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Bilstein Coilovers

91parkave

91parkave

New member
Just doing a simple writeup on converting the bilstein GXP struts to coilover.

Imo not going to go through the all the details of taking your strut apart etc..you can follow the writeup on CGP
here --->>ClubGP Message Forum troubleshooting

So a few notes while doing the bilsteins in particular. when you take everything apart youll want to reuse parts of the factory dustboot to keep your shocks relativley clean and have a good service life.

youll want the white collar from the inside of the blue dust boot as well as the black plastic cap. all pictured here


so in order of things we start with the bare bilstein strut pictured here


we press the sleeve on, ( i happened to use a 2.048 i.d sleeve which was slightly to big so i hammered some (exhaust pipe adapter 2 1/4 ID x 2 1/8 OD available from autozone)



for the dustboot just use scissors to slice the top of the collar off to get the white piece out.

so in order of assembly youll want to do this sleeve, nut, bearings, black plastic piece, coilover spring,white piece
(optional but not neccesary)washer, two polyurethane sway bar bushings,mount with isolator and nut.

(important side note---using the poly bushings youll want to use a 1/2' drill bit!! then use a 19mm socket and hammer it on the washer like so)






Hope the visuals help. any questions or comments please ask.
 


To add to 91parkave's write up I got a lot of info as well.
Just posting it for other first timers...cause I think I bugged the **** out of him with questions on these
 
This is a how to for turning Grand Prix GXP Bilestine struts into coil overs. Definitely a worthwhile upgrade and cheaper than premade coil overs.

First I’d like to give 91Parkave a huge hand for helping with these as they are the first coil overs I’ve made. I’ve bugged the living sh*t out of him with questions about them.
http://www.grandprixforums.net/showthread.php?t=82537

So for starters I’m going to make a parts list with what you will need for the Front Struts

Running Total for 1 front strut: 150.205 + paint and my free labor.

From your car or a donor car like I did:
Stock strut mounts (local junk yard pick n pull or your old ones) I paid 20 a piece
Bilestine Struts without springs (got mine from another member for 150)
White

From summitracing.com you will need the following:
Coil Spring Isolators - http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ens-3-6110r$11.99 x1 (5.995)
Sway bar end links (poly) - http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ens-9-8106r$8.97 x1 (4.485)
Coil over springs - http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hal-12-400$37.97 x 2
Coil over shock thrust bearings - http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hal-7888-109$25.97 (12.985)

From http://shop.a1racing.com/suspension.aspx you will need the following:
Coil over sleeves - http://shop.a1racing.com/cok12455.aspx$18.40 x2
Adjusting nut - http://shop.a1racing.com/cok12460.aspx$12.87 x2

From local auto parts store:
Exhaust pipe adapter 2 1/4 ID x 2 1/8 OD available from AutoZone

From Lowes or another hardware store:
Washers Size x4

Optional items (but I recommend):
Paint
Clear Coat
Sand Paper

Tools that you will absolutely need for this installation:
Drill
Angle Grinder
1/2 in Drill Bit
Water (Expensive but makes grinding easier and quicker)
19mm deep well socket
Rubber mallet and/or Hammer
Knife/box cutter

Just a picture of some of the items needed for this

Things to keep in mind before doing this:
You will need a different front sway bar which also means a different lower control arms. You can get LCA’s from a 97-03 models ( I went with ZZP’s control arms and they are fantastic) and a GMPP bar. Which compared to the stock on a GXP are both an upgrade from stock.
For the sway bar I recommend buying it from here http://www.summitracing.com/parts/nal-12498643/overview/ for the simple fact that it’s much cheaper than from ZZP who over prices these. But they are the same bar as the one ZZP sells. O and for the sway bar you will need these as well http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ens-3-5131r/overview/


Fronts

Step 1:
For this step you will need the following:
Knife/Box cutter
Dust boots from struts

This doesn’t have to be done first but I wanted to have everything ready to go when I assemble them so this was my step one (besides ordering the parts)

Take the dust boots from your original struts or donor car and you gotta cut them a little. Here’s some pictures to help show what I mean.

In the above picture the piece you want is the white ring inside the dust boot. It’s easy to remove.
When you cut the dust boot apart the white ring is inside a metal cup. It will just pull out as seen below.
One on the left has already had the white ring removed



Step 2:
For this step you will need the following:
Grinder
Front struts
Water
Paint
Clear coat

You want to take your struts off the car and make sure the spring and strut mount is off the top of it because you will now be cutting them all up.

Here is what you start with.

And in the below picture the strut on the left is what you start with and the strut on the right is what you eventually want to be the finished product. Took me about an hour per strut


close up

here you can see the tool I used to cut them up with. Didn't get very hot at all....but then again it was freezing out side.



For the first piece take your poly isolators and you will need to do a little cutting on them. This picture is courtesy of 91parkave but shows about how much to take off of em.


And if the mount is a little to big to let the spring slide over it here is how to solve that proble


and when you put the isolator on the mount here is how it looks

and the isolator site more even when the weight of the car is on it lol
and the spring slid onto the mount




When putting the coil overs together here is the proper order for everything to go
Starting at the bottom

Strut with coil over sleeve and nut installed
on the top of the strut 1 washer followed by 1 poly sway bar end link (which will need to be drilled out in the center to fit over the top)
then on top of that strut mount with the isolator on it
on top of the strut mount – another poly end link followed by washer then followed by the nut tightened down real good.

Granted being this was my first set ever made....they were not hard at all just took time and sever choice words like son of a bit*h & fu*k and so on so forth.
 


So I figured I'd share this, I have sealed bearings and the guy I bought my coilovers off said he searched and searched and only found one supplier and got the last 4 they had of these. Now if it's true or not, who cares, but these are the measurements for the rubber seals. I was messing with my coilovers today and thought that there has to be something that you can find these off of. Or make somehow, so these are the measurements that mine are. So hopefully these could be gotten and help prevent with the whole rusting and debris getting inside. Now I'm sure it won't fully prevent but I'm sure it does help dramatically.
What they look like closely
20140108_210815_zpsurgyaotb.jpg

1/4 inch thick
20140108_210840_zpssn2cootd.jpg

Outer diameter is 3.5
20140108_210943_zpsveqgqok0.jpg

inner diameter are about 3 inches. Now that could be smaller as well, but nothing less than 2.5 (although it could be and it could be cut out)
20140108_210958_zpsch9tsrql.jpg
 
so....is it possible to get this as a sticky in the 5.3 section mods? I'm just thinking about the threads i send links to or post links to on a weekly basis for people on facebook or other sites. and i just sent a link to this one for the 3rd time this week alone
 


Ideally you'd have the strut on the same axis as the spring.

Helps reduce side loading on the strut and increases seal longevity.

Ideal solution is a set of hydraulic spring seats, but those things are expensive.
 


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