The HAL 12-way shocks can offer you a significant improvement in the performance of your car, particularly if you want the ability to adjust the shocks for driving through the twisties AND for drag racing. These two applications have vastly different shock characteristic needs, and the HAL’s can accommodate them. The HAL’s are probably not as good as the best road racing shocks…. e.g. Koni, but they are an excellent compromise if you want the ability to achieve pop-up-the-front drag launches, without giving up decent road manners. The HAL’s also offer you the advantage of being rebuildable.

I purchased HAL Proma Star AL model OED-7855-P front shocks, and Stocker Star AL model TC-2501-P rear shocks. The rear shocks are conventional, in the sense that they simply replace the factory rear shocks. The Proma Star front shocks are a major improvement, since they incorporate the ability to adjust the ride height of the front of the car. This is accomplished via an Acme thread machined into the full length of the billet aluminum housing, and an adjustable ride height ring with lock-ring for the lower spring seat. All this works well, if you buy the HAL drag springs, but this is not what I wanted to use.

I already owned a set of Eibach Pro-Kit springs, that I had never installed. My car looked like a candidate for 4-wheel drive conversion. The rear fender well lip was almost 3" above the tires. The front fender well lip was a full 2" above the tires. Way too much daylight in there. I wanted to lower the back-end the full 1-1/4" of the Eibach Pro-Kit, and drop the front end just enough to keep the wheel clearances similar and the posture of the car neutral. This is where the HAL’s came in.

The build quality of HAL shocks is apparent when you open the box. The finish is excellent. They "look" good. (and they performed as good as they looked). And they throw a decal and instruction sheet in each box. The decals are nice, but the instructions are a problem. My observations:

1. The instruction sheet is "generic". It is not specific to the 4^th Gen F-Body install, and is seriously lacking in this respect. You are going to have a lot of questions. Hopefully, my install procedure will answer them.
2. There are parts included that you don’t need. For example, the rubber bushings included with the front shocks.
3. There are required parts that are not supplied, such as the lower bolts for the rear shocks and the spanner wrench to adjust the ride height on the front shocks.
4. There are parts included that don’t fit. Example, the washers for the front shocks.
5. There are OEM parts that need to be reused, and/or modified before reuse. These are not mentioned in the instructions.
6. HAL was slow in answering questions, and then suggested that my problem was "failure to read the instructions". Eventually some answers were provided, but it took an effort, and I still get the impression the people at HAL thought I was some kind of idiot. Rob/Shoebox was doing the same job, in parallel with me, and he had the exact same questions and problems. I rate HAL very low in the "customer service" department.

The rear install is really easy. There is nothing special about it, except HAL does not include a lower mounting bolt. And, if you still have your factory deCarbon shocks, the bolt is not removable. I don’t know if this is the case with other factory or aftermarket shocks. But before you start, check to see if your existing bolts are removable. In any case you might want to get new mounting bolts, to be sure they will fit in the HAL’s correctly. (Note – I was doing the springs and shocks at the same time I was installing a Strange 12-bolt rear. My experiences might be a little different that what you will see, but I have tried to separate out the 12-bolt install so as not to complicate things.)

1. Make sure you have lower mounting bolts. (HAL specific, but for any shocks, make sure you have a lower mounting bolt). First I asked HAL what bolts to get. They replied "Try this, Dorman PN 661-001 Universal Shock mount Bolt". Well, after about half a dozen auto parts stores (Pep Boys, Kar Parts, Thul’s), and no Dorman’s of that description, I bought the following:

• Two 2-1/2" long by ½" diameter x 13tpi (coarse) Grade 8 bolts. The "fine" threads might be a better choice, but they were not available in -1/2" lengths where I bought them.

• Two matching ½" coarse Grade 8 nuts.

• Two "lesser" ½" nuts, these were thinner than the Grade 8, to be used mainly as spacers.

• Four matching ½" flat washers

• Two ½" lock washers.

