SleepyHead, Bobzilla, and John Welsh do OneLap2018

As long as you can whargle the shock out of the upper arm without having to pull the upper ball joint, that should work, yes. 

In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :

brake line, and wheelspeed sensor wire were the greater inhibitors... the torque set on the LCA bolt not withstanding.

i.e. pax side shock/spring assembly is now out.  I don't have a spring compressor... is this a "get thee to harbor freight" moment?

All the Auto parts stores will "rent for free" a spring compressor if needed. 

AutoZone Loan-a-Tool

Does R&R have a fancy wall mounted compressor you could use? 

sleepyhead said:

This is where I'm at so far today...

Also, my phone is E36M3'ing the bed when shooting with flash

Any further advancement? 

In reply to John Welsh :

I um, cut the no-knife cut-tape so I could open the hood... but otherwise, no;  Plus the temperatures dipped 20 degrees in the last 24hours... and I started getting worried the vinyl wouldn't adhere all that well.

re:spring compressor
there was a comment from R&R that no compression was needed for assembly, which was a concern of theirs.  I'm sure they have something for assembly assistance, not sure what though.  I'm thinking ahead a little bit on this comment about "should I purchase one"... because finding said tool in a couple of months is going to be a geometrically more difficult hassle.

edit:
also, sleepywife is not enthused at all about accent colors.  

got the driver's side shock/spring assembly out... in about 30mins.  So, that was good, encouraging.

of note:  I can compress the top of the assembly with my body weight ~1/16 - 1/8".  Haven't had a chance to pick up a spring compressor yet.

In reply to sleepyhead :

IIRC we didn't use a compressor to install the H&R's on my friends 09. But there was 4 of us hanging out, 2 people pushed it down while #3 started the nut and the impact finished the job

EDIT: Also, will we have room for a cooler? I would like to bring some sammich meats and cheese to make it a little easier on the tummy over the week if possible. Also would be a little cheaper for hte first few days.

In reply to Bob the REAL oil guy. :

As long as it fits the rear pax side footwell then it should be easy to bring along.

Spring compressor acquired, as well as two bellows kits for "in case of Berkleying up".  I think this is right, which means I need to cut the thick cylinder near the bellows but leave a small ring for the shock to contact?

That is what I would assume, the top cone shaped part of the bump stop should be just a touch more progressive than the cylinder portion.

Yes, the bottom ring (thicker of the two).

mazdeuce - Seth said:

Just trying to separate flow coming off the back of the car? 

If you want to build a splitter I'll buy and drop ship you a rivnut installer and you can return it to me for One Lap. I need to get one and this would be a good excuse.

Note: Seth is always serious about tool purchases... and doesn't ship slowly

so, there's definitely some differences between the available bumpstops and what was installed at the factory... although, I spec'd out a 2008 bellows/bumpstop vs. the 2006 that the car is... since it matches up with the 2008 shocks I ordered.

SPC claims there's a difference between 2006/2007 front suspensions... and claims that my upper arms are from a "later car".  I went with 2008 shocks, because TireRack doesn't show them as available for 2006.  And I definitely had the bumpstop the wrong way around earlier.

The 2006 OEM bumpstop, assuming that's what it is, actually has a metal insert in the middle... so I'm not cutting that one.  Guess I'll cut the new one and install it and the new bellows.  1" sound alright?  Maybe I should mark that out and take a picture of it?

Cut it at the divot. You're overthinking it. It just needs to be short enough to give enough travel and there enough to prevent metal to metal. You're outside proper engineering at this point, so go with functional. And then make a splitter 

mazdeuce - Seth said:

Cut it at the divot. You're overthinking it. It just needs to be short enough to give enough travel and there enough to prevent metal to metal. You're outside proper engineering at this point, so go with functional. And then make a splitter 

This doesn't come lightly..... What he said. 

The current one with the metal insert is what's making the noise. The rubber compresses just enough to make a metal to metal contact. 

so, I just watched this video...

and I think it got assembled without a bumpstop in it

look in the boot. The Forte's bumpstop was part of the boot.

In reply to Bob the REAL oil guy. :

the boot's empty

guess that might explain the "bang" noises.  this is a bit unlike them... guess they got overwhelmed by the balljoints?

I still need to open up the driver's side, and will comfirm there.  That's why I was getting so confused.

edit:
it should be noted that "non standard" parts are not their "forte"... if you will.  And this might be the first NF Sonata they've seen.

Alright, after a bite of dinner, I got one side assembled... although, the bumpstop isn't being held in place/orientation with the bellows and after being cut.

The coil overs on my forte wouldn’t hold the boot up either. They were still good even after I sold them 3 years later. 

Everybody has an off day. Even worse when you’ve been fighting something silly for way too long. I’ve seen some of the best techs I’ve ever seen make a simple bone headed mistake. 

there is a distinct possibility that there weren't any bumpstops in there to begin with when they pulled them apart

Some bump stops are held in place by the boot or just friction on the shaft, others move. No big deal. 

Even good techs are making it up based on what they've done before. We're all learning. 

alright, an hour and seven minutes later... not including the required 4 hour "be in charge of the sleepykids" interlude... and the second shock assembly was disassembled, new shorted bumpstop with matching bellows installed and reassembled.  Both shock assemblies installed, and assorted suspension/brake/wheelspeed bits are also reattached.

Wheels are not on, and it's still lifted in the air.  I figure it's a good idea to brake it off there, get some sleep and do my "think twice, then wrench" time and make sure I haven't missed something... before lowering it down.

As it sits now, I've got 40 hours to decide about & get registered for a HPDE on Sunday.... which raises a question about tires... hrm...

That rivnut tool is a good one! that's the same I used in my splitter build! VW bumpstops on the front tend to just float around like that also, don't sweat it, they will move where they need to be under the weight of the car ;)