So I found some super low mileage IX Bilsteins from a local Evo enthusiast, and the price was too good to pass up. It came with everything, besides it is missing one of the nuts used to mount the top of the strut to the front. I was wondering if I take the stock struts off of my 03 Evo, would I be able to use those top-mounts nuts on the Bilsteins? And what other hardware would I be able to reuse when installing the Bilsteins?

On another note, I was wondering if the differences between the Bilsteins and the Mitsubishi struts would merit an alignment? Is there any other adjustments I'd need to make when installing them? (picture below is everything I bought)

 

anytime you mess with the suspension, you will need an alignment

 

Thank you Bmurray! Does anybody knoe about the using the 03 strut mounting hardware (nuts) on the IX's?

 

It should be the same stuff, I put IX bilstiens on my VIII. The fronts had camber plates, but i used my factory top mounts on the rears and it all bolted right up.

 

The one problem I am running into is the getting the spring compressed enough to get the upper mounting plate screwed in. I rented some spring compressors from Auto Zone, and I can only attach it to the middle two coils [shown by the green circles] (otherwise the spring compressor teeth will get stuck between the upper strut mount and the spring, or the bottom spring mount and the spring [shown by the red X]). For stock Bilsteins springs, is there a special type of spring compressor that should be used, or does any body know if a certain spring compressor works best for this application?

 

Need a spring compressor meant for a McPhearson Strut set up (to do it safely anyway). Google it. Or a shop that has a air powered one can do it in 10 min if that.

 

The compressors that I rented from auto zone were meant for MF struts. The problem is before I can get the spring totally compressed, the two adjustable teeth running along the thread collide and no more adjustment is available. The tooth brackets themselves are pretty large, so I am hoping that there is another option.

FWIW I tired using ratchet straps as make-shift spring compressors to install a leveling kit on a Dodge I had a while back. They worked great!... until the gears on the ratchet broke. The spring would have made it to Jupiter if my cheek and the barn ceiling weren't in the way

 

I used this spring compressor to swap springs out of Evo IX struts(well the fronts, haven't done back yet) and it worked well.

 

Take them to a shop for assembly. The price will be minimal.