I was just wondering....If I am swapping out a spindle assembly, is it "safe" to just lover the floorjack enough to get the spindle off the balljoints and out? The front shocks are still in place, so that should keep the springs from going anywhere, so long as they are not trying to hold the whole force of the springs, right? (hence the floorjack)
Thoughts?
-gambi69

Not really safe, IMO. I usually use some large wood blocks (leftovers from my home improvement projects) under the lower control arms to get a more positive support. You don't need to be able to move the lowers, as you can move the uppers instead. The car will lay rock solid on the blocks, and won't move in case you need to "use the force" on something. Much safer, IMO. You can also leave the car like that overnight if you need to, without having to worry about the jack leaking down.

I removed mine with a floor jack. May not be the accepted safe method but it worked perfectly and made quick work of removing the spindle assy. Jack the car up and put it on stands. Be sure to leave it low enough to be able to jack the lower arm up. Put the jack under the LCA and jack it up a bit. Back the upper joint castle nut to the top of the bj bolt. This will allow it to separate from the bj but not come totally apart. Just drop the jack enough enough to allow the spring to work to break the top loose - you will have to whack the spindle at the bj. Once it pops loose, loosen the lower in the same way and remove the pressure, whack the spindle at the nut and it will pop loose. With pressure on the LCA, remove both nuts. Lower the control arm VERY slow and it will separate. Don't go so far as to allow the spring to come out of the pocket. It can be a PITA to get back in.

To reinstall, put the lower ball joint in the spindle hole and finger tighten. Jack the LCA up such that you can put the upper back in. Tighten both with a wrench and you are done.

Lower the control arm VERY slow and it will separate. Don't go so far as to allow the spring to come out of the pocket. It can be a PITA to get back in.

JMHO: I would definitely NOT lower the jack with the nuts removed. If you accidentally lower the jack too far, the spring could pop out and this might remove your nuts too.

If you use a floor jack, raise the upper control arm instead. It will give you enough room to remove the spindle safely.

JMHO: I would definitely NOT lower the jack with the nuts removed. If you accidentally lower the jack too far, the spring could pop out and this might remove your nuts too.


Wouldn't the shock keep the spring from going anywhere? This is why I left it in place...

-Gambi69

Wouldn't the shock keep the spring from going anywhere? This is why I left it in place...


I guess it could, but it might also strip the thread at the top. If it happens, it will happen quickly, and the spring is pretty forceful. My advice is still to keep the lower control arms on a solid support. It's not any more difficult to do it that way, but it's much safer. And as you're obviously worried about this, why not do it the safe way?

good point...thanks, ollie!
-gambi69