1. Now you are ready to start. Loosen the lug nuts. Put chocks in front of and behind the front wheels.
2. Jack the rear of the car with the wheels at least 5" off the ground, and put jack stands under the sub-frames.
3. Put a floor jack under the differential, and jack it slightly to lift the weight of the axle off of the shock lower bolts. Remember, the shocks are the only thing holding the springs in.
4. Unbolt the lower shock connections, pull the bolts out of the holes in the axle brackets, and rotate them 90-degrees so they don’t catch the bracket when it is lowered.
5. You should not have to loosen the lower control arms, the panhard rod or the torque arm. Leave them alone.
6. (Note – This step is correct for coupes ONLY. Convertibles have a different upper shock mount, accessible through a small panel.) Go to the inside of the car. Fold down the rear seat back, and pull the carpet from the rear forward, until you can see a blob of foam stuffed in the sheet metal near the wheel wells. Pull the foam blob, and you will see the threaded top of the shock shaft. Get an open-end wrench on the nut, and grip the flats on the top of the shock rod with vise grips. Loosen the nut, and let the shock drop to the floor.
7. Go back to the outside, and slowly lower the axle with the floor jack. WATCH THE BRAKE HOSE AND THE ABS SENSOR WIRE FROM THE BODY TO THE DIFFERENTIAL HOUSING! (I had removed my brake lines, calipers, emergency brake lines and unplugged the ABS connector from the axle housing at this point, because of the 12-bolt, but you will not have to do this. I dropped the axle later, to install Air Lift bags in the springs, and it was not necessary to remove any brake lines, but my ABS plug was still not connected, so you really need to watch it as you drop the axle. Just watch to make sure the hose from the body to the axle is not over extended.). The springs will flop out. No tension, no danger, as long as you lower the axle SLOWLY.
8. Check the upper spring seat. There is a large rubber seat pushed up into the body. One of mine stayed put. The other fell out with the spring. For the one that fell out, I found a mark on the upper surface that matched a small hole in the body, and marked the side of the seat, body and spring with a white line. This way I could put the spring seat back in exactly the way it came out. I do not know if this is absolutely necessary, but it seemed like a good idea.
9. If you plan to put an air bag in the passenger side spring (or even in both springs) this is the time to do it.
10. While the shocks are still off the car, install the lower bolts in the HAL’s. You need to install the bolts so that when the bolt goes into the bolthole in the axle bracket, the adjuster knob will be facing the inside of the car. Put a flat washer on the bolt. Insert the bolt through the eye of the shock. Put another flat washer on the bolt, and the thinner "lock-nut". Tighten the nut against the lower shock bushing/sleeve. The metal sleeve in the bushings allows the nut to be tightened against the sleeve, without affecting the bushings. Just do not over-tighten and crush the sleeve. Now you are ready to install the shocks.
11. Install the shocks to the body. The HAL’s have new washers and bushings. Put a washer, then a bushing on the top of the shaft. Put the shaft through the body. Put a bushing and a washer on the shaft, then the thicker nut. Tighten the nut until the bushings start to compress. The factory spec is 13 ft-lb. I figure that they should be very tight, so there is no play in the top of the shock. There is a hex nut on the top of the shaft, accessible from under the car. If you lock a wrench on there, or get a friend to hold it, you can tighten the top without gripping the shaft. There is no "flat" on the top of the HAL shafts. When they are tight enough add the thinner nut as a lock nut and tighten it against the lower nut while holding the lower nut with a wrench.
12. Put the new springs (or your old ones) on the axle bracket lower seats and the seat on top of the spring (if it fell out) and slowly raise the axle until the springs just start to touch the seats. Rotate the springs until the top coil nests properly into the relief in the seat. Hold it steady and jack the axle the rest of the way, high enough to get the lower shock bolts in.
13. Put the lower shock bolt through the hole in the axle bracket, no washer on the shock side, but add a lock washer on the nut side. Add a nut and tighten to 66 ft-lb. On mine, the bolt was still about 1/8" inside the nut, but this is a wide, strong nut, and should not be a problem. Going to a 3" bolt is no good, because the shoulder is too long to allow you to tighten the inner nut against the sleeve. You might also consider not using the inner nut, but it seemed to me that the arrangement I described above put the shock in the proper position, similar to the factory unit, clear of the axle mounting bracket, and totally vertical.
14. Set the shock adjusting dial. Screw it all the way counterclockwise. This is the "softest" setting, then rotate it clockwise counting the clicks. Start with 5 clicks.
15. Remove the floor jack. Put your wheels on and tighten the lug nuts, without knocking the car off the jack stands. Remove the jack stands and lower the car. Retighten the lug nuts to 100 ft-lb., using a star pattern.

