KYBs & H&Rs installed

[schaff70]

The ride on my 03 has been progressively getting worse over the past 2 months with loud crashes over bumps, rattles & awful bump steer. I replaced the tie rod ends & sway bar end links a month ago, but it only helped a little.
So I ordered H&R springs from Tire Rack & KYB struts, shocks & strut mounts from the cheapest place I could find online that offered free shipping.
I packed up the van this morning & headed to the Auto Hobby Shop on base. If you've never heard of this, it's my favorite benefit of being active duty military. Imagine a huge garage with 4 frame lifts, 4 drive-on lifts, 8 clean flat bay stalls and every tool imaginable.

Before pics:

Front:


Rear:


Side view:


Parts:


I tackled the front struts first because I knew the rears were pretty easy. I had no idea how difficult the fronts would wind up being though. I'm an above average mechanic & I've done half a dozen strut jobs before, but these were pretty tough. Not so much pulling the old ones out, but getting the new ones back in. It's mainly due to the location of the upper strut mounts & how heavy the assembled struts are.
Overall I spent 5 hours at the hobby shop at a cost of $15.25 total.

After pictures with the Yakima rack & roof box installed.




I found a random Odyssey to take side-by-side pictures as a comparison.







As a note I have 18" Nissan Murano wheels w. 235/50/18 tires.



-Todd

[schaff70]

Rear height after:


Front height after:

[autobot152]

looks great! how is the ride with the new parts? i installed a H&Rs in my 3rd gen and noticed it took about a week for them to fully settle so you may end up a little bit lower. but if you are like me... the lower the better

[JSJ-BAYS]

Thanks for the pics.... Looks Good...
( I would like to see how much 20"s would fill in the wheel well )

[JSJ-BAYS]

any lower now...?

[schaff70]

I'll take a camera home from work tonight for some new pics.
I don't notice it being any lower, but I'll measure to check. I kind of regret not cutting half a coil off each spring before installing, but I'm not going to take everything apart again though. I have an appt. at the dealer tomorrow for an oil change, alignment & transmission flush.
The ride is great BTW. I even catch a few people taking a second look at the van now, although it may just be all the decals on the roof box.
I have a couple other things planned for the van later this spring.

^ where are you in Ohio? I grew up in the Akron area & my wife is from Wadsworth.

[JSJ-BAYS]

I live in Toledo.....

If you do cut them , before you cut them ,can you post pic with the sizes and length ?

I would like to see if Eibach makes something close in size......(maybe 1.5-2" lower)

[schaff70]

Well crap. Just got back from the dealer for an oil change, transmission fluid flush & alignment.
They can't finish the alignment because the inner tie rods are shot. I was going to hold off replacing the control arm bushings which are cracked until May, but I may as well take care of them now.
Inner tie rods are a PITA. Some things are better to just pay somebody else to do.

I ordered a pair of complete control arms tonight from Parks Geek. Hopefully I'll be able to get them in the following weekend. While I'm in there, I'm going to go ahead & cut 1/2 a coil off each spring to bring the van down & totally eliminate the wheel gap. Since I already had everything apart & know what I'm doing it will only be a couple extra hours of work.

It looks like the springs settled a bit, but I haven't measured or had a chance to take new pictures. Every now & then I catch somebody giving the van a second look. I can't tell if it's because they think it's lowered or because I still have the roof box on.

[Layspeed]

Hey that looks nice! I just bought a '99 EX (same color as yours also) and there's some slight popping noises from the front going over bumps. I'm pretty sure the upper strut mounts are the culprit and I'm saving up for some suspension. What was the total overall cost for the springs and struts? The springs are specifically made for the Odyssey I assume? It would be nice to lower it just a tad as my wife is only 4'11" and it would make it a tiny bit easier on her, even though the entry/exit height on the van is pretty good anyway. BTW you should get some Honda decals made for your Nissan wheels ;-)

[schaff70]

The springs I got from Tire Rack ($245 est.) shipped. I just searched online for whoever had the lowest price with free shipping on the shocks/struts/strut mounts. I think they were about $240 shipped. I can't remember who I ordered them from, but I have the invoice at home. I was able to reuse the bump stops & dust covers from the front struts. While you're under the car, it would be a good time to replace the sway bar end links. Installing the parts yourself will save you a lot of money if you're up to it.

[schaff70]

Parts Geek can kiss my asz BTW. Placed the order last week & they won't process it because of a minor billing issue with the credit card (my billing address is a different state because my wife currently lives out of state). I've spent the last 30 minutes on hold only to be disconnected several times. I submitted a claim ticket only to be told an answer will be received in 24-48 hours.

[schaff70]

My buddy & I took some rolling shots on the highway.

My van:


I really need to chop half a coil off the front. I think I can live with the back the way it is.



My buddy Josh's 98 Volvo V70 T5 w. Bilstein shocks & IPD lowering springs.

[Layspeed]

The springs I got from Tire Rack ($245 est.) shipped. I just searched online for whoever had the lowest price with free shipping on the shocks/struts/strut mounts. I think they were about $240 shipped. I can't remember who I ordered them from, but I have the invoice at home. I was able to reuse the bump stops & dust covers from the front struts. While you're under the car, it would be a good time to replace the sway bar end links. Installing the parts yourself will save you a lot of money if you're up to it.

Thanks for the reply schaff70! I just bought our '99 used and it's got quite a few KM's on it so I feel suspension replacement or upgrading is due pretty soon. If you can find the invoice for where you got the shocks/struts/mounts from, I'd appreciate it. I will do some searching as well. I have no problems doing the install myself so I'll definitely save money there.

[schaff70]

Got the KYBs from AJusa.com. They're offering 10% off right now, but i'm not sure if the shipping is free.
You will need 2 strut mounts - KYB SM5211 KYB SM5211 Suspension Strut Mounting Kit | AJUSA.com
1 left strut, 1 right strut & 2 rear shocks KYB GR-2 Shock Absorbers and Struts for 2003 HONDA ODYSSEY | AJUSA.com

I'm at work again, so I don't have the invoice in front of me for what I paid, but it was around $250 total.
Tire Rack is showing fewer that 2 sets of the H&R springs left at $229 + shipping. I couldn't find anybody who offered free shipping on the springs, so I went with Tire Rack. They're a good business & I've made a number of purchases from them over the years.

You should be fine reusing the front bump stops & dust covers. I forgot to check the condition of mine before I headed out to install everything, so I picked up a fresh set from Advance Auto Parts the night before. They were $50 for the pair (overpriced), but I returned them the next day.

[0dyfamily]

NICE job. How do you like the KYB struts now that you have about a week of road time on them?

Thanks for the links...$243 with free shipping for struts and mounts seems to be a good price. I think both of our Odys will need front struts soon (I replaced rear shocks on both with Monroe Sensa-Trac Load Adjusting types, and am fitting Air Lift 1000's for towing the bass boat).

What model year of the Murano did you use for your 18" wheels? They look great. As well, do they need hub-centric rings?

Your choice of roof box is impeccable. I found a Yakima Platinum 21 and got some Yakima DoubleCross rail grab bits to go with the 48" bars (looks like your setup).

Man, you are so right about the Auto Hobby Shop. It was a life saver when I was brand new to the USAF.

Thanks for a super-informative post with pics.

OF