Eibach Performance Springs (03/26/2000)

I have installed my new Eibach Pro-Kit Springs. I chose to do the installation myself, since I wanted to learn about my car, and get my hands dirty.

Much thanks to Cliff Simpson (for e-mailing me tips) and DJ Hatfield (for tools and labor).

After

Before

The springs are supposed to provide a 1.3" drop. This is very noticible when you compare the stock springs next to the new Eibachs (see below)

Front Eibach (on left) vs. Stock (on right)

Rear Stock (on left) vs. Eibach (on right)

I also have taken a measuring tape to the car to show the difference

Before (over rear wheel)

After Coming Soon

The installation is fairly straight forward, although it took me a long time since I had never tried anything like it before. Make sure you have the right tools for the job before you begin.

You will need a set of spring compressors (you can rent them or buy them). I bought them for $30. You can usually rent them for $30-50, but you get your money back when you return them. Also you will need an array of metric sockets between 14 and 19 mm. You will also need a 24mm socket.

Installation guidlines:

I highly recommend getting the shop manuals for the 2000 Eclipse before doing this, so you have a good idea what you are looking at when you get under there.

Rear:

Jack up the car securly. I used the spare tire jack along with some 4 ton stands. The car always felt secure.

Remove the wheel

Remove the bolt at the bottom of the rear shock. This is the biggest pain in the a$$ of the whole project. The bolt is real tight (70+ ft-lb) and faces in. Trying to get the rachet to fit in there was a pain as the brake lines, and muffler hanger is in the way. To get this off we actually jacked the car up and down with the rachet resting on a jackstand. We finished it off with a hammer. I recommend finding some sort of air compressed tool.

Next you want to remove the upper bolt that hold it to the body. You find these by removing a small panel in the trunk.

Take the shock off the rear by moving it in. Mine was very hard and we actually used our feet to kick at it lightly. Be careful not to damage the shock.

At this point the rear shock should slide out. The whole assembly is shown below

Next attach the spring compressors and tighten them (shown above).

Remove the lock nut on top of the shock. This takes a little effort as the shaft wants to turn with the nut (the nut has nylon threads). There is a squared off part at the top of the rod which you can hold with a wrench until the nut makes it up there. Then you have to be dextrous and use some needle nosed pliars, or use a locking wrench on the shaft. (Make sure you use rubber or cardboard between the wrench and the shaft to avoid damage)

Once the lock nut is removed you can remove the top and slide the spring off.

Place the new Eibach spring on the shock (don't need to compress them) and replace the top and locknut.

Put the assembly back in the car and refasten all the bolts.

Put the wheel back on.

Front:

Same basic steps as rear.

The two bolts 24mm bolts are tightened to over 220 ft-lb. You will need to use a air tool or a large lever to get them off. We used a lat bar from a weight bench as added leverage on the ratchet.

There is a stabilizer link that is a little tricky to get off. The best way of doing it is jacking the car way up and placing a jack stand under the lower arm. Then lower the car until the hanger on the strut is level with the stabilizer link. The bolt is easily removed at this point. Also do this to put it back on.

It is crucial to compress the springs well on the front as they are at a much higher tension. Even so we had a hard time getting the top cap off. We basically removed the lock nut then uncompressed the spring until the top cap shot off (facing a brick wall).

To get the new springs on, seat the spring on the strut then compress the middle coils on both sides until you can place the top pieces on and tighten the nut.

The last thing to do is place the Eibach sticker somewhere on your car. :)