You need to understand how the factory front shock/spring assembly goes together. There are no good exploded views of these in the Haynes or Chilton’s manuals. So here it is, from the bottom:

1. The bottom of the shock sits on top of the lower A-arm and is held on with two bolts.
2. There is a metal lower spring seat that sits on a ridge on the shock tube.
3. There is a hard rubber or plastic seat between the metal lower spring seat and the bottom coil of the spring.
4. The spring is retained at the top, by the upper spring mount/seat, but continuing up the shock:
5. At the top of the shock tube, there is an integral metal cap, which takes the impact of the jounce bumper. It comes off, but it will not fit the HAL’s, that lack this piece. I asked HAL if this piece needs to be used with the HAL’s, but did not get an answer. I decided not to reuse them, since they don’t fit over the shaft of the HAL’s. The top of the HAL shock tube is solid, while the factory is open. (For non-HAL shocks, look and see if this cap needs to be reused).
6. On the top shock shaft, there is a shoulder, with a very small washer on top of it.
7. A black plastic dust shield/jounce bumper slides over the shock shaft, sitting on top of the small washer. It is the bottom of the rubber jounce bumper, inside this plastic tube, which will bottom out on the top of the shock tube, preventing damage. Again, this piece does not fit easily over the HAL shaft, but it can be done. (It appears this shield should be installed on your new non-HAL shocks, if they are not equipped with new shields).
8. The top spring seat goes on top of the shield. The spring seat is a stamped metal part, rubber coated, with a center part that goes over the shock shaft, and the two bolts that stick through the top of the fender well, and the two nuts for the bolts that enter from the top of the fender well.
9. There is a rubber coated, "dog-biscuit" shaped insert that goes into a "well" on top of the upper spring seat, and over the shock shaft.
10. There is a single nut, with integral washer, that goes on top of the "dog-biscuit" and screws down on the shock shaft to hold the entire spring/shock assembly together. (On non-HAL shocks you may have to reuse this nut).
11. The top seat goes up into a recess in the fender well, and is held on by the two studs and two bolts, accessible from under the hood.
12. The top spring seat also holds the upper A-arm against the shock tower. When you pull the spring seat out, the A-arm will come down with it, and of course the steering knuckle is attached to the A-arm, so the whole mess will come crashing down on you if you are not expecting it.

Before you can install the front HAL shocks, if you want to use anything other than the HAL drag springs you need to modify the factory lower spring seats. I bought a new pair of seats (PN 22099275, $20 each), so I could modify them before I ripped my front end apart. Thunder Racing sells modified seats for $55 plus your old factory seats. If you don’t do either of these, you will need to disassemble your factory shock/spring assembly to get to the lower spring seat. The modification is described below.

The factory spring seat is about 1-1/2" high. It has a flat top with lip (about 4.83" diameter) where the spring sits, a cone transition, and a cylindrical section, slightly less than 2" in diameter that sits on a ridge on the factory shock. The lower cylindrical section is the problem. The HAL shocks require a 2-1/2" inside diameter opening. If you cut across the cone section, right at the highest point in the two notches, you will have the right size opening.

