Garrett93

Alright, so I was attempting to lower my H&R coilovers:
Picture for reference:


So I have all 4 off of my car and they are all seized up. I have searched all over the internet and couldn't find anything that has worked. I have soaked them in PB Blaster and got a one bottom ring/collar (whatever you want to call it) to go down, but I could not get the upper collar to move down. Currently I have one sitting in a bucket of oil to try that one out. I just put one in some vice and put a spanner wrench on it, attached a breaker bar and couldn't get anything also. Any other ideas?

Garrett93

Also, I read somewhere to heat it up with a torch. That sounds kind of risky to do with everything inside of the coilover. So, would heating with blow dryer be any good? Or would that just be useless?

Brandons96

The idea of heating a bolt (or nut in your case) is to expand the metal and break up any type of rust or bond that is between it and the threads. I really don't think a blow dryer will be able to get the metal hot enough to expand.. Also, fluid expands when it's heated, definitely don't recommend heating anything anywhere near the tube of the shock, because small bomb.

Keep trying PB blaster and some purple cleaner, you might get lucky.

Dough_Boy.

Take the helper springs out. Youll be low and don't have to adjust them.

Gen_Crunchytoes

a blow dryer would be useless. maybe try a small propane torch from autozone, itll get hot but i doubt itll get hot enough to cause any internal damage

lbs_ft

DO NOT USE A TORCH TO HEAT THE COILOVER.

If you do, chances are that the contents of the shock absorber will explode violently in your face. Soak that shit in PB Blaster, use a wire brush to clean ALL the threads of ALL contaminants, and use a hammer + chisel/flathead screwdriver to break the collars loose. Then use the spanner wrench to turn them to their desired location.

Trust me, I've done this way too many times with way too many different brands and styles of coilovers.

07Spec

It seems to me that it's possible that your springs are way overloaded. In other words, even with the weight of the car not being a factor, the spring has expanded (like springs do) but is still compressed somewhat and pushing against that collar/ring. If the above mentioned doesn't work, I'd suggest renting a spring compressor (or going to a shop that does springs and such) to complress teh spring more and then trying to turn the upper nut/collar/ring/whatever. If this isn't anywhere near the cause then... my bad. Good luck.

Garrett93

Do they serve a purpose? Will it ride worse/better? Any downfall to it?

That's what I've been doing, but have had little progress at all with it. And yeah, I wasn't really for heating that, seems way too sketchy haha.

lbs_ft

Gator don't play no shit.

Patience. H&R are the real deal, you don't want to mess them up. I had a set and I ran into the same issue you're having. Just keep it up and keep us updated.

Garrett93

Yeah, I know. It's just so damn time consuming.