how much to get springs compressed and banded?

jmd2914 · May 15, 2006

I'm having alot of trouble getting my bbk springs to fit in my car, I'm attempting the mfe meathod but its not working out for me i cant get the wholes to line up to bolt the a arms back up. how much would it cost ( ballpark figure) to have my springs compressed at a shop and banded? and all i would have to do after that is come home bolt up the arms and clip the bands right?

BOWTIEKILLR · May 15, 2006

you should try a strut compressor....it goes on the outside and should be pretty easy to get on there like that. or you could cut them and have a nice lower stance and make it easy to get in

jmd2914 · May 15, 2006

tried the strut compressor and it didnt work. dont really wanna cut them cuz my car is already low enough

wazazzle · May 15, 2006

Do what I did... I used these to reinstall my stockers since no shops around here would band'em for me due to liability issues Get a bunch of those hose clamps, compress your springs with the compressor, and clamp a bunch of them around each coil. Careful though cause some of them will want to break while you unload the compressor, so do it slowly. I only spent like $15 for 100 clamps or if you got like 10-15 laying around. I tried zip ties and they popped like zitts. This will work and it's cheap!

Roland69 · May 15, 2006

Ratchet straps are your friend.

jmd2914 · May 15, 2006

whats the differance between how the shop would band them and hose clamps?

jmd2914 · May 15, 2006

and how would ratchet straps work?

GREYFOX4INCH · May 15, 2006

im pretty sure local auto parts stores rent out spring compressors and you bring them back when your done. if you have "pep boys" in your area i know for a fact that they used to do it, not sure if they still do.

GREYFOX4INCH · May 15, 2006

wazazzle said:
Do what I did... I used these to reinstall my stockers since no shops around here would band'em for me due to liability issues Get a bunch of those hose clamps, compress your springs with the compressor, and clamp a bunch of them around each coil. Careful though cause some of them will want to break while you unload the compressor, so do it slowly. I only spent like $15 for 100 clamps or if you got like 10-15 laying around. I tried zip ties and they popped like zitts. This will work and it's cheap!

all i have to say about that photo is: did you wear saftey glasses?

jmd2914 · May 15, 2006

yeah using hose clamps looks like of sketch, but if its a last resort im gonna do it, i can get ahold of a spring compressor i just dont know what to band the springs with. is there anything safer than hose clamps?

Roland69 · May 15, 2006

If a ratchet strap can pull a car onto a trailer and than compress the complete front end and back end towards the trailer using a strap for the front and a strap for the back I'm sure a ratchet strap wraped between the coils will compress when ratcheted tite.

Shakerhood · May 15, 2006

GREYFOX4INCH said:
im pretty sure local auto parts stores rent out spring compressors and you bring them back when your done. if you have "pep boys" in your area i know for a fact that they used to do it, not sure if they still do.

The Spring Compressors they rent out are not the correct style for doing our Mustangs.

GREYFOX4INCH · May 15, 2006

Shakerhood said:
The Spring Compressors they rent out are not the correct style for doing our Mustangs.

OH........
well what about these things? View attachment 469847

HISSIN50 · May 15, 2006

GF, those are for jacking up an existing (installed) spring an inch or two (or compressing them) for aesthetics (like if you have saggy springs or want to drop a spring a tiny bit).

An internal spring compressor works in a pinch - I did that with stock springs. But I had to make a shim for under the head of the compressor so the rod didnt bottom out in the spring perch before compressing the spring.

The correct clam shell compressors would be the ticket - check the local stang club and see if anyone has a set that they will loan or rent to you.

ANd keep calling around for the banding of the springs.

Good luck.

wazazzle · May 15, 2006

GREYFOX4INCH said:
all i have to say about that photo is: did you wear saftey glasses?

Yeah glasses are a must! It can be a timebomb waiting to happen. There are self banding tools on ebay for like $70 or so, rated a couple thousand psi. Same thing the shops use. I tried the rachet thing, it didn't work.

dragnazz5.0 · May 15, 2006

unbolting the strut and putting a jack under the ball joing and lowering it down slowly doesnt work?

stang8urimport · May 15, 2006

Why did you unbolt the control arm from the k member???? You unbolt the strut from the spindle and pull the stocker out that way, and the new, shorter lowering spring will slide right in! THen jack up the control arm and bolt up the strut... The only reason I've ever had to unbolt the control arms from the k-member is because I was installing drag springs (higher spring rate, and about two inches taller) They wouldn't fit in the strut/spindle way... I had to unbolt the control arm from the k-member, stick the spring back in, and jack the control arm back up to install the bolts... it was a pain, but not too bad. Good luck.

jmd2914 · May 15, 2006

i tried doing it by unbolting the a arm from the k member while still having the tie rod and strut bolted up to get the spring in, the spring fits in fine, its just that whenver i try and jack the arm back into place, it wont line up with the bolt hole, and when i try and put my bbk springs in, it actually pushes back against the jack and just makes the jack roll backwards

stang8urimport · May 15, 2006

Whatcha need to do it unbolt the strut... and bolt the a-arm back to the k-member without the spring in... Then install the spring from the front... then jack up the a arm and reinstall the bolts for the strut... The strut will move in all directions so the bolts go in very easy.

rd · May 15, 2006

Having tried this a bunch of ways, unbolting the strut, unbolting the control arm, with a compressor, etc, with stock springs it can be a mother.

I ended up doing it enought to make an internal compressor out of two pieces of 1/2 in plate, and a single 5/8 threaded rod. I compress the springs in a press, and thread the compressor down. Make sure to get the extended thread through the hole in the arm, install and its done.

You can sometimes get enough compression with a pair of the outside spring compressors, like Harbor Freight sells.

I got a KD internal unit, but one of the threaded end pieces was too big to come back out the hole in the control arm. I could have ground the compressor part or made the hole bigger, I guess, but I got around it.

Can be a pain.

how much to get springs compressed and banded?

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