So many questions...

I was easily able to remove the front springs by loosening the ball joint nuts and holding the lower arm stable with a floor jack. A few knocks on the knuckle (the car's!!!) with a hammer and it popped loose. Lowered it all down and took the spring out easily.

For the reinstall though, I'm not seeing how the same floor jack process in reverse will work. Is there any way to hold the Upper Arm stable and compress the spring enough to bolt the spindle and assembly back in? Seems the upper arm will just keep going up and the spindle won't reach the ball joints. Is a spring compressor needed? Another / better way?

Thanks for all the thoughts so far, everyone!

Sometimes the weight of the vehicle is not enough to compress the coil springs. You answered your own question. Spring compressor. Most parts stores rent them if you don't have one..

On my 68 Chevelle, and I believe most others,
the top of the spring goes into a spring pocket in the frame.
:confused:
When we reassembled my front end, I placed the coil spring in place, and jacked up the lower
A arm until the spindle could be secured to the ball joints.

I might be a cave man, but we didn't need or use a spring compressor, for the installation of the front coils.

Am I completely missing the boat here?
Did I look at this installation and think the spring was going into the upper arm and not the frame pocket mentioned?

Boy do -I- feel stupid if I did!!!

I better go home and look at it closer!
DOH!!!!!

graemlins/clonk.gif

I can see how somebody could think that.

Try it on an old 'Rustang! The spring bears on the UPPER arm - a compressor is mandatory.

I JUST finished reinstalling one spring, and am starting on the second. The spring pocket in the frame is not adequate to protect you - you MUST compress the spring or it won't fit into the lower A-arm pocket as you try to jack it up. And if it doesn't fit, it could literally come out just as easily as it could pop in if you tried to jack it up. Too risky IMO.

In short, you need the compressor.

I'm reluctant to even offer this as it is potentially dangerous, but I've used this method in the past.

Place the jack under the lower a-arm with the spring in the pockets. Place a chain through the spring and attach to the frame so it can't fly on you. Chain the jack to the car frame so that when you raise the jack against the arm, the car can't move. The spring will compress. Bolt up the ball joint. Done

Yeah yeah, I know...a spring compressor is best, but this will work in a pinch.

I did mine without a compressor, just put the jack as far out on the spindle as you can get it to obtain optimum leverage...Easier done with the engine in, but we got mine W/O the engine.
No danger at all :D

how does a spring compressor work. i have to do this this weekend. i think i will do the jack thing as this was how i got the springs out. but i want to do this without missing some teeth

It's not your teeth you should worry about, it's about removing a large section of your skull!!
A compressor works from the inside of the spring, has hooks that grab the coils, and a threaded rod that run down the center, and will compress from inside the spring.

You put the spring in and when you decompress it, the parts come out of the hole in the bottom of your lower control arm where the shock would be.

Yes you can do it without a spring compressor, but I install elevators for a living and have a healthy respect for my own safety!! Most auto parts places will loan you one for nothing, and will show you how to use it. For the life of me I don't know why anyone would risk life and limb to do this very simple procedure without one.

So, this this is where 50 guys will tell you how they did it without a spring compressor and lived to tell about it.


Rocky

So, this this is where 50 guys will tell you how they did it without a spring compressor and lived to tell about it. The dead ones can't tell you about their failure.

Seriously, use the compressor. If you don't, the spring will not fit in the upper and lower spring pocket for you to jack it up safely - the spring is too long, and will need to be "massaged" into place as you jack it up. Not the best method to use.

me thinks we'll be using a compressor, and we'll be able to report back our whimpy results after.

Thanks for the input, the warnings and the suggestions all! I had thought about the chain and the floor jack, but like someone here said awhile back, if you feel like something just isn't right, chances are it's your brain kicking in to self-preservation mode!


-curt

i took it out with the chain method. is the compressor the one with a screw and two hooks. i think my dad got one form harbor freight.

just did the old chain method. the spring compressor we got from harbor freights is to confusing

I've got 2 different styles of spring compressor and couldn't get either one to work mounted inside the spring. I was able to get one of them to work around 4 coils from the outside however.

I did have to remove the compressor before I got the ball joint bolted together because the threaded shaft was too long and bottomed out on the lower control arm before I could the nut on, but by that time the spring was seated well in the pocket so there was no danger as long as teh jack held.

On my El Camino, I usually bolt the spindle to the upper arm, then the lower arm to the spindle, use a compressor on the spring, and jack the lower arm up to the mounts. When I put in the big block springs the last time, they were alot tougher, but still went in eventually.

