'99 Civic suspension questions

Hello- I recently bought a '99 Civic HX, which the previous owner had
put in a coil-over kit that stiffened the suspension and lowered the
car about 1.5". Now I have changed jobs and have a much longer
commute, and the hard ride is starting to get old (handles great
though in cornering and quick maneuvering). The car has low mileage
(65k) and gets 40+ MPG, so I'd rather restore the original ride height
and quality than sell it for something else. I have two questions
before I get too far along:

Is this reasonably do-able for a weekend mechanic?
and
What tools and parts am I likely to need?

I did see in another post the suggestion to get the shop manual for my
car, and have ordered one.

Thanks!

wrote:
> Hello- I recently bought a '99 Civic HX, which the previous owner had
> put in a coil-over kit that stiffened the suspension and lowered the
> car about 1.5". Now I have changed jobs and have a much longer
> commute, and the hard ride is starting to get old (handles great
> though in cornering and quick maneuvering). The car has low mileage
> (65k) and gets 40+ MPG, so I'd rather restore the original ride height
> and quality than sell it for something else. I have two questions
> before I get too far along:
>
> Is this reasonably do-able for a weekend mechanic?
> and
> What tools and parts am I likely to need?

if you have the right spring compressor, it's easy enough. but the
right spring compressors are not cheap or common for hondas because the
coils are very tight. you can fudge with bad ones, but they're not a
good idea [potential damage] or safe to use.

you can often find stock pre-assembled units for sale used or from a
junk yard because ricers swap everything out and get rid of the stock
units cheap. check your local craigslist.org. if you're new to the
suspension game, that's the easiest way to go.

>
> I did see in another post the suggestion to get the shop manual for my
> car, and have ordered one.
>
> Thanks!
>

On Feb 16, 8:41 am, jim beam > wrote:
> wrote:
> > Hello- I recently bought a '99 Civic HX, which the previous owner had
> > put in a coil-over kit that stiffened the suspension and lowered the
> > car about 1.5". Now I have changed jobs and have a much longer
> > commute, and the hard ride is starting to get old (handles great
> > though in cornering and quick maneuvering). The car has low mileage
> > (65k) and gets 40+ MPG, so I'd rather restore the original ride height
> > and quality than sell it for something else. I have two questions
> > before I get too far along:
>
> > Is this reasonably do-able for a weekend mechanic?
> > and
> > What tools and parts am I likely to need?
>
> if you have the right spring compressor, it's easy enough. but the
> right spring compressors are not cheap or common for hondas because the
> coils are very tight. you can fudge with bad ones, but they're not a
> good idea [potential damage] or safe to use.
>
> you can often find stock pre-assembled units for sale used or from a
> junk yard because ricers swap everything out and get rid of the stock
> units cheap. check your local craigslist.org. if you're new to the
> suspension game, that's the easiest way to go.
>
>
>
> > I did see in another post the suggestion to get the shop manual for my
> > car, and have ordered one.
>
> > Thanks!

What does the pre-assmbled unit consist of? Would installing one
still call for a spring compressor?
Thanks for the suggestions too.

wrote:
> On Feb 16, 8:41 am, jim beam > wrote:
>> wrote:
>>> Hello- I recently bought a '99 Civic HX, which the previous owner had
>>> put in a coil-over kit that stiffened the suspension and lowered the
>>> car about 1.5". Now I have changed jobs and have a much longer
>>> commute, and the hard ride is starting to get old (handles great
>>> though in cornering and quick maneuvering). The car has low mileage
>>> (65k) and gets 40+ MPG, so I'd rather restore the original ride height
>>> and quality than sell it for something else. I have two questions
>>> before I get too far along:
>>> Is this reasonably do-able for a weekend mechanic?
>>> and
>>> What tools and parts am I likely to need?
>> if you have the right spring compressor, it's easy enough. but the
>> right spring compressors are not cheap or common for hondas because the
>> coils are very tight. you can fudge with bad ones, but they're not a
>> good idea [potential damage] or safe to use.
>>
>> you can often find stock pre-assembled units for sale used or from a
>> junk yard because ricers swap everything out and get rid of the stock
>> units cheap. check your local craigslist.org. if you're new to the
>> suspension game, that's the easiest way to go.
>>
>>
>>
>>> I did see in another post the suggestion to get the shop manual for my
>>> car, and have ordered one.
>>> Thanks!
>
> What does the pre-assmbled unit consist of? Would installing one
> still call for a spring compressor?
> Thanks for the suggestions too.
>
the "unit" is a pre-assembled shock, spring and end cap, so no special
tools [compressor] required. great for a the d.i.y-er. if your
existing gear is high mileage or you live in the rust belt, it's a good
idea to change out all this stuff anyway.