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How Dangerous Is Coil Spring Removal?

38K views 44 replies 29 participants last post by  Philip 
#1 ·
I did a forum search on coil springs, and now I'm really nervous about messing with those springs after reading quotes such as the following...
Serious injury or death can occur when a coil spring suddenly unleashes tension.
Be careful, use the spring compressor...I've seen the aftermath of one that went through a cinder block wall.
I was all set to re-do the front end and replace the coil springs since I have the entire front clip removed and everything is easy to get to. Now, I'm not so sure.

A spring going "through a cinder block wall"..."serious injury"..."death."
Hell, how dangerous is this job?

Regards,
-Greg
 
#3 ·
Be careful, take your time... you dont need a spring compressor. I guess the dangerous part must be popping the ball joint free from the spindle. Make sure you leave the castle nut on the top of the ball joint, back it off some but keep all the threads engaged. This is what probably keeps the whole thing from exploding in your face.

Once the ball joint and spindle are separated slowly lower the control arm to the ground using a hydraulic jack. You should be able to lower it enough that the spring will be mostly relaxed and under very little compression. At this point it may fall out and roll around on the floor or you may have to tug on it but it will pop right out.
 
#7 ·
On a danger scale of 1-10, with 10 being getting drunk and showing off with a chain saw, changing the springs is about a 5.

Getting them out is easy, getting them back in is where you want to be most cautious so they don't come out unexpectedly.

Plan to take a good couple hours to get your first one back in if you want to go slow.

A compressor helps both front and rear on a Chevelle for the reinstall. Usually any aftermarket spring, except drag springs, are shorter and easier to install than stockers.
 
#9 ·
After reading this, next time I need to get springs changed in either of my Chevelles, I think it will just pay a shop around here $50 an hour to do it
 
#10 ·
I used a seriously heavy duty bicycle cable lock. it was about 1/2" diameter cable. slinked right in there and locked it around the frame. no worries. it was not going far for sure that way.

in the end it was like everyone said though. no drama. i went with circle track springs and adjustable spacer for the install, so they were pretty easy to get back in due to shorter height.
 
#12 ·
Well, you could always make a tool like this http://www.elcaminostore.com/product.asp?pf_id=13-1301&dept_id=7952 Simple enough.

As suggested - always use a torch on springs that are going to be thrown away and replaced, very easy removal.

Depending on the springs you are installing you may need to use some sort of spring compressor just to get the spring positioned in place. Watch out for the Harbor Freight Chinese made tool. I had one explode on a tall drag spring that I was installing. I had the spring in a vice and I was cinching the internal spring compressor down when it blew apart. I didn't get hurt - but the pieces did fly closely past my head, the spring itself also flew out of the vice.

Be aware and be alert when working on your car. Even simple things you take for granted like jacking up your car: according to the NHTSA ~ 10,000 people a year are injured from cars falling off jacks, jackstands, and hoists.

Thomas
 
#19 ·
Well, you could always make a tool like this http://www.elcaminostore.com/product.asp?pf_id=13-1301&dept_id=7952 Simple enough.

As suggested - always use a torch on springs that are going to be thrown away and replaced, very easy removal.

Depending on the springs you are installing you may need to use some sort of spring compressor just to get the spring positioned in place. Watch out for the Harbor Freight Chinese made tool. I had one explode on a tall drag spring that I was installing. I had the spring in a vice and I was cinching the internal spring compressor down when it blew apart. I didn't get hurt - but the pieces did fly closely past my head, the spring itself also flew out of the vice.

Be aware and be alert when working on your car. Even simple things you take for granted like jacking up your car: according to the NHTSA ~ 10,000 people a year are injured from cars falling off jacks, jackstands, and hoists.

Thomas
Hey Thomas, despite what that ad states, there really isn't a simple way that "Allows Easy Removal & Installation Of Front Coil Springs." :D
 
#13 ·
It's amazing how many "home brew" methods are methods are devised to remove coil springs when you can get a spring compressor for $30 that will make removal easy and safe. Lashing them together with straps, rope or other such methods is just asking for trouble. Spend the $30 and save yourself a possible trip to the emergency room. If you don't want to spend the $30, places like Auto Zone loan them out free of charge.

Tom
 
#14 ·
The Harbor Freight tool that blew apart on me looked exactly like the one in the AutoZone link above - beware of Chinese steel alloys on any tool like this. Most of this style of internal spring compressor tool are now made in China. Be sure to properly lube pressure and thread points when using a spring compressor.

