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Another set of hooks goes on the top upside down Into the shock hole Done, however like anything, it depends on your skill sets and comfort level. Always need to be safe and cautious
When I was lowering the upper control arms on a Mustang one inch (a Shelby mod) for autocrossing I had one of those cheapie compressors "unload" while it was holding the compressed spring on my driveway....startling and dangerous....
Be damned careful and use a quality compressor (and safety glasses and gloves)...
Put front of car on jack stands. Place the jack under the lower control arm. Raise jack until it has a little pressure on lower control arm. Loosen upper and lower ball joint nuts but not all the way. Now you can lower the jack a very little the ball joint mite pop loose at this time. If it doesn't give the spindle a wack where the ball joint goes though with a sledge. If that doesn't work use a pickle fork. Now if it's loose you can lower the jack slowly. The spring will not jump out and bite you. You can put them back in that same way.
This is for after
Be careful of cheap all thread if you make your own. Unpleasant surprises can await you. If you don’t need to remove the spring drop a good compressor inside and go through top shock hole to compress upward. Leave spring in and loaded while you do whatever. Then put lower a arm back in place and and release pressure. One other word of caution if you use free or rent use a chain for protection. Many of these have been over stressed by idiots using impact drivers on them. More surprises await. I would buy or borrow a new or known good one from a friend. Be careful. You only get one shot at life.
Had to put the springs in my car so I thought I mite as well post it. Super flippin easy
1/2" all thread couple flat washers and a bearing and 1/2" plate. Put plate with all tread through bottom of lower a arm up through shock mount hole. Then washer bearing washer bolt
I made sure it would line up first. Put spring in pocket put your spring compressor in and start wrenching.
when you have spring compressed enough put spindle on.
Well, we all have our own ways. I can strip the entire front end in less than an hour using this technique, but I’ve also done it many times. I don’t trust all thread as it is not typically graded greater than grade 2 and can strip the threads.
i use an internal compressor with the floating arms (non-threaded) removed. It is too difficult figuring out how to space the arms and then having sufficient room, access, and angles to use it reliably. Push the threaded end through the upper shock mount while engaging the spring at the lowest coil possible and place two hardened washers over the threaded end protruding through the upper shock mount. Thread a grade 8 nut over the end until finger tight. Place your floor jack under the rear mounting bolts of the lower control arm and jack it up until tight against the arm without raising the chassis off the jack stands. Run the grade 8 nut down until the arms pull the spring slightly out of the lower arm. I use a deep socket on my electric impact gun. Remove the rear lower control arm mounting nuts and lower the rear of the arm. Release the spring by running the impact in reverse. You can now easily use a pickle fork or ball joint extractor to remove the spindle from the arms and then the upper control arm mounting bolts. Easy peasy!
Just finished rebuilding my front suspension. This thread and front coil springs are shorter were very very helpful. Especially around spring rotation. I did buy a spring compressor. I do have the not-original shorty springs. Spring compressor worked great for removal, but, I had a bear of a time trying to use it to reinstall the spring. So, I took a slightly different route. Lifted the coil up into the pocket and used a small c-clamp on the top to hold it in the right place. No spring compressor. Then jacked up the lower arm until it slightly bound against the spring. Then used the foot wedge to pop it into place. With the original longer springs this wouldn't work. Just thought I share.
The control arms look good. I am assuming they are new, if so who did you use?
Mike
No. Not new. Rebuilt by Vansteel. I did a little premature complaining about the turn aournd time. But, all said and done they did a fantastic job. Highly recommend
02-01-2020, 07:41 PM
Dennis
