oldagetraveller said:
I have been trying to fit rubber spring assisters to my 2007 Kia Carens 2.0l CRDI. The gap between the coils is 28mm and I have the correct type of assister (GE 14) which is OK for a gap of 26 - 38 mm. I reckon that I am a very average DIY person, but I simply can't get the assisters into the coil springs. I've followed the tips and boiled the assisters for over 20 mins and I've covered the springs in washing up liquid. Is it me, or have others had similar problems? Instructions also suggest 'unscrewing pin type shock absorbers' but I've no idea what that means and if it is easy or difficult.Any advice gratefully received.
hi, may sound silly or reading your post maybe not so??? are you jacking up the car leaving the wheel to hang and thereby reducing the tension on the spring
is the spring clean?? as rust will stop the assister sliding through in between the coils,use liberal ammounts of soft soap on both the rubber and coil spring and try feeding the assister rubber one end first around with the direction of the coils, if all else fails you will indeed have to release the shock absorber from its btm mounting by removing the bolt, its a bit more tricky as you have to use a jack under the wheel or suspension arm,
jack the car up, place on axel stands with the wheel off the ground place jack under wheel or arm jack up untill the suspension is under normal tension remove the btm bolt then slowly lower jack under arm until the coils in the spring are wide enough to insert the rubber jack up the arm again untill the bolt can be replaced in the shock absorber tighen nut to the correct torque, job done try and position the rubber to either the top or btm of the spring as this prevents the rubber from becomming dislodged during use,
having said all that the prof is quite right though under tow it will make no difference to the towing ability of the car as all they do is stop the suspension from bottoming out, however this can be usefull if the car is to be driven over rough ground while carrying weight as it can prevent grounding,
colin