Anyone have a quick-n-dirty way to swap the springs? The Haynes manual has me separating all sorts of ball joints. Is there a quicker way?
I have the engine out if that helps.
I've not tried it on the 'Bird but it worked on the 94 Mustang fronts. Don't waste your time on Advance Auto Parts spring compressors - I had zero luck with either type.
1. A compressed spring stores a lot of energy - BE CAREFUL! A better idea is to tightly wrap some chain through the spring and around the strut so it doesn't have room to fly out of there.
2. Support the car on stands.
3. Put a jack under the lca and remove the 2 lca bolts. Breaker bars are your friend if you don't have air tools.
4. Dropping the jack will decompress the spring - DO IT SLOWLY!!! This is where you want that chain...
5. Reassembly is the reverse of disassembly but requires 2 jacks, preferably one of them on wheels so you can adjust it's position if needed.
The book also calls for new lca bolts when you remove them. They're supposed to be torqued to ~150 lb/ft in the 94.
Did I mention to be careful?
There's a write up around here somewhere on installing adjustable control arms that gives a good technique for the rears...
I have had good luck with the compressors in the past. Is it clearance issues? Perhaps one of the axial kind that thread through the middle of the spring.
Not the one I 'rented' from Advance. The axial kind had individual pieces seemed to be small enough to work through the hole in the control arm but the arms didn't line up properly with the coils and I couldn't get it to compress much. I spent about 2 hours trying to get it and I never could get it set up in any way that would've allowed me to insert the spring either using the method I described or with the ball joint seperated. The McPherson style (external) ran into the control arms, and was in general too long to allow everything to go back together. ymmv and if the rental is free at your local AP you might want to try it, it is the safe way.
This is similar to the first (internal/axial) one I tried http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/2ZPL6
This one looks more like the one the service manual calls for. http://www.etoolcart.com/fordcoilspringcompressor204-071.aspx as you can see the price isn't diy friendly....
and here's 'the book' http://www.drrummel.com/Mustang/FrontSpringInstallationInstructions/FrontCoilSpringRemoveal.pdf Looks pretty much like the instructions in the printed service manual.
Hmm. Suck. Your LCA method is a little scary. It might be time for new ball joints afterall.
I swapped springs on mine awhile back, was a right PITA, too.
The first night, I managed to get one in place, albeit without the spring isolater in the top. I stuck a long bar down through the strut hole, and through the hole in the arm, so if it popped off, it wouldn't kill me. But like I said, that was wasn't right, so the next day I rented the spring compressors and did it that way, but it took awhile, and I had to "finesse" the compressors about before I was able to get them off of the spring. It was a hot sweaty, slow job, but I wasn't swapping the bushings (yet) or I would've just taken off the whole arm...
This is as down and dirty as you can get
I basicly took them out in reverse order as putting them in.
here's the in pics
with the strut off, compress the spring a little to get it in the arms.
then jack it up and take the compressor out so it doesn't get stuck in the spring.
finish jacking it up so you can bolt the struts in. If your motor is out, you'll need some one else (or 2)on the front of the car to push the front end down, because you'll start jacking up the front end before you get the strut through the holes.
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee79/daminc/front%20end/IMG_5384.jpg)
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee79/daminc/front%20end/IMG_5385.jpg)
Your call. There's more than one way to skin a cat. I think it's scarier trying to compress that spring enough to get it in there at the angle called for with the ball joint seperated and nothing between me and it if something slips. :) As long as your jack has nice smooth control the method I used is pretty safe, even without the compressors and chains. If the spring pops out it goes toward the inboard side of the car and the strut/spindle assembly are between you and it.
Is there a tab on its ass I don't know about?
I am actually starting to think your LCA Method is the best. Do I need to unbolt the Swaybar?
What springs are you installing?
I used a compressor for removing front springs...ONCE. Never again.
I've lost count of how many I have removed by just disconnecting the spindle from the strut, dropping the LCA and then just using a pry bar on the bottom of the spring and POP it out of the LCA seat. Obviously you don't stick your face in there while doing it, but they just make noise and drop out. Just stand off to the side. YOu'll soon see that the inclination of the spring's exit from it's perch is down, not to fly out of the wheel well.
I put the front of the car on jackstands and put the jack under the LCA. Obviously you need to get the sway bar and brakes out of the way, but no need to pull the rotor.
If you're reinstalling stock length (long) springs, you'll need a compressor for reassembly, but since I never use those springs anyway and the C-Kits I usually use are much shorter, I just set them in place on the LCA and hold them in place as I jack the LCA up
until the spring grabs in the seat.
Granted, the removal procedure is a "use at your own risk" deal, but I won't do it any other way on a Fox. Wastes too much time otherwise for no reason.
x2 - Drop the LCA and pop the spring out. Quick-n-Dirty. I've never seen a spring move no further out than to the edge of the spring seat using this method (a little anti-climatic the first time I did it - I expected more. lol.). There is really no need for a compressor for removal unless you just don't feel comfortable doing it that way.
the first spring i ever removed (in an 84 mustang) hurt like a mofookie.
i took the strut loose from the spindle, took the swaybar loose, then stomped on the spindle to push the LCA down. it popped the spring out alright....i think i broke a few bones in the top of my foot when it hit it.
