Shock absorber replacement on 1991 Accord?

Good morning.

How is shock replacement as a do-it-yourself project on a 1991 Accord? I
assume I will need a spring compressor. Any other special tools? Is this a
reasonable project to tackle myself, or is it likely to be a world of hurt?

Thanks
-Mark

 

Having just done the same on a 98 civic, here are some insights:

1. Rusty bolts - depending where you live, if there's alot of salt on the
roads in winter, lots of these bolts will be seized and very difficult to
remove. Highly recommend you have an air impact driver with a good supply of
air. Tegger has also indicated success with a higher quality electric impact
gun, but I haven't actually found one that compares to the 650ft-lb air gun I
use. and LOTS of penetrating oil.

The impact makes it easier with the spring compressors too.

2. Shock mount collar placement - The hardest part of reassembling the strut
is to ensure that the mounting collar is in the right position. Since the
spring compressor you will use is probably similar to the one I used, I found
that when decompressing, the arms on the tool tended to shift. This caused
the collar to move, thus putting it into the wrong position when the spring
was fully decompressed. All thats required here is a good eye and lots of
patience. Or the right tools... perhaps a jig of some sort would have helped
me in this regard. Make sure you mark the position on the old shocks. The
shop manual is invaluable for this too.

3. Hardware - make sure you move over all of the old hardware from the old
shocks. Bump stops, washers, sleeves, etc... these are not provided with new
shocks (unless maybe OEM), and I didn't do the bump stops the first time
around. Guess what, I got to take it apart AGAIN... Now I'm good at it
though. The reason I forgot the bump stops is that I thought they were fused
to the old shocks. It took some work, but I got the washer off that holds
them on.

4. Torque - remember to torque any bolts that are in rubber mounts when the
tires are on the ground.

5. Scope Creep - be prepared for the scope of this project to get well out
of hand. I had to shell out for a bunch more crap than just shocks. Since I
already had everything apart, I ended up springing for:

1. passenger lower ball joint - $60
2. passenger upper control arm - $100
3. passenger tie rod end - $45
4. rear upper arms - $110
5. front brake calipers - $130
6. Monroe Sensitrac shock absorbers - $450
7. driver front wheel bearing - $90 (installed)
8. 2 new front tires Falken Ziex 512- $250
9. 4 wheel alignment - $80
10. Bolts I busted - $30 (2 from the dealer... what a rip!)

Total: $1345.00 OUCH

All of these parts were purchased from my FLAPS. I would have done OEM, but
the cost would have been at least 30-40% higher. We'll see if I regret going
non-OEM.

Please note that I am located in Canada. Autoparts and tires are definitely
more expensive up here, so make sure you shop around, if you're in the US you
will definitely get your parts cheaper.

Also, make sure you inspect the bushing in the rear lower trailing arm.
Tegger and Jim Beam have more information on this.

As I aluded to earlier, in addition to your spring compressors, I would
recommend you have the following tools handy:

Air Compressor
Impact gun
Hardened sockets to use on impact gun
angle grinder
Good shop manual (try hondahookup.com if you don't have a factory manual.
Hayne's isn't good enough to rely on solely)
Good pry bar

Job took me about 5-6 hours. (cumulatively, stop and start)

Good luck!

Terry in Winnipeg

 

Good point. I meant to ask about this, and I forgot. It seems sensible to me
to replace suspension parts at the same time, since my car has 180k miles on
it.

Why did you need to replace the various control arms? I heard a rumor that
the rear trailing arm bushings can be purchased separately from new trailing
arms, if you can figure out the part number. Can anyone shed any light on
this? And again, what tools would be required to replace them?

 

my rear upper arms' bushings were worn out.

You are correct on the bushing, I believe Tegger has had some luck finding
the Part number.

