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How To Install Springs on a Evolution X

October 21, 2013

We here at Pro Street have a long history with the Mitsubishi 4G63T, and when we heard about the Evolution X and the 4B11T that would be replacing one of our favorite turbocharged 4 cylinders, we had mixed feelings about it to say the least.

Thankfully Mitsubishi didn’t disappoint with the Evolution X, another step and chapter added to the Evolution legacy and name.

Today, we’ll be installing a set of TEIN STECH Springs into this Evolution X, and showing you How To Install Springs on a Evolution X.

This TEIN STECH spring set has a spring weight of 235 lbs in front and 179 lbs in rear (or 4.2 kilogram per millimeter in front and 3.8 kilogram per millimeter in rear ) and will lower the vehicle roughly 1.5 inches all the way around. As this spring set is progressive, it will require you to remove and disassemble your coils from your shocks.

DO NOT PROCEED IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THE PROPER SPRING TOOLS.

What you will need for this install :

TEIN part number SKE18-AUB00
17mm socket and open end wrench
14mm socket and open end wrench
12mm socket
flat head screwdriver
needle nose pliers
Spring compressor ( YOU NEED ONE )

First find a flat surface and raise the car into the air and secure the car safely using your jack stands, a lift will work great if you have access to one. Open your hood and locate the front shock mounting points in the engine bay, secured by 3 14mm nuts.

Take your 14mm wrench and undo these nuts, but do NOT remove them simply loosen and let them stand like this. Now remove your front wheels and have an extra jack ready to support your hub.

Now undo the 12mm bolt that holds your brake lines to the back of your shock assembly and pull the brake line away to safety. Make sure to keep this 12mm bolt safe

Now it’s time to disconnect your shocks from the spindle and hub assembly, undo the 2 main nuts on the bolts that go through the lower shock perch and set the nuts to the side. Now grab your needle nose pliers and pull off the bracket tab that hold the brake lines in place.

This will allow you to fully move the brake lines away since you’ll be removing the entire shock for disassembly.

Take your spare jack ( a scissor jack works fine here ) and support your spindle so that it wont sag, pulling down and stretching your cv boots and your brake lines. Make sure to place wood on your jack while you support your spindle and do not jack up on the brake shield or dust shield.

Now pull out those main bolts holding your lower spindle in place.

Let’s go back and remove the 3 14mm nuts that are holding the top shock mount to your frame, undo those now and pull out your entire shock assembly.

Now that you have your entire shock assembly removed, it’s time to mark the orientation of your top mounting hat in relation to the spring and the lower perch. Making marks on the top strut mount hat will allow you to orientate the parts back in the correct order and have the top hat still mounted in the right direction.

It’s time to undo the front shocks and take the springs apart from the absorber itself, put your front shock in your spring compressor or attach the compressor arms to the spring coils in preparation of the disassembly.

**WARNING – If you do not know how to proceed using a spring compressor, stop here and take your vehicle to a certified mechanic. Serious injury and even death can occur from mishandling your front shocks and springs.

Undo the top nut and slowly loosen the tension in your spring compressor, now your top mounting hat and spring should NOT be under tension.

Slide the top mounting hat off with the spring assembly, revealing the shock dust boot and bumpstops.

Slide off your dust boot and bump stop, and using a marker, mark where you wish to remove the excess material in your bumpstop so that you won’t bottom out going over the imperfections in the roads at speed.

It’s now time to re-assemble your front shocks by reversing the order in which they were installed. Make sure you use your spring compressor and double check that the bottom of the coil spring is mounted firmly against the spring mounting groove of the upper seat. Take a look at the picture below for illustration.

Now torque down the nut to secure your front shocks together, and you are ready to re-install the front shocks back into your vehicle by reversing the method in which you took them off. Now it’s time to tackle the rear shocks, which are very easy to access.

Open your trunk and take out the floor board and foam insulation that is attached, now look towards the back of the trunk wall and locate the push pins holding this backing in place.

Push in the center of these tabs and the entire tab can be removed for easy removal.

Now is a good time to remove the factory trays that hold the spare tire in place as they cover the wheel well access panels you must reach to undo the tops of your shocks. To remove these panels, simply push in the tabs as you did with the rear trunk panel.

Now remove the long bolt that goes through the lower control arm and through the lower inlet of your rear shock absorber.

With that bolt gone you can now push the rear shock inwards and away from the lower assembly giving you some wiggle space to operate. Now go back into the trunk and locate the 2 14mm nuts that are holding the top shock mount to the chassis. As we did for the front shocks, make sure you have someone helping or a jack to secure the shock from falling.

You must unload the tension in this rear shock just as you did for the fronts, for those who aren’t familiar on how to use a spring compressor stop here and take your Evolution to a mechanic.

Depending on the type of spring compressor you are using, you may or may not want rags to protect the shock and spring from being scratched as the rears have slightly slimmer gaps between the spring coils.

As you did the fronts, make sure to mark the orientation of the rear shock before you disassemble the entire unit.

The bump stop in the rear of this vehicle is a free floating unit, as opposed to the fronts that are connected to the dust shield. Make sure to modify the rear bump stops as well.

Now tighten up the top bolt and reinstall your rear shocks back into your Evolution.

Now you are lowered and ready to rock and roll ( after a trip to your local alignment machine ) We hope you enjoyed our How To Install Springs on a Evolution X, please let us know if you have any questions we can answer for you.

Happy Driving!