Well, you sir, are an idiot. ;)
yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the way I
wouldn't do it. :) That's why I emphasized the fact the springs store energy, even someone that may have dealt with them can forget just how much they can bite you when you don't respect them - or just do something dumb.
I didn't have a swaybar on the Mustang as it's a ragtop V6. I'd think leaving it bolted up might help with the realigning the LCA when you put it back together. You can always unbolt it if not....
It doesn't sound too tough. Maybe I will give it a shot in the next few evenings. Perhaps a writeup if I don't loose too many teeth in the process.
I have a set of 00' GT springs I was going to put in.
My old springs popped right out after lowering the arm. The stang springs I put in needed to be compressed. I couldn't get them in for anything
i never claimed to be a genius :hick:
it was starting to rain and i needed the springs out that day. did what i had to do.
and yes, i did the other side exactly the same way, only when i saw it coming out, i jumped really, really quick
my tool is intended for use when doing ball joints and / or CA removeal. if the ca is taken out, the nut on the bottom is losened to let the spring back out. Chuck says it works and one day i will need to do this method , ill just drop a heavy chain down the middle of the spring and out the CA to the break the momentum of it poping out.
if you want to do a ball joint,, then build this..........
the parts
and here are a couple tools you can buy,, and have to loan out to the next guy.
its like a lifter tool,, you will hardly ever need it but your glad you had it when you did need it.
I have nothing but good to say about harbor freight tools and customer service.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Category.taf?CategoryID=452&pricetype=
I'd be curious to hear if anyone has tried this one. It looks from the picture that it might work better than the ones I tried....
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=43753
I'll bet you didn't read the first page. LOL
I love harbor freight. They are awesome for those "one use and probably never have to use it again" tools. I typically buy Craftsman for hand tools but that might change in the near future as some of my newest sockets the plating starting to peel. I think their quality has gone downhill in recent years.
just swapped out a few broken tools.
anyone else agree craftsman cant make a 3/8 drive wratchet anymore?
im filling out the form and checking the box "quality unacceptable". It slips and,,,,,,its new.
the deep well socket i returned was replaced with a thick wall 9/16. I gave them a thin wall deep well.
the1/4'' wratchet is good to go though.
My new 1/2 is already stripped out. My 10yr old hand-me-down 1/2 is still going strong. Both are craftsman.
The ease of exchange with craftsman has always been a strong motivator. The last time I went to exchange a ratchet, they handed me a bag of parts (rebuild kit). I asked them what "Replacement" meant to them and after some serious complaining they replaced it with a remanufactured unit.
Now, the snap on truck now visits my work weekly. So maybe my next set will be a SO.
I hate snap on. Good tools, but when you get to the lifetime guarentee status, its all pretty much the same thing. I'd rather run down to any sears then wait for the snap on guy and put his kids through college.
My grandpa gave me a bunch of 50's to 60's tools, but they got stolen. I would put them against any other tool out there. Too bad I can't. Had a 1/4inch drive I used as a breaker bar, and never hurt.
All my new sman tools suck. I replaced a couple ratchets from the mid 80s, used the new ones a few times and they're slipping worse then the ones I took back.
thinking about trying the Husky tools. They also have a lifetime warranty at a lower cost.
It's hard to find a quality tool nowadays.
my harbor freight "pittsburgh" hand tools are great, the wratches are perfect. Like Haystack,, i have some pretty old tools that seem to still be going strong including electrical tools.
I too have issues with the quality (or seeming lack of) of the sman stuff nowadays...
I have a pitsburg harbor freight set. Its my all around tool box. Its got a couple of deeps, and all 1/4 to 1/2 inch stuff within reason. And at 40$ I can't complain. I take it to junkyards all the time and have no issues. However, you want to keep that "foam" stuff. Otherwise the sockets fall out. I lost a couple from not noticing there were some out when I took it out at the junkyard, and couldn't find them.
I have a sman set 140pc plastic case that I take to the yard. My dad has the same box but made 10 years earlier. My kit constantly pops open spilling all the sockets (I have added a cardboard "shim" to keep the bits pressed in the plastic). It's missing a few now too. His has never popped open slamming around in the trunk of his TR6.
Overall, I'm dissappointed. I haven't ever broke their sockets however. I have destroyed a couple autozone sockets with my big breaker bar (a harbor freight find).
I bet your freebie image host is blocked by my company firewall... I read fine, just can't see the pretty pictures, only red x's. I'm guessing they're pictures of that kind of spring compressor?
yep, that's what it was a pic of
I did the spring swap this weekend. What a nightmare. DO NOT REMOVE THE A-ARM BOLTS. This was the worst idea ever. It's much easier to unbolt the main shock bolt and the sway-bar links. I used an internal spring compressor tool from Autozone and aside from having to fish out the bits from the inside of the spring, it worked well.
When I Pulled the passenger a-arm bolt it wouldn't clear the steering rack. Then, in my darkest hour, I let the jack down causing the half exposed bolt to punch a big hole in my steering rack, so I am still living the nightmare of replacing that. Sometimes I have blackout stupid moments.