A couple weeks ago, I put new poly bushings on my buddy's '69 Firebird. The lower arms were a big PITA, went in real tight. Ended up using a comealong to pull the rear bushing/arm into place. This was just the arm, no spring. So I compress the spring really tight in the lower arm's pocket, but it still won't clear the upper spring pocket in the frame. Ended up going back to the comealong. With the lower arm jacked up so the spring is touching the edge of the pocket while compressed, I slid the cable through the 2nd from the top coil. Both hooks are attached to the frame on the other side of the car. Position yourself where you can't see the spring, and start pulling. :eek: It'll go in, very loud and kinda scary, but it worked. First spring took me 2 hours to figure out that way, 2nd to 1/2 hour. I'm just stating my solution to this problem, as I doubt I would've gotten the lower arm bushings in with a spring dancing around in there too. I wouldn't try using this method again, unless it's a last resort. Again, with your Chevelle, you should be able to compress the spring in the lower pocket and jack the arm up into place fairly easy. Wrap a cable or chain into it for safety.

well last nite at around 9 we were doin this outside. anyway for the lower a arms i was using a sledge to force it in with the jack to push it up took 1 hr at least for the pass and 1.5 hr for the driver. anyway we got it in since we are doin the disc brake at the same time we just put the spring in and then started jacking the chain was around the a arms frame and jack. once it was compresed we simply bolted the spindle on. this was with 2 in drop springs tho

I did not have any luck putting the factory springs back in (69 Big Block w/ Air & auto). No matter how I tried, the springs were just too long, even with a spring compressor. I wound up installing Hotchkis 1916F lowering springs.

Don't know for sure, but I would bet the factory used precompressed springs on the assembly line. This method could easlily be done by placing the spring in a press and compressing it then holding it in the compressed mode by using strapping. Install the spring in the car, reassemble ball joint, cut strapping and remove strapping.

I used ready rod thru the top shock mount with a plate on the other end about 2/3 way down the spring. Tighten nut on rod to compress spring. Use care that plate will not slide around & rod & plate are as heavy as you can fit. Just another idea.

Okay, to wind up my part of this string, we put in one side with the spring compressor over the weekend, but ran short on time, so only one side is done at the moment. What a PITA... graemlins/angry.gif

The problem occurs with the compressor (two hooks and a plate that screw towards each other). If you compress the whole spring from the inside, it gets small enough to put in easily, but then you can't get the compressor out. If you only compress about 4 coils it doesn't compress enough to get in. If you have the compressor covering enough coils and it's too high, the end of the screw shaft hits the Upper Arm's spring pocket and the spring won't seat. If you have it too low, the plate on the compressor wedges against the lower pocket and it won't come out no matter how heavy of a sledge hammer you use. (You also cannot cuss it out of there either!)

Trust me - I went thru ALL of these scenarios, as well as an assortment of pry bars, pickle forks, hammers, sweat and a few colorful metaphors that I'm sure my son will be sharing with his friends in the near future.

Compounding all these problems, we don't have the engine or trans in the car currently, so when using a jack, the car lifts off the standsat about 30% spring compression.

Now picture this..

A 40-something man and his 17-yr old son. They've got pieces all around, grease all over and a simple spring sitting there to go in. After 4 hours of alternating methods, we finally compressed the spring just enough with about 5 coils in the center, then jacked the lower arm up until the car began to lift (remember... no motor) then we got three of the neighbor guys (180-225lbs each) to stand on the frame and engine plate to weigh down the car. I was then able to bolt the spindle in and work the compressor out. graemlins/hurray.gif

Next time... we buy a HORSE! At least we could shoot it!

Originally posted by dittoz:
Okay, to wind up my part of this string, we put in one side with the spring compressor over the weekend, but ran short on time, so only one side is done at the moment. What a PITA... graemlins/angry.gif

The problem occurs with the compressor (two hooks and a plate that screw towards each other). If you compress the whole spring from the inside, it gets small enough to put in easily, but then you can't get the compressor out. If you only compress about 4 coils it doesn't compress enough to get in. If you have the compressor covering enough coils and it's too high, the end of the screw shaft hits the Upper Arm's spring pocket and the spring won't seat. If you have it too low, the plate on the compressor wedges against the lower pocket and it won't come out no matter how heavy of a sledge hammer you use. (You also cannot cuss it out of there either!)

Trust me - I went thru ALL of these scenarios, as well as an assortment of pry bars, pickle forks, hammers, sweat and a few colorful metaphors that I'm sure my son will be sharing with his friends in the near future.

Compounding all these problems, we don't have the engine or trans in the car currently, so when using a jack, the car lifts off the standsat about 30% spring compression.

Now picture this..

A 40-something man and his 17-yr old son. They've got pieces all around, grease all over and a simple spring sitting there to go in. After 4 hours of alternating methods, we finally compressed the spring just enough with about 5 coils in the center, then jacked the lower arm up until the car began to lift (remember... no motor) then we got three of the neighbor guys (180-225lbs each) to stand on the frame and engine plate to weigh down the car. I was then able to bolt the spindle in and work the compressor out. graemlins/hurray.gif

Next time... we buy a HORSE! At least we could shoot it! now thats funny.
i would just pay somebody to do it if it was that hard. i would prob just give up

My experience with spring compressors was not good. I felt the compressed spring was so precarious in the compressor that I was better off just relying on the floor jack and lower "A" arm. I was able to wrestle my small block springs in, and once over the lower shock mount cup in the "A" arm, it was fairly captive. I also had no motor and ended up using a 2x4 cripple (and spreader) to the ceiling of my garage in one instance and in the other, backed the rear bumper of my pickup over the front framehorns. Where there is a will, there's a way..........

Cam

Dittoz, you really nailed it on the head. I went out and purchased about a hundred washers to move the lower spring compressor arms up. Then when I started tightening the compressor, the bolt that normally hits the upper a-arm had enough clearance to compress the spring but still fit in the pocket. I think each make of compressor will alter the process slightly, it's not the simplest of things to do.