front coil springs please help

Shakerhood said:

Yes, it was over $200, but well worth the investment for me as it made my spring swap so much easier.

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I am too poor for that, but it sure is nice to have the right tool for the task!

compress the spring outside the car get several wire coat hangers and strap the spring with the wires remove compresser then install, bolt it up, then cut wires and pull them out. saffer if you can band them with with banding materials. JUST BE CAREFUL

rsw007 said:

compress the spring outside the car get several wire coat hangers and strap the spring with the wires remove compresser then install, bolt it up, then cut wires and pull them out. saffer if you can band them with with banding materials. JUST BE CAREFUL

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Son, you got brass! Having uncoiled springs on the bench before, I could not begin to try this - I fear the potential energy in those springs too much (I would worry about the coat hangers letting go).

I might do the MFE method before trying this. As I always say, to each his own.

I bought the factory Ford front coil spring compressor for mustangs. owned it about a year and have done about 9 cars.... ill rent it out....lol

well as long as your mother is clean i should be alright because i love to run through her every night, then again i dont know how many other dudes shes whoring out 2. i was kind of dissapointed to hear from u, i thought for sure that spring got the best of u. well if that didn't something else will, like changing your air filter. can u handle that sucka (how gay r u).

I am not one to normally say something, but since you guys keep going back and forth with fairly crude stuff that would offend some folks, why not take it to PM's?

Grow up people.

The way I replace front springs is to remove the bolts that bolt the A-arm to the K-member. No spring compressors needed.

axeman said:

Grow up people.

The way I replace front springs is to remove the bolts that bolt the A-arm to the K-member. No spring compressors needed.

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If you want ancillary or extra info, MFE has a pretty nice write up on this method. Good luck

Payupsucka, hey it's Pete with the Yellow '79 Cobra. When I did mine, I used my brother's homemade spring compressor and it worked like a charm. It was my first time ever doing a spring job and I was able to do it without a problem.

Go to a hardware store and buy a 1/2" or 3/4" threaded rod with two nuts (long enough to go through the entire spring.) Also buy two flat pieces of steel (wide enough to lay on top of the spring, possibly 4" long by 2" wide.) You'll probably spend $10.00. Drill a hole through the center of each that's big enough for the threaded rod to go through.

Next, put the spring in place and stick the threaded rod through the bottom of the A-Arm and up through the spring. When near the top of the spring, slide one of the flat pieces in (under the top coil and resting on the top of the next coil down. Thread the nut on it. Next, install the other flat piece of steel on the bottom and nut that. Then, tighten the bottom nut enough so that the spring compresses. Keep raising the floor jack that's under the A-arm until the spring is in the top pocket. Once there, install the strut and tighten. You're now done and can remove the threaded rod by removing the nuts and pulling the rod out through the bottom (you may have to jack up the car a liitle more to do this.

Believe me, it's easy as pie and because the rod is in the middle, you won't have to worry about the spring exploding in your face. If you go this route, good luck!

It's been a while but...........

1) set the car on jackstands by the K-member
2) place a big floor jack under the control arm(I think you can place it on the spring pocket)
3) loosen the conrol arm to K-member bolts and jack the control arm up enough to releive the tension on the bolts
4) remove the bolts and slowly lower the control arm
5) the spring should fall right out
6) put new spring in and jack the control arm up

The hardest part of this method is lining up the holes to get the bolts back in. It will take a little persuasion from a pry bar/screwdriver. The biggest floor jack you can find will work the best. A smaller one does not jack up as high resulting in the control arm being jacked up and out toward you. A really big one will jack it almost straight up and the bigger the jacking point the more stable and safe.

Lowering springs will be easier to install because there is less tension on the springs when trying to line the holes up.

If you can find MFE's write-up, read that over. I've read it before and it covers everything.