Colt front suspension assembled & installed

Taking this to the next step. You saw what I did to make the rear fit, and this is what it took to do the front. There will still be another video for a rough alignment and camber adjustment, but I learned some things about the Colt strut along the way that some DSMers might want to know.

If you think the front end of your DSM sits too high, or considering lowering your front end, the Colt front strut has 3/8" more shock travel than a DSM strut, and is around an inch and a quarter drop if the springs and everything else stay the same.

It looks like the Expo/Summit wagon knuckles are the magic part that ties this swap all together. Whether they're left 4-lug or converted to 5-lug, they fit the turbo DSM axles. They eliminate captive rotors, grease cups and fit all the turbo DSM stuff while eliminating the bump steer issues by straightening out the steering assembly. More research about the benefits of reducing bump steer can be found here:

http://www.4g61t.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=32097

Brake options are wide open because of the number of Mitsubishis that share the same bolt pattern for the caliper brackets. The depth of the caliper varies on some models, so it's important to be using the whole brake system, and then checking the wheels for clearance over the calipers. Both my wheels and brakes came from a 1992 AWD Eclipse, and they're a perfect fit.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• 1990
• 1991
• 1992
• Dodge
• Colt
• Mirage
• Excel
• Elantra
• Expo
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• Summit
• front
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• hub
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• seal
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• perch
• hat
• replace
• replacement
• installation
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• diy
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• how-to
• Jafro
• Jafromobile
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• turbo
• DSM

[andymcdo]

Where did you get that spring compressor? I want one.

[Jafromobile]

@andymcdo Look below at MichaelCosta84's comment. Thumb it! ;) I did! I'm sure it's going to be a popular question, and I spilled the beans earlier. :D

[Running925]

Lookin good, glad to see your still at it!

[Jafromobile]

@Running925 It's gonna be rollin' soon... Once the GSX is engineless... maybe later tonight?... Colt's coming indoors. I've got a fresh bottle of Argon/CO2... but I'm itching to buy a stick welder.

I saw your Wellsville video, but there wasn't nearly enough of HAVOC in there? It's rough being a camera man, I know...

[jl2un]

Great job bro. keep the build going!

[Jafromobile]

@jl2un It will be easier now that it's ROLLING! You bet there will be more, and soon.

[Jafromobile]

@MichaelCosta84 Google "OTC-6494" and you'll see it pop up in the shopping results. ;)

They're not cheap! :o

[MichaelCosta84]

@Jafromobile I do mobile mechanic work, and struts are definitely the most requested thing, so I would gladly spend that money to stop using these stupid HF specials. Thanks for the information, buying these right now, I earned it after 2 weeks (and counting) of electrical gremlin chasing on the GSX.

[Samsgarden]

I'm intrigued by your videos but one thing...why Mitsubishi's?

In Australia, Mitsubishi bought out Chrysler and made horrible Sigmas, which became Magnas-that had a habit of blowing a lot of foul smelling smoke. I wonder why they did that? Might have been a carbeuration issue. Interesting.

[DJDevon3]

Your videos are so awesome. Been subscribed for a while. Just amazing stuff. Keep up the great work; video and automotive.

[dcpeter1]

Great job as always. The holes you mentioned that line up the hat and spring perch can be used to compress the spring (maybe Mitsu intended it that way?). You can use a long threaded rod to do the trick. Double nut one end and tighten the other to compress the spring.

[peelout40]

@Jafromobile Thanks so much, really does help. I noticed that on the DSM forums, the debate is mods vs appearance vs price...someone just said buy some SS bolts from a hardware store and you'll be fine. It just needs to hold the valve cover on, and since yeah, its all finger tight only so, it's not loaded up with torque. I just want it to work and fit, and get the car out from under my carport. :)

[adamryanclark]

Another classic video

[davemiii]

@Jafromobile Yeah after doing a few videos myself I realized it's sometimes more work & way less fun to edit the video than to simply do the job. Plus the extra effort it takes to do the camerawork, it's definitely appreciated more on my part. I'd go nuts w/o the background music though. I even got a snippy copyright warning from Youtube and the record label because you could hear the music in the background on my stereo while I worked in the garage. Annoying.

[Jafromobile]

@davemiii Voiceover is working well. I'm trying to streamline the edits while keeping it simple. I don't know if anyone can comprehend what it's like doing a 30+ hour job (in some cases) to make one video without speaking or using the stereo... I still show part numbers where I have to but this isn't YouBooK.

I cover a lot of ground in these videos, & I think people appreciate not having to read while it's going on. Nobody told me to, I just figured that one out all by myself. :P