New to working on cars in general. Help., Serious. Options

[Tedskiii]

Well as from my previous thread, I've purchased a 240. And it's my second car. I'm really into them, but I have this fear of working on it ! I don't know why. I guess because I'm new to it, and I don't know where to start !

I'm just scared to mess up because of stupidity. Right now the car is all stock other than coilovers which aren't set low, and an exhaust. The coils are K-Sports, and the exhaust is Megan. I plan Lowering it pretty low, not oil pan scraping low but decent. I plan on picking up a floor jack tomorrow, idk if I should get a low pro, or a regular one.

But my first plan is to adjust the coilovers, but I don't know where to start. I'm trying to find a tech manual or somthing I can just read through to learn more. But for now this is just my regular Daily driver.

Any help/thoughts on this?! Thanks.

[David48]

If you can afford it, get a low pro. The coil overs are easy. Jack it up, remove the wheels, remove the 2 17mm nuts/bolts at the bottom of the coilover which connect it to the spindle in the front, and from there you can spin the collars and mount. Moving them all up makes it lower, down makes the car higher. It'll make more sense when you see it. For the rear, remove the wheel, and remove the 1 17mm nut/washer which hold it to the rear knuckle. Then you can spin the collar and mount up to drop it. Just make sure you tighten everything nicely afterwards.

[Tedskiii]

If you can afford it, get a low pro. The coil overs are easy. Jack it up, remove the wheels, remove the 2 17mm nuts/bolts at the bottom of the coilover which connect it to the spindle in the front, and from there you can spin the collars and mount. Moving them all up makes it lower, down makes the car higher. It'll make more sense when you see it. For the rear, remove the wheel, and remove the 1 17mm nut/washer which hold it to the rear knuckle. Then you can spin the collar and mount up to drop it. Just make sure you tighten everything nicely afterwards.

So a regular jack would do? But I'm confused on the order to loosen/spin the spindles. Don't want to mess up. :/

[harry]

ya, i think a service manual would be good for you. It breaks stuff down step by step. Keep looking, there has to be one for 240sx's.

Another thing is whenever you jack up a car, lower it down onto jack stands.
It isn't really necessary for adjusting coils, but since you're new to working on cars it would be a good habit to get into.

If you're working underneath the car, ALWAYS have the car on jack stands.

Also, if you're working on hill make sure to chock the wheels. I've had my car roll off jack stands.

lastly, have fun and safety first!

[Ivan the Terribl...]

Chilton 240sx manual, read it, memorize it, worship it. Nah but serio, I use the crap out of mine all the time.

I started off like you, no idea what I was doing never touched a car in my life. Best way to do it is to just tear stuff apart. Don't be afraid, that's when people make mistakes.

240's are easy as pie to work on

[David48]

^He speaks the truth. Don't be afraid. Just go in and learn on your own. That's how most of us have learned. I did it without a manual because the way I looked at it, I could spend the $15 on my car instead haha

So a regular jack would do? But I'm confused on the order to loosen/spin the spindles. Don't want to mess up. :/

Well loosen all the collars that you'll be moving around first. Then you loosen the two bolts and remove them so that you can spin the collar and lower mount up. Then you tighten the two bolts/nuts and tighten the collars. If you don't have the tools that came with the coilovers, then carefully hit them with a flat head screw driver and a hammer. Someone must have made a write up on it somewhere. It's extremely simple. I figured it all out on my own when I had to do it.

[Tedskiii]

Alright so ordered a low pro jack, jack stands, and manual for alittle over 300$ but that's alright with me.

I also do have the tools to adjust. So once I loosen the nuts, I spin the bottom part of the coilover up, like the whole unit? And ofcourse I'll take measurements before I start.

[s13 brian]

Online service manual for all 240's

[David48]

No, not the whole unit. Just the lowest bracket thing that has the 2 holes front, a 1 hole rear. That will spin up on the threads.

[Nachtmensch]

No, not the whole unit. Just the lowest bracket thing that has the 2 holes front, a 1 hole rear. That will spin up on the threads.