Thomas
 
#15 ·
figbash said:
...get a spring compressor for $30 that will make removal easy and safe. Lashing them together with straps, rope or other such methods is just asking for trouble. Spend the $30 and save yourself a possible trip to the emergency room. - Tom
Tom, read the post directly above yours where a guy writes about a spring compressor blowing apart while he was using it.

The only thing that saved that guy a trip to the emergency room was the luck of the draw.

Regards,
-Greg
 
#16 ·
You can do it. Not dangerous if you're cautious and use common sense. Back it off a little bit but leave the castle nut on top of the ball joint when you pop it with the pickle fork. Now, I used both a spring compressor and a safety chain around a few coils, and let the control arm down nice & slow with the floor jack. Better safe then safe. No drama.
 
#17 ·
Yeah, i did mine myself, and felt confident doing it.

I did the exact same thing as above, backed the castle nut off just enough so it has some slack, but is still fully engaged on the threads. I also had the spring chained so that it coulldn't expand all the way.

Popped the ball joint with the pickle for, the chain didn't let the spring expand very far. Lowered things carefully and slowly, springs fell out with no problems. Then just carefully released the chain when the springs were out, and they popped out to normal just fine.

-Daniel
 
#21 ·
Tom, I'm not dogging you - its okay with me that you place faith in the borrowed tools from AutoZone, and I appreciate your suggestion of KD Tools. By the way, the Chinese invasion into hallowed U.S. tool brands is underway: you really need to check the packaging of all tool purchases - I have bought tools from companies that *were* 100% reliably American made, only to find that on some items they now source from China/Taiwan.

John, well SOME people claim its easy. There are cars that are easier to remove the coil springs, others are more difficult - but no one should ever underestimate the power behind a coil spring that is still in compression.

Your individual experiences may differ, but anyone who has done automotive work for a long period of time (I got my start 36 years ago rebuilding a Dodge Polysphere 318 with my pops - not bad for a 12 year old), will probably get hurt. My record is not so bad: emergency room twice, once for a truck brake drum that fell on my head and knocked me out, once for a metal shard in an eyeball. My right hand is a bit of a mess from an Oldsmobile hood that shut while I was looking away. Don't follow my example, respect the proper use of tools and safety precautions.

Thomas
 
#26 ·
Tom, I'm not dogging you - its okay with me that you place faith in the borrowed tools from AutoZone, and I appreciate your suggestion of KD Tools. By the way, the Chinese invasion into hallowed U.S. tool brands is underway: you really need to check the packaging of all tool purchases - I have bought tools from companies that *were* 100% reliably American made, only to find that on some items they now source from China/Taiwan.

John, well SOME people claim its easy. There are cars that are easier to remove the coil springs, others are more difficult - but no one should ever underestimate the power behind a coil spring that is still in compression.

Your individual experiences may differ, but anyone who has done automotive work for a long period of time (I got my start 36 years ago rebuilding a Dodge Polysphere 318 with my pops - not bad for a 12 year old), will probably get hurt. My record is not so bad: emergency room twice, once for a truck brake drum that fell on my head and knocked me out, once for a metal shard in an eyeball. My right hand is a bit of a mess from an Oldsmobile hood that shut while I was looking away. Don't follow my example, respect the proper use of tools and safety precautions.

Thomas

Absolutely correct, Thomas.

My wife and I installed the front coils on my Chevelle last year. I used a K-D compressor and had the lower control arms off (all the ball joints were still on). Once I lined up the compressed springs in the correct position, I had her jack up the lower control arm, and believe it or not, the bolt holes lined up quite easily with the frame with her operating the floor jack with just a few short pumps. Perhaps not the best way to do it, but we had got those puppies up in there without any problems. :beers:
(Sometimes it seems that the easy jobs are the one's that wind up causing headaches). :D

Since all my friends are still employed or live far away and no neighbors to assist me, she is the only one I can rely on. I thank God everyday and every night that she loves to work on cars and is dependable. :hurray:
 
#23 ·
I made a tool years ago that resembled the one in some chevy manual, just a 2" wide 1" thick length of steel barstock with a groove (1/2" deep, 1" wide) machined on one end to slip over the coil spring's lowest coil. You slip it in through the shockhole in the lower control arm. It keeps the spring from slipping off the lower control arm, and gives mechanical leverage.
I have removed some springs that were still under lots of tension even after the ball joint stud was completely clear of the spindle, that simple tool made it safe and easy with just a floorjack and jackstands.
 
#25 ·
I know everyone has an opinion on spring removal if it's dangerous or not, but to give someone advice who has never replace them before to do it without some sort of safety measure, is either a fool or an idiot.

