Have suspected for a while that my rear springs have softened and yep they sure have, 25mm more sag than spec. This is made all too obvious when there's 2 or 3 big guys in the back and the cars mudflaps scrape on even the smallest dip. Even going as far as fully bottoming out on a bump at speed. Front is fine, only 5mm lower than spec

I'm about to move shortly. Am deciding if I should replace the springs now, or do it later. I have someone who has spring compressors and amongst us we have the tools to the work, but I need to know whats involved. We've removed the front struts before but i've not touched the rear. I only 2 days tops to work with so any information would be helpful.

This is assuming I can actually find some new springs tomorrow. Someone may have some in stock but i'd like a bit of info on springs, i.e. which brands are suitable and what spring rates are applicable. I want to retain the stock ride height

Edit: KF Sedan

With the rears, you need to remove the back bench and parcel shelf to get to the strut mount bolts.
1 bolt at the bottom of the shock to get it out.

The procedure is easier than the front in my opinion as the spring itself is really soft and hence using spring compressors is easier

Double post.

Ok. So we're not stuck fighting with clips, latches etc. How do you get the parcel shelf off? Remove rear seat (top and bottom?) Then what. I've removed the seats to put leather on, but not the parcel shelf

You need to remove the base to remove the backrest of the seat.
Once you do you can see a few clips that hold the parcel shelf (these clips are behind the backrest and currently hidden by the backrest)
Then the parcel shelf just slides off.
You might need to remove C pillars... I am not sure it has been a really long time since I helped my friend do this.
If you are mechanically inclined even in the slightest it is easy to figure out

Rear parcel shelf doesn't just lift off.it is held in by the speaker covers and the C pillars ...But you do not need to remove the parcel shelf .

Once the back part of the seat is out you will see four of five black clips holding the folded bit down ..remove these and then you just need to lift the corner of the parcel shelf to get a 14mm socket in there.

I find undoing the lower bolt first makes it easy to remove the strut.

If your car has a rear sway bar ,you will need to lever the suspension arm down with a crow bar or something to get the shock back in

Well I picked up some pedders standard height springs today for just shy of $200, will see how the installation goes tonight. Wouldn't have been my first choice but i'm in a rush and springs are springs, its the rate that matters. Which strangely enough companies don't seem to post, now that IMO is retarded. I'm used to the bike world where you can buy exactly the spring rate you need because you need to be able to calculate the correct spring rate, and you know if you are going harder or softer than whats currently on there. Whatever the case, if it's not riding on the bump stops anymore i'll be happy. If the spring rate is too harsh i'll attend to that down the track, I plan to get a bit of suspension work done later on anyhow

Oh thats another thing. By removing and then reinstalling the shocks, am I going to affect the rear toe/camber alignment? And is there any particular orientation the top goes in?

You don't touch any of the alignment adjustment in the process, and the tops are just 2 bolts, so no particular way going in from what I understand

I've taken the seats out and had a quick look, can't get started until later tonight when friend gets home from work. It appears there's 3 bolts at the top? like the front struts

Yes, three 14mm nuts at the top, bottom bolt is 17mm. Little hint, remove the large rubber nipple that covers the top of the shock (under the rear parcel shelf). This will give you much better access to the nuts, particularly the rear one.

Spetz, if you're not 100% sure it's probably best not to post it in the Technical Forum.

2 hours work and they're in. Only 2 hours because we dicked around with spring compressors and also got one of the top hats on a bit crooked and had to redo the work. The rear is now sitting nearly 40mm higher than before with a full boot, and is actually much smoother over small bumps than before without anything in the boot. However it remains to be seen how it'll ride when unloaded, I have a feeling it'll be too high for the front. But, whatever, it's a step in the right direction. Definitely a hell of a lot better loaded up