It can be cut with a saw. Rob/Shoebox did it this way, and he was kind enough to send me some photo’s to include in my procedure. Cut by starting the hacksaw blade in the opening, and cut first to one side, then to the other. The resulting opening is slightly smaller than required - maybe 2.48". But this allows you to work the opening to be as close as possible to parallel to the spring seat, and to be smooth all the way around with no high or low spots.

Another way to cut the seat is to use a lathe. Chuck the seat, with the top against the chuck, and the part you want to cut off sticking out. Use a tool to cut straight across the seat, just at the innermost part of the two openings. Since you are cutting across a "cone" this will leave you with a flat surface that is about 3/16" wide, and will sit flat on the HAL lower seat bearing ring.

But, the opening will be too small, by a few 1/100^th of an inch. Take a grinder (die-grinder or Dremel) and start to grind the seat perpendicular to the flat face. This will start to reduce the width of the flat face, but will eliminate the knife-edge on the inside of the seat. Gradually, you will end up with a seat that will be just the right diameter to slip over the HAL seat ring. It will have a perhaps 1/8" flat surface to bear on the stainless bearing ring that rests on the height adjuster ring, and a small vertical surface that will bear on the inner cylinder of the height adjuster ring. This, combined with a generous application of anti-seize compound, should give you a smooth adjustment. To make sure there will be no sharp edges to dig into any part of the shock seat or bearing rings, file the edges of the cut. I also polished the cut surfaces with 600-grit sandpaper to insure they were smooth.

1. Chock the rear wheels.
2. Remove the two nuts that hold the brake master cylinder to the power booster unit. Do NOT disconnect any brake lines. Pull the cylinder away from the studs so it can be pushed gently toward the passenger side when you remove the two Torx head bolts for the upper spring seat.
3. For non-HAL shocks, it is important that you mark, in white paint or similar, the relative locations of the upper seat to the top of the spring, and the lower seat to the bottom of the spring and to the shock. And the upper seat relative to the lower seat. The lines must all match when the spring is reassembled, or you will not be able to get the unit back into the car correctly. With the HAL’s this is not necessary, because the spring will rotate freely on the lower height adjuster ring. The stock or other aftermarket will not rotate.
4. Loosen the two nuts (15mm) on the top spring seats, both sides, the hex-head bolts from the passenger side, and the Torx bolts from the driver’s side (Torx-50). Leave one nut on each seat, to prevent it from falling out when the spring/shock assembly is removed.
5. Loosen the wheel lug nuts and jack one side of the car. Place a jack stand under the sub-frame.
6. Remove the wheel/tire.
7. I recommend that you remove the front brake caliper at this point. You might be able to get away without doing this, but it is only two bolts per side. You need a 3/8" hex (Allen wrench) to remove them (Note: my manual indicates that there are three different head configurations used on these bolts. Make sure you have the right tool before you start). Hang the caliper with a coat hanger, from some point on the front fender well (good luck finding something) where the brake hose will not be under stress.
8. Loosen the link that holds the end of the front sway bar. Remove the link, allowing the A-arm to move independent of the sway bar.
9. Place a floor jack or bottle jack under the lower A-arm, and raise it.
10. Loosen the two bolts that hold the shock to the lower A-arm, but do not remove the nuts at this time.
11. Unplug the ABS sensor connector and tie the wire back out of the way. If you start your car now, you will get an ABS INOP light.


(Alternative procedure - I have been told by at least on person that they were able to remove the spring/shock assembly from the a-arm/steering knuckle assembly WITHOUT separating either ball joint. They also claimed they did not even remove the sway bar end link, but noted that getting the spring shock assembly out required a lot of strong-arming from a couple of helpers.)

(A second alternative - I separated the LOWER ball joint, because I wanted to completely remove the lower a-arm for replacement of the rubber bushings. I have had a couple of people tell me that the UPPER ball joint is easier to separate. The removal will work with either ball joint separated.)


