**Write up** Eibach springs, drilled and slotted rotors.

[thrshr]

This is my first write up so keep that in mind if I leave some stuff out, just ask………
First off, some before pictures.



The Goods…..




Jack the car up. And if you don’t have shade, make your own like I did…

Take the rear wheel off first.

This is what you will be looking at after taking the wheel off.



Remove the Caliper…..


I used a cut coat hanger to hang the caliper out of the way for the rest of the brake removal….

[thrshr]

As you can see in this picture there are two bolts that hold the caliper bracket on.


The smaller bolts are for the caliper, the pink colored bolts hold the bracket on. In this pic you also see the braket off the car.

To remove the rotors, there are these retainer washers. I think they are from the assembly line to keep the rotor from falling off.


This is what you will see now that the brakes are off the rear….

Since I am doing springs also, here is where we take a slight detour if you are only reading this for the brakes…….

This is the bolt you need to remove to allow the rear arm to swing down. (it’s a 18mm BTW)

Helpful tip………jack up the bottom of the arm like this

Using a pry bar wiggle the arm and get the bolt out. See above photo….
Lower the jack and will allow the arm to fall with the tension of the spring pushing it down..

Put your foot on the end of the arm and push down, pull the spring out.

This is a comparison…


Do the same thing and put the new spring in…….. Clue, there is something wrong in this photo, only a few will notice it. I will admit it later……
I used the jack to compress the spring lined the hole back up shimmy and wiggle to get the hole lined up. Just slide the new Rotor on. Like so…..
Reinstall the bracket for the caliper, at this time you also put the pads in…..This is the infamous piston on the rear caliper…
This is what I used to screw it in CLOCKWISE… [IMG]http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad348/thrshr68/2007%20Aura/100_2962.jpg[/IMG

[thrshr]

After putting the bolts back into the calipers this is what it will look like.
Put the wheel back on…….
Now moving to the front…
Take the wheel off etc. remove the calipers first…

Next, just like the rears, take the front bracket off that attaches to the spindle these are colored green. 15mm I believe.

Now next is the sway bar end link……… I found it easier to remove the 18mm nut with tension on the sway bar, then jack up the spindle to relieve pressure off the rod. See pics below.



This is the method using the jack to get pressure on and off of the end link..

The brake line is attached to a bracket pictured here, remove it..


From the top(under the hood) I removed the 3 nuts that hold the strut to the top mount.

This is the bolts that hold the strut to the spindle…


They are 18mm BTW. Remove the bracket that is attached …

Then hammer the bolt out, it is pressed in like wheel studs on drums….

[thrshr]

The struts will pull out from the bottom easily and you will see this.


Use the strut compressor tool that you rented from Oreily’s or AutoZone… remove the strut nut to remove the “hat”





Compress the Eibach spring

Slide it over the strut assembly. And re-attach the same order you removed it in. tighten the strut nut. Release the spring compressor tool and re install the strut in the opposite order. While I was doing this I also did the resonator bong delete and dropped in the K&N. I hope this helped somebody and wasn’t too terribly long

[thrshr]

Oh and I also had it aligned today, did not have time for post pics yet, but are coming tomorrow.

[thrshr]

I snapped a couple at my parents place today before the alignment...
Enjoy,








The actual after shots will still come tomorrow.

[99SL2_Modder]

lol @ rear springs being upside down.

Looks good, but I wanna see the H&R's. I like the stock rake the car has.

[thrshr]

Originally Posted by 99SL2_Modder

lol @ rear springs being upside down.

Looks good, but I wanna see the H&R's. I like the stock rake the car has.

The funny thing is the fronts were used for the backs.... I dod not realize this till the backs were buttoned up and on the ground, and the front was apart. so when I thought I was almost done, basically had to start over. switched them around...... so the pic where i said something was wrong, the front spring is on the back.

[99SL2_Modder]

Originally Posted by thrshr

The funny thing is the fronts were used for the backs.... I dod not realize this till the backs were buttoned up and on the ground, and the front was apart. so when I thought I was almost done, basically had to start over. switched them around...... so the pic where i said something was wrong, the front spring is on the back.

I knew something was up with the spring. It looked upside down, but now I see it's a front.

Don't worry, we've been there before. I did it with my old H&R Sports on my old SL2.

[SaturnXE]

I 'd like to thank you for this great write up. I have to do my rear brakes next week and this will be the first time i ever did it on a GM so u definitely made my life easier. BTW im just surprised how easy it is to install the rear springs.

[thrshr]

Originally Posted by SaturnXE

I 'd like to thank you for this great write up. I have to do my rear brakes next week and this will be the first time i ever did it on a GM so u definitely made my life easier. BTW im just surprised how easy it is to install the rear springs.

To be honest, when you unbolt that arm, it swings down then press maybe another 3 inches with your foot and if you use your foot, you will have both hands free to reach in, slips right out, no tension. BTW thanks for the kudos, its my first write up

[AuraXR_Mila]

Hello,

I've stumbled upon your blog or post while looking to do the exact same work on my 2007 Saturn Aura XR. I definitely want to do the job myself since I haven't found a single place where they'd be willing to install the Eibach springs for anything less than 95/wheel. I also bought drilled and slotted rotors on ebay with ceramic pads that look identical to what you got. I have always loved cars and wanted to work on them myself but feel quite intimidated so any advice or details/help on how to get the job done would be greatly appreciated.

I have also noticed that you have not logged in in ages. If I receive no reply I will assume you have stopped posting.


Thanks!

[whiteshadow]

Originally Posted by AuraXR_Mila

Hello,

I've stumbled upon your blog or post while looking to do the exact same work on my 2007 Saturn Aura XR. I definitely want to do the job myself since I haven't found a single place where they'd be willing to install the Eibach springs for anything less than 95/wheel. I also bought drilled and slotted rotors on ebay with ceramic pads that look identical to what you got. I have always loved cars and wanted to work on them myself but feel quite intimidated so any advice or details/help on how to get the job done would be greatly appreciated.

I have also noticed that you have not logged in in ages. If I receive no reply I will assume you have stopped posting.


Thanks!

send the ebay brakes back. they are CRAP and the rotors will crack. complete junk. get real brakes or leave the OEM ones alone.

[jsantos2769]

I know this thread is old, but do you have problems.with the front struts bottoming out?

[mbruneaux]

POST RESURRECTION!!!!! What is the ride/handling difference with these springs?

[thrshr]

Originally Posted by mbruneaux

POST RESURRECTION!!!!! What is the ride/handling difference with these springs?

Post resurrection

Car handled great, stopped great, the ride quality was top notch, definitely made me a believer in eibach. The tranny was slipping and I had GM install another one under power train warranty. Then traded it in. This was my first write up and if it helped some of you out there then I feel it was a success