You don't need to unbolt the bottom bracket. Loosen the lowest collar, spin the whole shock assembly. Tighten collar.

You're doing too much work.

[Ivan the Terribl...]

Idk bro, loosening the bracket is a lot more easier than spinning the damn struts

[David48]

Yeah I've always just spun the bracket up. Sometimes when I'm super lazy in the rear, I'll just unbolt the top, loosen the bottom collar and have my girlfriend stand on the brake rotor. Then you can just spin the whole shock body(top hat also) down.

[steinkrunk]

There's one tool it seems you have missed and it's the most important one of all. Google, or any search engine, is an insanely valuable resource for wrenching on cars. No matter what you are doing, someone else has already done it and has hopefully written online how/what they did and what to watch out for to not break stuff. Coilover adjustment is rather easy once you actually know what each part does.

Most newer coilovers have preload adjustment separate from ride height adjustment. That means that changing ride height won't have any affect on how tightly or loosely your spring is held in and you won't have to worry about a "drooped" spring falling out if you hit a pothole. The coilover itself has a threaded body in which a bracket and 3 collars are spun on, each part has it's own job and they all work together to make your car happy.

First is the bracket, this connects your coilovers to your front knuckle and is a vital link in making sure your suspension works like it should. It's threaded onto the body and held in place by 17mmx2 bolts. Some brackets have an oval for the top hole to aid in small camber adjustments. Don't worry about that hole at the present time as it has nothing to do with ride height adjustment. Spinning this bracket clockwise up the threaded body will lower ride height, and counter-clockwise will raise ride height. The fronts and rears work in the same manner.

Next is the first of 3 collars. These small aluminum collars spin up and down the coilover's threaded body and "lock" the various pieces of the coilover together. This first collar is meant to lock the lower bracket in place. So after you finish spinning the lower bracket up or down to achieve your desired ride height, turn this collar counter-clockwise and "lock" it to the bracket. This will make sure the bottom bracket doesn't come out of adjustment.

The second and third collars are for spring pre-load. This is something I've never really looked into since I've never driven my car in a motorsports setting. A rule of thumb is to tighten/loosen your top collar against the spring until you can spin the spring by hand but can't move it up or down by hand. Then use the second(middle) collar to lock the top collar in place.

There you have it, coilovers explained in a simple manner. There are also a bunch of other adjustments you can get into like dampening adjustment and camber adjustment, but since you're concerned with lowering your car I just explained that part. Crank your dampening to it's stiffest setting and max out your camber and women's panties will be dropping in no time.

[Tom.]

What he said. If you don't understand sarcasm, he was mildly joking with the last section.

This is true for nearly all coilovers, KSport's included.

[Goon360]

While you're down there, check your suspension bushings, and just have a good look around.
It's an older car, coils ride harder than OEM suspension and can put stress on some things.

Like other people said, a service manual will go a long way.
Whenever I did anything to my dirt bikes, I always took a look at the manual to see what the manufacturer suggests.

[Tedskiii]

You don't need to unbolt the bottom bracket. Loosen the lowest collar, spin the whole shock assembly. Tighten collar.

You're doing too much work.

So I wouldn't have to loosen up the top two preload nuts to do this?

[David48]

Not really. As long as there's some pre load, don't mess with that yet.

[Tedskiii]

Alright so this morning I took a look at it. Im understanding it now. Just need to loosen the bottom ring/nut. But once I do that just twist the whole unit up? Like the threaded area? And do I have to remove that bolt and nut that attaches the coilover?

[David48]

No no no no. Never undo that nut. The orange bracket at the bottom with the two bolt holes is independent of the shock body. That spins upward. That's all you have to do, then tighten down the collar against it.

[Tedskiii]

No no no no. Never undo that nut. The orange bracket at the bottom with the two bolt holes is independent of the shock body. That spins upward. That's all you have to do, then tighten down the collar against it.

Oh alright so I remove the two bolts/front, and one bolt for the rear. That attach to the bracket, so I can spin it freely. And the Lowest collar that snugs it down needs to be loosened?