Steeda MagneRide Sport Lowering Spring Issues

[brianlh]

If you are lowering the cradle along with removing upper shock bolts and unbolt the parking brake line they come out easy towards the front, only other thing you need to do is use a bar and put your body weight on it. Also I didnt look at steeda markings as they only go in one way but i did make sure i had the right springs and I just did mine over the weekend

Trying to go out the front I run into the axle. I couldn't get enough room to go over it, I had to come out straight, over the rotor. Did you remove the top of the spring first, or the bottom?

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[NGOT8R]

Trying to go out the front I run into the axle. I couldn't get enough room to go over it, I had to come out straight, over the rotor. Did you remove the top of the spring first, or the bottom?

Remove the top first.

 

[NGOT8R]

Note: In the CJ Poly video they only show unbolting one side of the cradle and lowering it. All cradle mounting bolts need to come out before lowering it.

This is the third time I’ve lowered my cradle and it was super easy. If you think about it, the cradle is one assembly, so only unbolting one side is counterintuitive. Each time I’ve done this by myself and I didn’t have to push down on anything to get the spring out. I simply reached in and pulled the springs out once the cradle was lower than the upper spring mounts.

 

[JOKER M1]

Trying to go out the front I run into the axle. I couldn't get enough room to go over it, I had to come out straight, over the rotor. Did you remove the top of the spring first, or the bottom?

Can’t remember but I wanna say the top just fell out then I just pulled it out towards the front

 

[NGOT8R]

I should mention that if you don’t have two floor jacks, then at least loosen the cradle bolts as much as you can without completely removing them and then lower the side of rhe cradle that’s being supported with the floor jack.

 

[brianlh]

Note: In the CJ Poly video they only show unbolting one side of the cradle and lowering it. All cradle mounting bolts need to come out before lowering it.

This is the third time I’ve lowered my cradle and it was super easy. If you think about it, the cradle is one assembly, so only unbolting one side is counterintuitive. Each time I’ve done this by myself and I didn’t have to push down on anything to get the spring out. I simply reached in and pulled the springs out once the cradle was lower than the upper spring mounts.

Do you mean the bolts on each side of the control arm, or do you mean undoing those bolts on both sides of the car to lower the entire subframe? I was under the assumption that lowering the whole subframe would ruin the alignment without a irs alignment kit. I undid one half of it, with two small bolts and one big bolt in front of the CA, and one big bolt in the rear.

 

[JOKER M1]

Only thing I did different than what @NGOT8R said is that I left the other side bolts in but unscrewed them pretty far which is why I probably had to use the pry-bar but that wasn’t difficult

 

[JOKER M1]

You are working with the blue subframe bolts and the bracket. Both brackets need to come off. If you only have one jack then on one side lower the blue bolts as far as you can leaving about a 1/4” threaded in then lower the jack. Now go the other side and support it with the jack and completely remove those bolts and slowly lower the jack all the way. If you’ve removed the upper shock bolts and brake lines of your choice then with a little pressure pulling down on the control arm the springs should come out with no issues. And yes you will need an alignment after.

 

[brianlh]

You are working with the blue subframe bolts and the bracket. Both brackets need to come off. If you only have one jack then on one side lower the blue bolts as far as you can leaving about a 1/4” threaded in then lower the jack. Now go the other side and support it with the jack and completely remove those bolts and slowly lower the jack all the way. If you’ve removed the upper shock bolts and brake lines of your choice then with a little pressure pulling down on the control arm the springs should come out with no issues. And yes you will need an alignment after.

Ah, that would make sense why I had so much trouble then. I left the other side bolted in, like the videos. If it's safe to lower the other side I think that would indeed make my life much easier.

 

[JOKER M1]

Ah, that would make sense why I had so much trouble then. I left the other side bolted in, like the videos. If it's safe to lower the other side I think that would indeed make my life much easier.

Yes but just make sure you have both the blue bolts threaded in enough to support that side

 

[JOKER M1]

PM sent

 

[NGOT8R]

Do you mean the bolts on each side of the control arm, or do you mean undoing those bolts on both sides of the car to lower the entire subframe? I was under the assumption that lowering the whole subframe would ruin the alignment without a irs alignment kit. I undid one half of it, with two small bolts and one big bolt in front of the CA, and one big bolt in the rear.

Yes, I’m referring to all bolts

Do you mean the bolts on each side of the control arm, or do you mean undoing those bolts on both sides of the car to lower the entire subframe? I was under the assumption that lowering the whole subframe would ruin the alignment without a irs alignment kit. I undid one half of it, with two small bolts and one big bolt in front of the CA, and one big bolt in the rear.

Okay, I’ll try and break this down a little further in steps.

Step 1 - Remove the bolts holding the parking brake to the inner body and top of the control arm knuckle. Unbolt the brake line bracket as well.

Step 2 - Remove the parking brake cable from the caliper by grabbing the black plastic piece that’s a few inches back. press the tabs on the black piece and pull back on the cable and then lift it out of the hole in the bracket as shown and then unclip the cable from the hook on the caliper bracket.

Step 3 - Unbolt and remove the ABS sensor as shown.

Step 4 - Remove all bolts holding the cradle to the body.

Note: repeat these steps on both sides before lowering the cradle.

 

[TeeLew]

Having done this job a couple different ways in the past and then again last week, I can promise that this is the easiest (and safest) way to do it solo.

https://www.harborfreight.com/500-lb-capacity-hydraulic-table-cart-61405.html

 

[Robottrainer]

I've been trying to get my new lowering springs installed, and I've been having a ton of issues on the back. The fronts went in with only the expected hassle, just shaking and tight bolts etc. The rears, however, have been a massive headache.

The first question is that they appear to be labelled backwards. I'm putting images in (hopefully, this is my first thread). I've got the L and R next to each other, and the upper and lower isolators from the R of the car only fit on the spring labelled L. R appears to be coiled backwards. Not really an issue, but confusing for sure.

The main issues have been removing the shock, spring, and installing the new spring. I cannot seem to physically remove the shock, it seems too big for the hole. I guess the non-magneride is much easier to remove, but there has to be a method for getting the magneride out, right?

As far as the spring, I was able to get it out after wedging a 4ft prybar between the rotor and frame, and have someone stand on it. Even then, it barely got low enough to slip out. Every video I've seen shows them pull it out with just some minor wiggling and bouncing. This was hours of effort for us. The subframe was free hanging on that side.

The install is going even worse. I can't seem to get it to seat fully in the bottom, because it runs into either the sway bar on the left, the axle on the right, and the thing it needs to seat into up top in the middle. It seems like it's about three inches too big to fit properly, but it's the same size as the old one.

I'm not really sure where to go from here. I guess I can try removing the sway bar to get a bit more room and flex for the cradle?

Am I forgetting anything? I've watched a bunch of videos and read other posts and it seems like I've done everything, I have no clue why it's so difficult.

The L and R on the rear springs indicates which way the spring is wound not the side it goes on. Match it up with the existing spring on each side.

The easiest way to get the spring out is to lower the cradle. I have long studs instead of bolts. Put you can use a jack on one side and remove the bolts and then lower the jack.

Easiest way to remove the shocks is to remove the caliper, unbolt the brake hose and parking brake cable. Angle the shock to the 8 o'clock position on the left and 5 o'clock on the right. It comes right out.

 

[brianlh]

Anyone have any advice for the sway bar hitting the exhaust? I undid the other side to a few threads but it can't go much lower because of the exhaust. I've undone the bolts on the hangers which let it fall a bit, but not enough.

**Sway bar bolts are loose from where I started to remove it**

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