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I just bought an '02 (29k miles) and had it serviced (fluid flush, valve adjustment). While bleeding the brakes they discovered the factory spring spacers on all 4 corners (photo attached). They are recommending a new suspension may be necessary if they do remove these spacers now, since the original suspension has never properly compressed and might immediately sag. I wanted to get some more opinions. Is it safe to remove the spacers without replacing the suspension at this stage, or is a new suspension indeed necessary?
They mentioned that the car has been very well-maintained otherwise and gingerly-driven throughout its life for these to have not fallen off yet, in case that factors in at all.
I see no reason not having them removed would cause the suspension to sag. I would just pull them out and drive the car. The suspension may have to settle a tad once you remove them but should not cause any issue really.
Pull 'em and drive the car. I suspect the ride and handling will be slightly improved. If you do need springs they're periodically on Ebay. There are several specific sets for different model years.
Thanks so much for the quick responses I am local to Joey @ the Westborough Arco, and he removed them for me today! The car drives a lot better now. No issues resulted from taking the spacers out. There were about 15-20 spacers removed all together it looked like.
I heard similar stories about S2000’s so when my previous girlfriend went to buy a Toyota sports car I noticed it had a huge poster hanging from the rearview mirror about removing the spacers. I asked the guy who was delivering the car to me and he said it had been done. It looked to me like the car was riding too high and something was wrong but I believed him.
A few months later we took it back for service and they said the spacers had worn out the CV boots and had to be replaced I think it cost the dealer, or a Toyota, about $4000. Why would someone put the car on a lift or not notice this? Sometimes you just can’t believe what people tell you.
PS,
Don’t you feel sorry for the previous owner that never got to drive the car properly? It may be it always seemed odd to him or maybe they didn’t notice. Who knows?
A few months later we took it back for service and they said the spacers had worn out the CV boots and had to be replaced I think it cost the dealer, or a Toyota, about $4000. Why would someone put the car on a lift or not notice this? Sometimes you just can’t believe what people tell you.
Dealers now hire about anyone and PDIs are handed out to them. They mainly rip plastic and install small things. That full checklist is rarely done even at BMW/Audi/Mercedes. I have seen multiple cars still stuck in delivery mode that were on the sales lot.
Spring spacers found after 18 years
If you do need springs they're periodically on Ebay. There are several specific sets for different model years.
