i finally had a free saturday and replaced my struts and coils. it was quite a learing experience. my first major work on my car. needless to say, they are wonderful! i had forgotten how fun it was to drive my prix (and less noisy now, too). it's a much stiffer ride with the lowering coils and all, but i think i like it. the dog will have to deal.

there are a couple of things that are different now that they are replaced. i would like your opinions from my descriptions.

1. some shuttering while accelerating from a stop until 25-30mph, then it goes a way. this shuttering feels like it's coming from the tires or something else. there's no shuttering in the gas pedal, only in the steering wheel.

NOTE: i havent done the obligatory alignment yet b/c i finished with the struts saturday night and all the shops were closed and of course they're not open on sundays. i did take it to walmart (i know, i know) to have them take the wheels off and just put them back on to make sure that they were sitting correctly. that didnt fix anything. but the walmartians worked real hard and fast b/c i stood there watching them do it. it was the fastest turn they had while i was there.

2. at higher speeds ~65-70mph, there is more shuttering while accelerating but it feels like it's coming more from the engine/transmission than from the wheels. i feel it from the gas pedal but not the steering wheel.

3. when i turn at low speeds of less than 10mph, there is a popping coming from the tire area. i can feel it in the pedal and steering wheel and it can be heard from outside the car as well. it's not a grinding or a long series of pops, just one or two and will pop again when i turn the opposite direction later on. i havent determined just which side it's coming from.

any thoughts? thanks in advance!

Wheel Bearings? are your tires rubbing on anything when you turn the wheel have someone turn the wheel while you look and make shure its not hitting anything

i dont think it's rubbing. for example, when i make two right hand turns in a row it wont pop when i make the second turn. if it does, then it's not very noticeable yet. but if i make a right turn followed by a left turn it will pop during both turns. make sense?

sounds like you have the dreaded GP "lowering vibration" check out this thread, it might answer your questions and help you get it fixed:

http://www.clubgp.com/newforum/tm.asp?m=3683662&p=1&tmode=1&smode=1

First off I'd get the alignment done. Then go from there.

Make sure your rims are securely fastened to the hub.

When you lower the car, everything is at a differnet angle like 20* different so you are going to here noise coming from the wheel sas you turn b/c everything has to get re-adjusted. As for the suttering, whe you go for and alignment get your tires balanced too. that shoudl take car of your problems.

i finally had the popping checked out. apparently the bushings under the mounts aren't turning with the spring, instead they lose grip after turning 1-1.5 inches (or less) and pop back making the popping sound. i looked under and saw it happened as they turned the wheel. the yellow part of the mount would turn and pop back. both sides do it, but the left side is worse. they said that i would have to replace the mounts b/c they're broken. they are both brand new. then they said that they werent compatible with the kybs and eibachs. they are oem gabriels from autozone. i had a feeling i was getting the run around b/c then they said that it would cost me $75-100 per mount just to buy the mounts. i scoffed at them and told them that was absurd.

my question(s): do i need to get new mounts? if yes, are there after market mounts that would play nice with the kybs and eibachs or is that not necessary?

If they're brand new ones, chances are you didn't put them together correctly.

I know when I buy the Monroe ones from OReilly's they're never assembled correctly and I have to "fix" them before installing...

i'm assuming you're meaning the entire strut assembly (strut, coil, mounts, etc.)? b/c the mounts came pre-assembled. the only thing loose were the three bolts for the top. all i had to do was attach the mount to the top of the strut with the coil already on there. could the coil be sitting wrong in the strut? could that cause it to sit wrong on the mount? i dont think that's the problem, but one never knows.

yea i thought the same way... when i looked at the mounts i got from zzp and tried to install them they fit but the spring dint fit right i didnt reliaze it until i looked at the older one that the way the packaged them and shiped them was in an incorrect way i had to take apart the new mount and had to set up and reconfigure it to look like the old one...

theone2043's got it...

It might looked like they're assembled, but really it's just the way they're packaged. Several people down here did the same thing and solved their popping issues when reassembling the mounts correctly...

yea good thing my friend said something ... cause i dont think i would have reliazed it.. haha

thanks for the input! i assume when i take the mount apart it will be pretty self explanatory? is it pretty obvious if i really analyze the situation and pay attention that i can put it together correctly? i dont have the old mounts or anything to go off of. is there a picture somewhere that i could look at to try to get an idea? i looked in the haynes manual and it didnt have it, of course.

im trying to think if i have any old mounts at home still... if i do i will post the correct order when i get off work unless some one on here knows the order...

I might have one I can take pictures of but I doubt it...

Order is usually...
1. Mount
2. Plastic Ring
3. Bearing
4. Spring Seat

find any pictures of the mounts?

@ theone2043,
i notice that you are lowered, too. do/did you have the vibration problem? if so, how did you solve it? i noticed here here wbodystore.com they have they have shortened dog bones and i was wondering if you did that? the dog bones seem much easier than engine and tranny mount replacements.

i havent really noticed any vib... i have also done the dog bone swap .. make sure u have to people when changing them...