At the very least, you have the car apart already. It gives you a great
opportunity to check over your suspension parts, and replace any weak ones.
Thats exactly what I did. And then some, because I have had my share of
working on my car for some time....

t

 

I know what you propose is true for c. 1990 Civics, but I am
not so sure it is for your Accord. The 91 accord's Trailing
Arm is very different from the 91 Civic's.

For Civics, the TA bushings may be purchased separately. One
may also purchase the tool from places like Ebay (where the
description refers to using the tool only on certain years
of the Civic, CRX, del Sol, and Acura Integra. For some
ideas on where to investigate further, maybe see the
following:

http://home.earthlink.net/~honda.lioness/id15.html#tabushings

 

Great info, thanks everyone.

Any recommendations for make/model of replacement shocks to use here in the
USA? I'll be doing all four corners of the car. It's my daily driver, not a
racer.

Also, is it possible to use an impact driver with a "pancake" air
compressor, even in short bursts?

Thanks
-Mark

 

What symptoms does your Accord have that suggest the shock
absorber needs replacement?

I replaced the springs on my 91 Civic, but the shock
absorbers themselves showed no signs of leakage and seemed
to work fine by the usual test (push and watch how they
release). Even the springs might have been overkill.

Control arm bushings and ball joints are another matter. For
1991, the bushings in particular may be due.

 

The car wallows like a pig. The nose dances up and down after braking.

It's definitely past-due for new shocks.

-Mark

 

Meaning no disrespect; it's just that there aren't many
reports of failed shock absorbers here, even for a car this
old. Per chance are you a somewhat, uh, aggressive driver?

 

My shocks were a little different than yours... once I got them out of the
spring, I did a test on them to see how well they functioned versus the new
ones I had purchased.

None of the old ones appeared to be leaking badly (some oil was present), but
it was the travel that surprised me. The new shocks came back quickly once
compressed. My old ones took their time, and 2 of them actually never made
it back to full extension.

Also, on the old ones when you compressed them, you could hear the oil
squeezing through the passages inside the shock, and little air bubbles
moving around. New ones were silent.

However, I think they held up admirably considering the 282000kms on them.

I think what kills shocks up here is the temperature differential... +35C in
summer and -40C in winter. Talk about your severe service schedule....

 

I ended up with Monroe Sensatracs, but mostly because I couldn't find
anything else. They are lifetime warranty, and seem to be doing OK so far.

Have heard good things about KYBs. Inexpensive too.

Yes it is possible to use a small compressor. Just be prepared to wait for
the compressor to catch up with the air tool, and if you come across a really
stubborn bolt it may not be effective. Just make sure you can boost the
pressure to about 100-120 PSI.

I used a 3.5HP twin tank compressor with a 650ft-lb MAC gun. The MAC sucks
alot of air, but it worked OK. The compressor worked on 120V instead of 240V
which is good as I am not wired in my garage for 240V.

 

I think this was a nice study you did, loewent. I am tempted
to re-consider replacing those on my 91 Civic. Leaking "some
oil" would have been a red flag (alarm, actually) to me,
though. I would replace if any oil was seen leaking.

My 91 Civic is on 198k miles.It's never seen temperatures
lower than about 0 F, so the extremes for it have not been
as bad. Still, for several years I have long felt the
suspension did not handle speed bumps well. I just wrote it
off as the "cost" of an inexpensive car. Maybe I am wrong.

 

Perchance not. My last moving violation was an illegal U-turn
in the mid-1990s.

My mechanic has listed "needs shocks" on my invoices
for quite some time.

 

nah, theres two things that kills shocks. one is mechanical wear -
honda are good in that department. the other is time. the shocks are
gas pressurized - reduces cavitation. over time, the gas pressure
drops, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. once the pressure is
below the cavitation threshold, performance fades rapidly.

 

the best proof you'll ever need is to change them and see how different
the ride is. if you've owned a certain car for a long time, shock
performance decreases slowly and you don't notice the difference. put
new shocks on an old car, and boy, you sure do!