That is why they make spring compressors, so the stored energy doesn't unleash unexpectedly and remove your head. To try and make someone think it not dangerous is just foolhardy.

Whether or not you use a safety chain, a spring compressor, heat the coils, use something. The job is not dangerous if you use a little common sense.

What ever you do, don't take the advise to just lower your control arm with nothing more than a jack. I've seen that method result in EPIC FAILURE!

My cousin also decided he needed no safety measure and tried to remove his spring with nothing more than a floor jack, as he was lowering the jack all that stored energy forced the jack to roll and the control arm came off the jack pad, the spring went flying and literally took his fender off his car.

He's lucky to be alive, as the spring missed him by inches. I personally use a spring compressor, one I got from Snap On years ago.

If you have any decent shop manual that outlays the procedure for spring removal, and use some sort of safety device like a compressor or chain you should be ok.


rocky
 
#27 ·
I have changed springs more times then I care to remember. First off, you do NOT use a spring compressor to REMOVE a coil spring. What do you do to hang onto the spring when it comes time to remove the compressor once its out? You use the frame and lower control arm as your containment and do the method of loosening the ball joint.

1. Raise vehicle on jackstands located on the frame.
2. Remove cotter pin and loosen ball joint nut several revolutions.
3. Take your floor jack and roll it under control arm of the spring your going to remove. Jack up the floor jack enough to leave a small space between the control arm and the pad on the jack.
4. There is a small pad cast right into the spindle that is specially designed to be hit with a hammer to release the tension of the ball joint. It takes several good strikes with a hammer but it will go. Some are more easier then others, some are just plain stubborn.
5. Once you get the ball joint loose. Raise your floor jack against the control arm and remove the nut. The nut comes off easier with no pressure on it and you will use the jack to slowly lower the spring without it springing out.

And speaking of springing out out like some cartoon. Thats not going to happen. The spring would have to shoot downwards because afterall, its sitting inside a pocket up inside the frame so it will not just come springing out right at you. But you can get a nice supprise on your limb if its too close and the control arm comes slamming downwards because of the pressure being pressed on it from the spring.

The spring compressors are best used when installing. Because it isnt always feaseable to use your floorjack under the control arm to try compressing the spring so you can get the ball joint bolt started. The spring is shorter in a compressor and makes it easier to get the ball joint started instead of trying to compress it the other way.
 
#29 ·
I have changed springs more times then I care to remember. First off, you do NOT use a spring compressor to REMOVE a coil spring. What do you do to hang onto the spring when it comes time to remove the compressor once its out? You use the frame and lower control arm as your containment and do the method of loosening the ball joint.

1. Raise vehicle on jackstands located on the frame.
2. Remove cotter pin and loosen ball joint nut several revolutions.
3. Take your floor jack and roll it under control arm of the spring your going to remove. Jack up the floor jack enough to leave a small space between the control arm and the pad on the jack.
4. There is a small pad cast right into the spindle that is specially designed to be hit with a hammer to release the tension of the ball joint. It takes several good strikes with a hammer but it will go. Some are more easier then others, some are just plain stubborn.
5. Once you get the ball joint loose. Raise your floor jack against the control arm and remove the nut. The nut comes off easier with no pressure on it and you will use the jack to slowly lower the spring without it springing out.

And speaking of springing out out like some cartoon. Thats not going to happen. The spring would have to shoot downwards because afterall, its sitting inside a pocket up inside the frame so it will not just come springing out right at you. But you can get a nice supprise on your limb if its too close and the control arm comes slamming downwards because of the pressure being pressed on it from the spring.

The spring compressors are best used when installing. Because it isnt always feaseable to use your floorjack under the control arm to try compressing the spring so you can get the ball joint bolt started. The spring is shorter in a compressor and makes it easier to get the ball joint started instead of trying to compress it the other way.
Chris,

Can you 100% absolutley guarantee it with YOUR life, that the spring will not come flying at you? :confused:
 
#28 ·
Not dangerous at all as long as a spring doesn't hit you in the head!:D Seriously, the best method to be entirely safe is to follow all the safety precautions such as chaining the spring, etc., etc. I personally don't do it all by the book, but I've done it a few times and know how to keep the springs away from my head.
 
#34 ·
Off topic, but worth saying along with the safety issues talked about here. It makes my skin crawl when I hear someone talk about puitting their cars on cinder blocks to work under them. Those damn things will crumble in a heartbeat and will get you killed!
Everyone should have a set of 4 good quality jack stands available anytime you get under a car. Put that extra one under there too, it might be the one that saves you.
Thanks, I feel better now!

Tom
 
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