hey guys, I will be receiving my 2010 Prius in a day or two. the road condition in Pakistan are not that favorable for the imported cars as they get hit from underneath alot. So I'll need to put 1" spacers on top of the rear suspension. that will require disassembling the shock absorbers. I just need to know how to disassemble the interior to gain access to the suspension nuts inside the car? thanks in advance
There's just two small plastic panels in the rear you pop off to access the top of the rear shocks. You may want to read through this thread for some tips: DIY: Spring Install | PriusChat
I would put spacers on the front as well to level off the car. Otherwise, you will lower the nose of the car and have problems hitting that.
Thanks. Have seen that thread but it doesn't guide on removing the interior panels. I know it will be a simple task just don't want to damage anything
The rear only has shocks, not struts. You only have to remove the bolts for the lower part of the shocks. Not interior panel removal needed.
I think there are nuts on the inside hidden under the pannels which are to be removed in order to remove the shocks. these nuts are also replaced with longer nuts in order to accomodate the spacer. spacer is placed between the shock absorbers plate and the body
Placing a spacer between the shock absorber and the body would not give you any additional ride height. It would just shorten the length of travel of the shock. Also, I don't see how a longer nut will help as there is only so much thread on the shock. I believe the spacer should go between the spring and spring perch to adjust the height. To remove the spring you just undo the lower shock mount. If you still need to remove the shock assembly it is very simple. There is one lower bolt that you remove. On this one make sure you loosen from the bolt head and not the nut. On the top, there is a single nut that you access via a small plastic cover in the rear hatch next to the wheel well. The plastic cover just pops out by prying/pulling. It should be obvious once you get the car and look into the hatch area.
