GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

you know how the stoch spring keeps the top spring perch from rotating till you compress the spring the it spins freely.your supposed to line the notch in the upper perch with the lower perch(facing strut mounting holes)the new spring is so short that it doesnt touch the top perch which spins and wont hold still.which is contrary to those instructions from deepstage.com which tells you to compress you new spring to reassemble.what to do?

First, what springs did you purchase? Something doesn't sound right.

progress springg and sway bar from p tuning.they look exactly the same as stock just shorter.so short that they dont need to be compressed to reinstall. i ran the 19 mm nut all the way down by hand and the top perch still doesnt touch the spring.

I have never installed progress springs on the vibe yet, but some of them do not require compression to install. I was able to push the upper spring perch down by hand to reassemble the top perch assembly.

Even with a longer spring which would contact it, it's possible to accidentally rotate the top perch relative to the bottom one when tigherning the nut, which can pop the spring out of position. You could carefully use an impact wrench on the top nut, or hold the perch with vise grips while tightening the nut. Just be sure the spring seats properly on both when you're through.

Quote, originally posted by satur9 »i ran the 19 mm nut all the way down by hand and the top perch still doesnt touch the spring.I remember we barely needed to push the top "cap" down on the spring to get the top nut started, but the spring definately didn't have any play left after the nut was tightened down. (on Hotchkis springs) If you still have some play left after the nut is tightened down, that doesn't sound right. (Yes, after in the car, the weight of the car will compress the strut/spring together, but if you hit a bump, hole, or jacked up the car, the spring could become unseated.) Something doesn't sound right. Are you positive they sent you the right springs?

yeah i was worried about that too. but after a put in all back together.and jack it down .tightened. the top strut bolt the jacked it back up. the play was gone.i think the sway bar is holding stuff up.i torqued the front bolts (struts, tops ,center, brake ,sway)bolts to spec.but i dont have specs for the rear)the rear was a pain too. the bumpstop doesnt stick to that washer thing now that its cut, it just falls down. and the end of the top spring was different than stock ,which confuse me for hours.but its back toghether now.hopefully it stays without to many problems for a while

Quote, originally posted by satur9 »the bumpstop doesnt stick to that washer thing now that its cut, it just falls down.Yeah, that's normal, it's kinda wierd until the spring is compressed on the vehicle and it seats normally.Quote, originally posted by satur9 »and the end of the top spring was different than stock ,which confuse me for hours.but its back toghether now.hopefully it stays without to many problems for a whileListen for noises (some popping and/or creaks are normal initially as the springs settle into position) and it may be best to go back and double check everything after a day or two to make sure the bolts are tightened and the springs are still seated properly. It's a pain, but worth it.

Quote, originally posted by NSimkins »Listen for noises (some popping and/or creaks are normal initially as the springs settle into position) and it may be best to go back and double check everything after a day or two to make sure the bolts are tightened and the springs are still seated properly. It's a pain, but worth it.Good idea Nick, also keep a eye on your tires for any unusual tread wear.

yeah i'll do that. i pushed it a little hard today and heard no noise.the ride is better than stock to me, except over very large bumps or deep potholes.

Quote, originally posted by satur9 »yeah i'll do that. i pushed it a little hard today and heard no noise.the ride is better than stock to me, except over very large bumps or deep potholes. Keep us updated. Also, make sure you are more cautious about the road conditions, including bumps and holes as you'll have more of a tendency to scrape the body or undercarriage. As a disclaimer, be sure to watch ahead of you and not the road directly infront of you the entire time!