Driveway spring installs suck...

[Skoobie]

As the subject says...they're even worse when you dont have a driveway to do it in so you do it on the street in 85 deg weather Actually the springs wernt so bad it was the struts that sucked. The center nut that holds the plates to the strut can only be removed with an impact wrench. I ended up taking them down to schucks twice before I was able to get them loose. Tried to use the big ass screw driver/open ended wrench method and only managed to snap the screwdriver and put a one inch gouge in my fender Oh well the front is almost done and the back should be no where near as much trouble. I'll get some pics after the projects over, wish me luck

 

[Rootus]

I hear ya. The first time I ever did springs, it turned out to be a two-day event. Easily the worst nightmare I've ever experienced working on a car .

85 degrees is nothing . It was 100 here today, and at least 10* warmer in my garage, when I was doing my Fox TB swap. I was literally dripping sweat.

Dave

 

[YardSpecial]

I did mine on the back patio......

Too cheap to pay someone.

 

[281pony]

yeah.. springs can be a real pain in the ass.

i did my own rear springs. ended up taking like 14 hours trying to figure out wtf the previous owner had done under there. the bolts that go through the lower control arm were not even all the way through! much less the nut on the other side.

i did mine laying on a cement floor, had bruises for 2 weeks. the end result though,

 

[Scooby5.0Doo]

i have taken out my backs and put the stock ones in 2 times now in my drive way for other mods and it got easyer the second time and i still got to do it again for my coil over swap in the back . right now im wising that i did all the mods at once.

 

[Tylerb59]

I have some springs and LCAs to install. Was going to do it last weekend...and the weekend before that ... but I keep putting it off.

I'd much rather do another transmission drop / clutch install then one spring install.

 

[YardSpecial]

Its all in the tools..............

 

[tarch]

Its all in the tools..............

i agree... my buddy and I can prolly do the spring on my car in 3-4 hours with LOTS of slacking off

 

[TheRedBlur]

I did a strut once, took me about a day, I wasn't very experienced, and I mangled the **** out of the strut top. yeah, I ended up going to the local shop about a block away and had them loosen it up, and I drove real slow home lol.

 

[Skoobie]

Wow...Sportline's drop the ***** out of your car...I stood back after getting the front lowered and it looked like a dragster I just hope it wont rub on me, guess I'll find out soon enough. So I got the first rear spring off after work today and was wondering if you guys had any helpful hints on remounting the new rear spring. It dosent "pop" in like the fronts and the brake line really gets in the way. So any sagely advise would be well accepted

 

[TheRedBlur]

well, you take out the old ones, then put the new ones in, that's how it's done

 

[Tylerb59]

A spring compressor will make things a heck of a lot easier.

 

[YardSpecial]

Spring compressors are for s.........

 

[tarch]

Spring compressors are for s.........

 

[Tylerb59]

Spring compressors are for s.........

LOL

Its all in the tools..............

 

[YardSpecial]

Guess I am OLD school, never used one.

Makes the job slower and harder.

Also the spring is shorter, hence easier to install !

Done over 50 cars and trucks this way........

 

[Skoobie]

Ok so I got the spring in but of course nother is ever simple. I've got SSM lift bars on the car, so I go to jack the bars back into place so I can bolt everything back together, low and behold the holes no longer line up, the bars look like they shifted about 1/2 in twards the rear of the car. There is no way I can muscle it back into place while its under load. Has anyone had this problem?

 

[YardSpecial]

no, somthing is wrong on your part.......

Is the springs in place, if so take them out.

You only change one side at a time, so I don't see how it can move.....

 

[Skoobie]

I got it fixed, thank god for Gorilla Bars Had the neighbor pound in the bolt while I levered the lift bar into place...pain in the ass but after I did it once I was able to do the driver side on my own. Goes to show it always helps to have a second set of eyes/hands And with that the car is lowered, dropped it about 1 1/2 inches with the poly spring isolators. I was hoping it wouldnt lower it so much but it still looks good, Im just gonna have to watch out for speed bumps now Thanks for the input guys

-Marc

 

[FiveO]

i feel your pain MSTANG and i did my spring install...was a @#%$^ nightmare. couldn't get the struts loose for the life of us. we had to unscrew the strut from the fenderwell (making markings to put it back into the correct alignment). and then we ran into the risk of breaking brake liines...still needing a spring compressor which he luckily had. we ended up bending the hell out of them.