12. Remove the cotter pin from the lower ball joint, and remove the castellated nut. Put the nut back on loosely.
13. Separate the lower ball joint stud from the lower A-arm. I found that my pickle fork would not pass all the way through the open area, and would hit on the lower A-arm ½-way through. I found that by jacking the lower A-arm a lot higher, the pickle fork would go all the way into the joint. Then, holding the fork in the joint, I dropped the lower A-arm by releasing the jack and the stud popped out of the A-arm. Be careful of the rubber seal. If you press the seal down under the fork, it should not be damaged, but you will squeeze out a lot of grease.
14. At this point, the A-arm should be free to move up and down when the shock is released. Remove the two bolts holding the lower shock mount. Remove the nut holding the top seat in the shock tower. Be prepared, because you need to support the steering knuckle, the upper A-arm, the top spring mount and the spring/shock assembly.
15. Pull the spring/shock assembly free.
16. Either take the spring/shock to a shop and have it separated, or use a spring compressor to compress the spring, and remove the top nut from the shock shaft.

WARNING: A COMPRESSED SPRING STORES A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF ENERGY. UNCONTROLLED RELEASE CAN KILL OR SERIOUSLY INJURE YOU, AND DAMAGE ANYTHING NEARBY. DO NOT USE A SPRING COMPRESSOR UNLESS YOU ARE FULLY TRAINED IN ITS OPERATION AND HAVE EXTENSIVE MECHANICAL KNOWLEDGE. LEAVE THIS JOB TO THE PROFESSIONALS. I RECOUNT MY EXPERIENCE ONLY FOR THOSE WHO ARE FULY QUALIFIED, AND I ASSUME NO RESPONSIBILITY OF ANY KIND FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF FOLLOWING THESE INSTRUCTIONS. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURY OR DAMAGE YOU MIGHT DO. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

I used a Lisle PN 62300 McPherson Strut Tool. The instructions specifically mention it is NOT for spring removal, but I like the design. The clips actually u-bolt to the spring coils, so they can’t pop off, and can’t start to slip around the spring coils. I put the clamps 5 coils apart, and compressed the spring until it fell loose. After removing the spring, I was able to fully decompress the spring, with about one-inch of threads left on the big compressor bolts.

17. To disassemble the assembly, you need to remove the top nut off the shock shaft, on top of the top mount/seat. Mine was nut in bad shape, and came loose just holding the top of the shaft with vise grips. Rob/Shoebox indicated that his was badly rusted and took a major effort to get the nut loose.
18. Reclaim and clean up the parts you need to reinstall your HAL (or other aftermarket) shocks. Unless you have purchased new parts, you will need:

• The lower spring seat off of the shock. If you did not buy and modify new seats, you will need to remove them from the original shocks and to modify them now. To get the seats off the OEM shock, turn it upside down, and tap the bottom of the seat with a hammer. It will start to slide down the shock. When it gets to the silver cap on the top of the shock, just keep tapping. The cap is held on by springy fingers, and will pop off. This allows the spring seat to be removed.
• The rubber seat ring that goes between the bottom of the spring and the bottom metal seat.
• The shield/jounce bumper.
• The upper spring seat.
• The "dog-biscuit" insert for the upper spring seat.
• The nuts and bolts that hold the lower shock to the A-arm and the upper spring seat to the shock towers.

