Noob question on front shock spring and seat orientation

Is it normal for the coil on the driver's side and passenger side to be oriented 180 degrees from one another? I just noticed the spring seat on the driver's side has the coil ending in the front while on the passenger side it ends in back. I imagine if you can rotate the spring any which way when it's completely released from the top support prior to re-installation and I see nothing about it in the FSM.

Just want to make sure I get it right when I install the new Bilsteins in a couple weeks.

Left front:


Right front:


Right back:

 

from 2002 FSM if this helps....

 

Yeah, but with the Bilsteins the seat needs to be installed on the shock and can be oriented however you want so it seems.

 

Match mark the coils, the tophat, and the upper bucket before removal. Then follow the FSM diagram above, when assembled match the coil marks to the bucket mark.

 

mark your left and right as well. Do one at a time there will be a little spin available to fine tune the clocking and get the lower bushing in place.

 

When loading the spring go slow and keep that bilstein removable perch aligned like the fsm.

 

So the fact mine looks 180 degrees out where the coil ends on each side doesn’t really matter?

 

Maybe set your match mark exactly along the bottom Eye perpendicular to the lower mounting bolt, and use a straight edge marking each coil ring until you end at the top bucket. It should be a straight line from the eyelet to the top center nut. When reassembling if the center of the new bottom mount lines up with your coil marks its the same as when removed.

 

Thats how they are supposed to be. The left bottom coil ends facing almost forward, the right bottom faces almost backward when mounted.

 

Thanks! I just wanted to make sure mine weren’t previously done incorrectly.

 

That's always a concern, so match mark, to assist in case its right. But study that diagram showing the two shocks from the top down till it makes sense. Its a shitty diagram and unclear about what the lines point to , but its right, once you understand what they are showing.

The 25 degrees is showing the position of the top hat outer stud for reference. The other line shows left coil ends off center forward , right coil ends off center back. They dont list a degree for that because stock bottom perches don't spin this is where the science ends and art begins. You won't notice if they are slightly off, but eyeball it pretty close.

 

@10 blue trucks Okay, the diagram makes a lot of sense now that you’ve given a lot of definition to it. Thanks once again!

 

Yeah, you can even see the orientation of the bottom eye hashed in the center. Mount it in a vice so its eye is aligned like that. makes it easier to follow the picture during assembly.

 

But not tight enough to bend the tubes, or wait maybe don't mount it in a vice at all your first time.

 

Just learned today that the spring seat is normally installed prior to shipment. I"m not sure if I should send it back for replacement or take the chance I may not align it perfectly.

Hopefully a 3-5 lb rubber mallet is enough to tap it on or get it off.

 

I don't think the orientation matters really. The only bit of trouble I have seen where coils need to be clocked is with 5100 shocks using the tall mounts. Coil to spindle contact can happen for that scenario, but for stock height I can't see it happening.

 

I just got some feedback from Bilstein as well a few minutes ago. Apparently the spring seat can be rotated in place on the snap ring if needed in case I'm off.