Team MightyBoy

Hey i was wondering if ne one could help me into giving details on how to change the front struts and springs and how much hassles and money it will be i want to lower my boy about 2.5 - 3 inchs on the front thats if i can.. thanx fellow mb enthusiasts

Hmmm, I must get around to updating my article on this sometime soon.

Anyhoo, to replace the front struts, you need to jack the ute up (use car stands for safety of course.) Remove the wheels and crimp/undo the brake lines from the strut tower.
Undo the two bolts holding the strut to the hub, and then loosen the centre nut (but do not remove) on the top of the strut post. Then move on to removing the three nuts around the top of the strut tower. The strut will then be free to remove.
To remove the spring from the strut, completely remove the strut post nut you loosened before, and take off the top spring holder and bump stop.
Reverse the proceedure to install, remember to bleed the brakes.

As a side note, King Springs are the only company that I know of who sell an off the shelf HD lowering spring for the MB. They drop the ride height by 2".
Also, if you use the lowered spring with a standard MB strut unit you will run into problems with the strut bottoming out, and the spring becoming unseated at full extension. Both of these problems can be overcome by machining the top of the strut post down by 30mm.
Lowering by 2" gives you about 2 degrees of negative camber.

Off the top of my head it cost me about $550 for the front end suspension. ~$150 for springs, ~$300 for the struts, and ~$100 for the machining.

hey thanx alot for that brayden ill get onto the front end asap. thanx

Aaahhh!...
So it's not just the swift front end that causes excessive negative camber.
I find that my car has become very skitish since I have converted & lowered it. Anyone else find this?
It bugs me a great deal. So much so that I was contemplating to reverting back to the origional units if the problem couldn't be fixed with camber bolts. But I guess if the stock units have the same problem, there is little point...

While you're getting springs done, do the swaybar/radius rod bushes. These get overlooked by a lot of people when doing suspension, but they make the world of difference if worn ones are changed. Genuine rubbers should only set you back about $45-$50

What about KSFL 10, not 12 - for a Swift/Cino inc GTI - see p.20 of this catalogue (link below). My mate at car part place said he can get 30mm lowered King Springs for a Swift?

http://www.kingsprings.com.au/kings_mas ... alogue.pdf

Also, are these the struts inserts? (See link below). It says they are a "special Macpherson insert, for sealed struts, bolted to the bottom after cutting the housing and removal of orignial parts. To be used in original struts only".

http://www.koni.com/index.php?id=254

Quote from NSW distributor

KSFL-12 Suxuki Swift 84-88 Front Low - $165 pair

K86-2400 Sport koni Sport Strut Insert - $385 Pair

But listed as quote only

jono wrote:What about KSFL 10, not 12 - for a Swift/Cino inc GTI - see p.20 of this catalogue (link below). My mate at car part place said he can get 30mm lowered King Springs for a Swift?

http://www.kingsprings.com.au/kings_mas ... alogue.pdf

No, you need the 12's, the 10's as you say are for GTi and as such wont fit.

God don't you people ever listen to what you are told?

Nope, but I will try my best to do so

It is just a bit confusing this suspension biz.
Will those springs make the ride really rough so I feel every bump in the road even more than I do now? What is the ride quality for you Ceej?

To start with it was sorta choppy, but it has gotten a lot more comfortable and isn't too bad. Lowering is always gonna end up with a stiffer ride in my opinion, but its a sacrifice you have to make to take it of its stilts...

All up, i believe that it is worth it, and i am unsure if the fact that i have possibly heavier load rated shocks, combined with the stiffer springs has resulted in a stiffer ride, but it is still defiantly drive-able.

jono wrote:
Also, are these the struts inserts? (See link below). It says they are a "special Macpherson insert, for sealed struts, bolted to the bottom after cutting the housing and removal of orignial parts. To be used in original struts only".

http://www.koni.com/index.php?id=254

So, is that the right part for the Koni inserts?

I'm guessing nobody knows then I want to resleeve my struts but am not sure if this is the right part to get so the suspension shop can do a cut and shut for me...

I Actually rang and spoke to koni and got the part numbers to save everyone the hassle:

K86-2400 Sport koni Sport Strut Insert

Then I got him to fax me a quote from the NSW distributer:

$385 Pair

I thought I would have to do it all for rego but got through with just replacing lower control arms and Ball joints

Awesome, thanks for that mate. That helps me a lot! So, you are SURE this is what can be re-sleeved into the current KYB Mighty Boy/Hatch strut - just want to be 100% before I start throwing my money at anything

I'm Sure that's what I was Told.

The steering and suspension place here said they'd never done it before though, and said that it wasn't as easy as it sounds. Spacers are required somewhere internally.

Again, only what i've been told.