One time I bet a few guys in the shop that I could change the alternator in a civic blindfolded...
If you had to cut the shocks to remove the old ones what are you going to do when you go to install the new ones :biggrin:
Osiris_x11
Gold Member, Moderator: Marketplace
got wood?
Bad itdea!! I did that ONE time. Not all the oil and gas in the shock escaped and the heat and sparks from the saw blade exploded the remaining gas/oil. It was in the rear next to the gas tank. Are you surprized I am still here--I am.
Kind of reminds me of my dad having this old 1960 ford---had a huge trunk but the floor of it was rusted real bad so he found this old kitchen table--took the legs off it and put it into the floor of the trunk. It rattled a bit so he drilled some holes and screwed it down---RIGHT THROUGH THE TOP OF THE GAS TANK.
He also worked on his car one day with a metal wrist watch band that shorted from the +side of the battery to ground. It cooked his wrist before he could get it off. He had scars for his remaining 30 years!!
My dad worked part time in a salvage yard and these kind of short cuts are common place like cutting the fuel tank straps with a tourch!! They would throw a cup of gasoline into the cars to burn out the interior prior to hauling them to the metal processor and this was done right in the approch flight path into LaGuardia Airport---before EPA was created!!
Perhaps we need a post dedicated to the dumb things we do!
Kind of reminds me of my dad having this old 1960 ford---had a huge trunk but the floor of it was rusted real bad so he found this old kitchen table--took the legs off it and put it into the floor of the trunk. It rattled a bit so he drilled some holes and screwed it down---RIGHT THROUGH THE TOP OF THE GAS TANK.
He also worked on his car one day with a metal wrist watch band that shorted from the +side of the battery to ground. It cooked his wrist before he could get it off. He had scars for his remaining 30 years!!
My dad worked part time in a salvage yard and these kind of short cuts are common place like cutting the fuel tank straps with a tourch!! They would throw a cup of gasoline into the cars to burn out the interior prior to hauling them to the metal processor and this was done right in the approch flight path into LaGuardia Airport---before EPA was created!!
Perhaps we need a post dedicated to the dumb things we do!
shawn110975
Suspended
LOL the 2X4 pic is funny, as it would have been even faster than my screwdriver method. and even faster than this guys sawzaw method.
so funny. made my day.
so funny. made my day.
I hate to see what you do to remove the crank nut when it is time to do a timing belt. 
To reinstall the shocks you will run into the same dilemma.
You will need to force the hub and arm down to be able to get the shock in place.
I didn't use a board for this I made a tool that helps with this.
It is a bar welded to a flat plate with two holes for the wheel studs.
Mount the plate on the hub. Sit on the bar to move the assembly down and install the shock.
I live in San Jose. If you want to barrow my crude tool let me know.
Later,
Don
To reinstall the shocks you will run into the same dilemma.
You will need to force the hub and arm down to be able to get the shock in place.
I didn't use a board for this I made a tool that helps with this.
It is a bar welded to a flat plate with two holes for the wheel studs.
Mount the plate on the hub. Sit on the bar to move the assembly down and install the shock.
I live in San Jose. If you want to barrow my crude tool let me know.
Later,
Don
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Thanks NSXNUT- that is a brilliant suggestion! It would have helped me as I was working alone with no time to find an assistant. Being able to sit on the bar would make it a lot easier. And thanks for the offer of a loan. Having said that, I did try the 2x4 technique and especially on the fronts, the bottom of the shock mount is so far down there and risk of damaging wheel speed sensor wires is significant so I decided to save myself the pain and cut them out. Unbolting the mounts is pretty easy compared with getting it out. I can tell from the feel of the new shocks that the old 20-year old ones were pretty much dead.
Thanks to Huck and Grimeas for sharing their humourous accounts.
And to gabedm, get a sense of humour- I have put a lot of time and effort into carefully upgrading my car- I did not just grab the saw and start cutting away wildly but did so after consideration of how long it would take to remove the remaining dampers and weighing that against the potential value of the 20 year old dampers plus having them clutter up my garage. Anyone wants parts, let me know.
Thanks to Huck and Grimeas for sharing their humourous accounts.
And to gabedm, get a sense of humour- I have put a lot of time and effort into carefully upgrading my car- I did not just grab the saw and start cutting away wildly but did so after consideration of how long it would take to remove the remaining dampers and weighing that against the potential value of the 20 year old dampers plus having them clutter up my garage. Anyone wants parts, let me know.
time for a vote....
I say we take the nsx away from you before you total it.
even if you cut it 1/2 with your saw, you still have to remove the bolts that hold it in anyway. you really like the long way of doing things :tongue:
I say we take the nsx away from you before you total it.
even if you cut it 1/2 with your saw, you still have to remove the bolts that hold it in anyway. you really like the long way of doing things :tongue:
Oh wow...
I see wired and "ghetto" DIY as some may call it all the time but this is the first time I've heard of cutting up shocks to remove them.
I see wired and "ghetto" DIY as some may call it all the time but this is the first time I've heard of cutting up shocks to remove them.
I'll tell you one thing, the OP has taken the flaming quite well. :biggrin:
To the OP, keep working on the car (albeit with a bit more patience perhaps). If something is taking longer than it should, feel free to search the forum or ask for help. The forum members here are actually quite willing to share tips and hints and no matter what you're doing, somebody has probably already done it and posted something about it.
To make you fee better, I think in my first post for my current NSX, I was told that my car was rusty and the paint looked like primer haha.
To the OP, keep working on the car (albeit with a bit more patience perhaps). If something is taking longer than it should, feel free to search the forum or ask for help. The forum members here are actually quite willing to share tips and hints and no matter what you're doing, somebody has probably already done it and posted something about it.
To make you fee better, I think in my first post for my current NSX, I was told that my car was rusty and the paint looked like primer haha.
OP weighs in again! If you go out and search on all things related to replacing shocks and springs, which I have been doing for several months leading up to my decision to make this a do-it-yourself job, nearly all mention what a bitch it is including several who said " call a service shop". I did take note of those who suggested the 2x4 method and tried that. So you people who say you could do it with your eyes closed- how bout going into the Wiki and updating it with your latest magical touch. Also, putting the coilovers in is a breeze compared to taking out the old stuff.
No regrets, and I am very happy with the results! I am hoping some others who want to try something different will check out this technique- it saved me a lot of time!
No regrets, and I am very happy with the results! I am hoping some others who want to try something different will check out this technique- it saved me a lot of time!
They were DEAD 10 years ago. :smile:
shawn110975
Suspended
I think we should have just referanced this thread to help the guy out LOL
its the best PDF I have ever found
http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Reference/1991_svcman/1991servman.pdf
page 670 from another member
and I just tried to take my fronts off today and said I dont have time for this shit and put it back together LOL
the rears are waaayyy easier to take off and put on. little more to it on the fronts.
its the best PDF I have ever found
http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Reference/1991_svcman/1991servman.pdf
page 670 from another member
and I just tried to take my fronts off today and said I dont have time for this shit and put it back together LOL
the rears are waaayyy easier to take off and put on. little more to it on the fronts.
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