i have my frpp b springs and mach 1 shocks and struts laying in my room, my question is how easy is it to install, i called one shop up and they said $400 for installation is that a normal price or have other people had there work done for cheaper.
More time consuming than anything since its all just wrench turning. Make sure you have a decent tool set, jack and stands. Air tools make it go quicker. As does a second pair of hands. I would highly recommend you get some caster/camber plates when you do this. And maybe some lower control arms for the rear since you'll have 'em halfway off anyway.
An air tool made you lose the bolt?
I'd second the suggestion about air tools - I wouldn't have done this without air...and a second set of hands. (Thanks Mrs. GT!)
Otherwise, it's pretty straightforward. And to clarify a couple points...you don't need to remove the LCA and you don't need to disconn the tie rod. Those two tips saved quite a bit of time alone.
I got quoted awhile back at $280...and I still thought that was too much...So I studied up, and with the help of a buddy, went to the local hobby shop and did it myself for about $16 (lane rental)...As long as you study the process, have a basic competence of tools, and have a buddy to help...it's not bad and more time consuming than anything, like was said before.
its not that hard at all. a jack, some jack stands, socket set, and a breaker bar is all you really need. removing the strut was a bit difficult for me, but with the help of my friend, a cresent wrench, and a prybar (used it like a screwdriver), we got it off.
the impact wrench just kept spinning something inside of the strut, and there was no way so stop it. it was too hard to grip the shaft portion.
It is a fairly easy job, I did mine in two saturdays outdoors with hand tools in nice weather (rear end one saturday and the front end the next), the car looked a bit odd driving down the road that week. I ran into an assortment of small problems doing the job, the cheap floor jack I had cleared everything fine jacking the car up, but with the new springs would not clear to pull out when done ( a few boards under the tires when lowering fixed this problem) also the cheap spring compressor I used for the front springs was too long so I had to shorten the threaded rod with a hack saw. (exact design of the spring compressor makes a big difference, I had to exchange 2 before finding one that was close to fitting, as noted above, it was also the smallest of the 3, single threaded rod type with a pair of swringing hooks for the spring, I almost had to trim the hooks down, clearance was very tight) If I were paying to have this done I would not pay over $200 (plus allignment, but that should wait a couple of weeks until they settle) , using the one of the cheater methods the rear springs/shock install was easy, with practice and the right tools it could be done in a couple of hours or less. The front was a sligtly more complex, I also installed a set of offset steering rack bushings, these proved far harder than I expected due to a broken spot weld, etc.