993 - Rear Suspension Replacement
From pcarworkshop
To change out the rear suspension components requires both rear tires to be off the ground and the car to be on jack stands.
(1). Remove both rear wheels
(2). Remove 4 13 mm bolts that holds the rear sway bar in place. These are the two U shaped holder on each side of the sway bar that needs to be removed.
(3). Remove the sway bar link bolt that links the sway bar to the rear shocks. The trick to remove this bolt is to insert a open end wrench in between the bolt and the link to hold the shaft in place when loosen the bolt.
This is a close up picture of the round shaft with flat spots to inset the open wrench in to hold the shaft in place to loosen the sway bar link bolt.
(4). Loosen the lower suspension arm bolt from the inside bolt when looking at it from the rear of the car. The bolt that is visible from the rear of the car can not be loosen. The bolt must be loosen from the inside. The large bolt that you see fro from the below picture is used for toe in adjustment, I recommend you make a mark on the bolt in relation to the sub frame so that when it is installed back it goes back to it's original setting as much as possible.
(5). After loosen the left rear lower suspension arm bolt you will notice that the bolt can not be slide out because the left side heat exchanger is blocking the bolt from sliding out. You will only need a few millimeter of room to clear the bolt, so a floor jack needs to be placed underneath the engine and jack the engine up a little for the bolt to clear the heat exchanger.
(6). After the bolt is removed the rear lower arm can now be dropped by tapping it with a rubber mallet.
(7). Remove the rear lower arm hub bolt that bolts the lower suspension arm to rear hub assembly. I used a impact gun to remove this bolt and the torx shaft remained stationary. Slide the rear lower arm off after the bolt has been removed. If you don't have a impact gun you will need to use a open or close end wretch and a torx bit to hold the shaft in place while the bolt is loosen.
(8). The four rear shock tower bolts can now be removed. You will need to reach your arm in the narrow space from the engine bay and use a short stubby ratchet to loosen these four 13 mm bolts. I cheated in doing this with an air ratchet.....
(9). The rear shock coil assembly can now be slide off the shock tower and removed from the hub.
The next step will be using a spring compressor to remove the old spring and re-use the shock top perch on the replacement shock and spring. And to transfer the sway bar link over.
(10). Now is a good time to compare the old and the new to make sure everything will fit.
(11). Use the spring compressor to hold the spring in place while the shock perch nut is removed. If you have a impact gun it is not necessary to hold the shock shaft stationary. But if you are using a wrench you will need a vise grip to hold the shaft in place for the Koni shocks
(12). Transfer the sway bar link from the factory shock to the new shock. You will need to use a torx in order to hold the shaft in place while the nut is being loosen.
(13). Same method on how to loosen the shock perch nut can be used when tighten the nut on the new shock.
(14). Now it would probably be a good time for you to ask for an extra pair of hands to help you. Unfortunately my wife will never help me do anything that is car related. So I had to do this by myself. It was very difficult! Insert the new shock assembly through the rear shock tower and have someone to help you hold it while you hand tighten the 4 x 13 mm nut from the top of the rear shock tower.
(15). Insert the lower suspension arm back in the shock mounting hole and the hub assemble. You will need someone to put some weight on the hub assembly to push it down in order for the holes to line up for you to insert the suspension arm shaft. You will also need a torx to hold the shaft in place while you tighten the nut with a wretch. And reinstall the arm at the sub frame end. The bolt that holds the arm at the sub frame end in is also used as the toe in and out adjustment on the car, get it back to the original position as much as possible. Tighten the 4 x 13 mm shock tower nut.
(16). Complete. Need to do the other side and then reinstall the sway bar.
Original Article Credit : Robin Sun