1. Rework the shield/jounce bumper (HAL install only). It needs to fit over the top shaft of the HAL shock. This will require that you ream out the inside diameter of the rubber jounce bumper to 0.xx" diameter. This will allow the jounce bumper to fit over the hex nut on the top of the shock shaft, and the lock nut below it. It is a soft white rubber. I used a sandpaper band on a Dremel, with a flex drive shaft that provides a smaller diameter handle that will reach down inside the hole in the rubber.
2. Apply anti-seize to the threads on the HAL shock. (HAL install only). Screw the seat height adjuster onto the HAL shock until the metal lower seat is about the same distance from the bottom of the HAL shock as the seat would be on the OEM shock. Screw on the locking ring and lock it against the height adjuster ring. I didn’t have the spanner wrench, so I took a screwdriver, put it into the corner of one of the notches, and tapped it with a hammer.
3. Put a coating of anti-seize on one side of the stainless bearing ring, and put the bearing ring on the top of the height adjuster ring, anti-seize against the height adjuster ring. (HAL install only).
4. Put the metal lower spring seat on the stainless bearing ring. (HAL install only). For non-HAL shocks, the shock will have a ridge/shoulder on the tube, which supports the spring seat.
5. Put the hard rubber seat in the metal seat.
6. Compress the Eibach spring approximately 1-1/2-inches. This can be accomplished by putting the compressor on the "further apart" upper coils, for maximum movement, with minimum force. I used the 2^nd coil from the top, and then counted down 3 coils for the lower compressor bracket. For non-Eibach springs, you will have to adjust the procedure accordingly. The Eibach’s were about 1-1/4" shorter (uncompressed) than the factory springs.
7. Put the plastic shield over the top of the shock shaft, pushing it down to the hex nut.
8. Put the compressed spring on the lower rubber seat, indexing the pigtail to the proper spot.
9. Put the top spring mount/seat on top of the spring.
10. Put the dog-biscuit insert on top of the mounts/seat. This inserts with the "ridges" to either side of the shock shaft hole on the top, and the smooth part down into the top mount/seat.
11. Place a washer on top of the dog-biscuit. Note that this is the washer you ground down during "intermission". Or you can just use a 5/8-inch O.D. flat washer. (HAL install only. The stock nut has an integral washer).
12. At this point, for non-HAL coil-over shocks, make sure the upper and lower spring seats are properly aligned, using the white marks you placed on them before disassembly.
13. Screw a wide nut on top of the washer, and tighten it to xx ft-lb.
14. Put the thinner lock nut on top of the nut and tighten it.
15. Rob/Shoebox suggests the use of a coating of grease to prevent any accumulated moisture from rusting the shaft and/or nut.
16. Put the spring/shock assembly into the wheel well, making sure the adjuster knob is facing the inside of the car.
17. You can adjust the dial on the HAL shock, again, fully counterclockwise until it stops, the sixth click clockwise. This is a "medium" firmness.
18. Put the top mount/seat through the upper A-arm, and push the studs through the holes in the shock tower. This is difficult, because you are holding the entire weight of the spring/shock, the steering knuckle, the upper A-arm, the tie rod, etc.
19. Loosely tighten the two nuts on top of the shock tower and screw in the bolts.
20. Attach the bottom of the shock to the lower A-arm, using the two OEM bolts. Make sure you have the shock adjuster know facing toward the inside of the car. Tighten to 48 ft-lb.
21. Put the steering knuckle over the lower ball joint stud, install the castellated nut, tighten it to 81 ft-lb., and install the cotter pin.
22. Reinstall the end link between the sway bar and the lower A-arm. You may need to put a jack under the lower A-arm and raise the arm slightly to allow the end link bolt to stick out far enough to get a nut on it. Tighten to 41 ft-lb.
23. Tighten the top of the shock tower. The two bolts tighten to 32 ft-lb. Tighten the two Torx bolts to 37 ft-lb.
24. Replace the master cylinder over the two bolts and tighten the nuts.
25. Install the brake caliper, using the 3/8" Allen head bolts. Make sure the bolts are clean, and lubricate the sliding surfaces with some WD-40. Tighten to 21 to 35 ft-lb.
26. Reconnect the ABS sensor plug.
27. Install the wheel. Tighten as much as you can while still on the jackstands, using a star pattern.
28. Jack the car and remove the jackstands. Before putting full load on the wheel, tighten the lug nuts to 100 ft-lb., in a star pattern.

I hope you found this procedure to be useful. If you found any errors, found room for improvement, an alternative way to accomplish something, etc., PLEASE send your comments to me at InjuneerZZ@aol.com. The draft was reviewed by Rob/Shoebox, and several improvements suggested. We also compared noted during the install. Thanks to Rob for his assistance.