Hi, I amtrying to install the front springs on my 71 Malibu. The engine and tranny are removed. I just replaced the bushings and ball joints and am trying to put the springs back in. They just won't seat. Icompressed them but nothing semms to be working. I have been fighting with these for 3 days now and am at my wits end. Can anyone help? thanks.

I'm wondering what you mean by not seating. I helped a friend do the tall spindle swap on his '69 last weekend and had no trouble at all putting the springs back in. In fact, we didn't even use a spring compressor. There didn't seem to be anywhere for the spring to go except into its "cups".

We assembled the lower and upper arms to the spindle, and bolted the lower arm to the frame. Swung the lower arm way down, stuffed the spring in, had a couple of guys sit on the frame to hold it down, (the body is off the frame) and used a floor jack under the lower ball joint to squeeze the spring until the upper arm would go up over the frame bracket. However, I'm sure it helped that we had cut off one coil to lower the car. That made it about an inch shorter.

Ken

Bud, do you have the lower control arm bolted to the frame already and trying to put the spring into its pocket? I could never get springs to fit that way. I always bolt the control arms to the spindle, put the springs in the lower control arm pocket, raise the lower control arm (while guiding the spring into the upper spring pocket) into its frame brackets with a jack. Works 100% of the time. I've posted my method in detail before (search my Tech Reg # 148). No spring compressor needed. But you do need two crow bars (one short, one longer to guide the lower control arm into the frame brackets).

One problem i have run into in the past is not large enough jack stands. Sometimes the spring is so large (long) that when you start to jack the lower control arm up the car starts to jack up because it isn't high enough. Just a thought.