Shock and strut replacement on a Civic

[Chris Meutsch]

As some of you know, I have a 2001 Civic LX. It's time for all four corners to be replaced (111k).
I own the Helm factory repair manual and it looks really easy to get the whole assembly out, both front and rear. However, you then need to get the shock/strut out from all the mounting gear and the springs. Hence, a two part question:
1. How hard is it? Do I need a spring-compression tool?
2. Do I need to worry about all the seats and mounts and if so, where should I go to get them? Haven't found any online.

Thanks.

I got my seatbelt money back from Honda! $542.48 (Got seatbelt tensioner fixed, found out from BITOG member it's lifetime warranty, went to Honda, got reimbursed)

 

[Donald]

You need a spring compression tool. And not a real cheap one, as they could slip and cause injury. See if you can rent one. or Harbor Freight.

Look on EBAY for struts, I found an ebay member oem_parts_plus who had struts for my Camry and I asked if they could also supply mounts and they could for a very good price for 4 struts and 4 mounts and shipping.

 

[Quest]

Donald is correct.

I've replaced my dad's 7th gen civic rear's crrappy OEM KYB (US made) with Tokico blue (Japan made), parts#HU3741

Front Tokico blues are HB3204, HB3205 respectively.

It took me 45 mins to replace 1 side of the rear (inc. manual spring compression). Front? I suspect 1 hr or less per side.

Good luck and don't forget to bring it in for 4-wheel realigment afterwards.

Q.