i searched and read alot of posts on this... but heres my issue.

i have 1.7" springs and dspecs which i will finally be installing within the next couple days.
i also got new dust boots and spring isolators. i wanna do a complete and simple swap without having to take apart stock suspension.
anyways im thinking i should probably trim the bump stops, but as i look at them right now, if i were to trim the head (top 1") off the bump stop, it would just fall down the strut bar because it is the top part that is holding it at the top, and if i were to take the bottom inch off it would not be able to secure itself to the dust boot (hope that made sense).so how exactly do i trim this thing properly.

also, canadian tire , part source and other places do not show dust boots (with bump stops) for the rear for our cars, only the front. and the front ones i just got do not fit the rear... well the bump stop doesnt anyways, it just falls. so whats the deal with that?

The bump stop is held in place by the bottom. Think of the bumpstop as a snow man with the smallest parting being the head that you want to cut off. Take apart your rear suspension to get the old bumpstops out. Its not hard and it isn't held under much pressure so it should be safe to remove the upper mount without using a spring compressor.

i dont know man im looking right at it, the middle of the "top head" part is what is hitting the part of the strut that holds it up there. the bottom part supports the ring that goes inside the boot..., but without the top, the bump stop with fall to the bottom with the boot...

i took 2 quick pics to show you...


as you can see the notches, that is where the strut stops

now if i take that top "head" off, there will be nothing for the strut to hit to stop.

Those look nothing like my bump stops. Either sunifres or 2000+ suspensions are using different bump stops or those are some generic parts bin bump stops that fit several different vehicles. Regardless, I think you will be fine since the only thing holding the factory ones in is the retainer that fits inside the metal part of the dust boot. If you decide not to cut it, its not going to be a big deal unless you frequently hit large bumps that are likely to push the suspension to that point.

My 2003 doesn't look like that I had 2 indentation and then the one that fits into the bust boot. I just cut thru it in half.

Basically you want to get rid of the end that doesn't secure into the dust boot. That would be the top portion in your pictures. The bottom part in your pictures is what holds it into the dust boot, that is the piece you want to keep.

Cut them, you'll be surprised how often you need that travel. Remember that your removing a significant amount of travel by lowering it.


-Chris

if you leave the bumpstops in at full length, your car will be sitting on them. there is nothing wrong with having the bumpstop mvoing around in there free. it can't go anywhere. the rod keeps in in. i installed a new set of bumpstops in my front end and forgot to cut them and discovered that my car was sitting 1/2" higher then normal. took it apart and cut the bumpstops and it sat down properly again.

ok so if i cut them and take the big top head off, it will still attach to the dust boot but it will kinda jus fall and squish the dust boot down..... causing the dust boot to probably not even cover the top half of the strut shaft..., or when i drop the car down will it compress so much that it would be ok?.

Brian,

Personally I would take apart your stock suspension and just use all the stock parts. When I did my AGX/pro-kit install back in feb I had the same idea as you. I wanted to buy all new stuff and do the install so that I wouldnt have to tear apart my stock suspension just incase I got rid of my car. But I dont plan on it so I decided to use the stock stuff. Well the only new things I bought were new strut mounts for all four corners.

If your stock stuff is in good shape. Return the stuff you bought and you should be fine why not save the money. The install might just take you a little while longer since you have to take apart your stock stuff but no big deal in my eyes.

On my agx/pro-it setup me and my cousin who did the install didnt cut my oem bump stops. He is a certified mechanic and said not to cut them. "But" this rule depends on your drop as far as he told me. Since I have the pro-kit and the drop isnt that drastic. I should be ok and I havent experienced any issues to date.

You also have to think about when you cut them you increase your travel which is a good thing since you loose some travel in lowering. But even with them cut when you bottom out, if you do you, will bottom out harder & over time may cause damage to the strut since you cut them. This is just a cautionary measure. But in my case with AGX/pro-kit it wasnt that drastic of a drop. So as far as I know i'm ok.

Since your car is a 01. I would probably suggest takeing the boots back and the bump stops and pic yourself up a set of mounts from front/rear instead and use your stock stuff. I had the new mounts on hand so that when we took everything apart we had the new mounts there which we did end up needing. My rears were all cracked and starting to tear and my fronts were basically falling apart and worn out big time. So I would suggest you have new mounts on hand when you do the install for when you take things apart. No big deal to return them.

But as for those aftermarket bump stops you have. Those look way different then OEM.

Regards,

J

ok guys, let me know what you think....., i took the top off and they are a little over an inch in size now ( the bump stops)



you can see what i mean now when i say that the bump stops are not secured up top now, but really there is only an inch of strut shaft showing that will dissapear once they are on and compressed i would think.

think this will do, or should i go through the whole hassle of renting a spring compressor and injuring myself? lol =)

looks fine. the bumpstop can travel up and down inside the accordian cover and cause no harm to how the cover works.