Who thinks this is a safe way...

[BigLew]

...to decompress suspension springs:

Unbolt the shock mount from the strut while the mount itself is still bolted to the shock tower housing and then slowly jacking up the car.

I've always gone to a shop or knew someone with a spring compressor, but someone I know wants to try this.

What do you think?

[DragonKnight]

Never tried it that way before. But I rather be safe and 'rent' a spring compressor for free from Pep Boys or Kragen.

[537]

Originally Posted by BigLew

...to decompress suspension springs:

Unbolt the shock mount from the strut while the mount itself is still bolted to the shock tower housing and then slowly jacking up the car.

I've always gone to a shop or knew someone with a spring compressor, but someone I know wants to try this.

What do you think?

Decompressing the spring to get it off the strut is the easy part. You don't even need to do it while it's still on the car. Just step on the strut housing and unbolt the mount while you point it towards a safe area (or someone else's safe area =D).


The tricky part is getting the spring ON the strut and bolting it together. You seriously need a spring decompressor for that if you don't want to spend more than 5 minutes on it.

[BigLew]

Originally Posted by 537

The tricky part is getting the spring ON the strut and bolting it together. You seriously need a spring decompressor for that if you don't want to spend more than 5 minutes on it.

Yeah I think that was the biggest concern, his idea is to have some one "guide" it in and feed the threads on the strut through the mount while holding the spring, while someone else slowly lowers the jack. I'm told him to find someone that really really like him so he doesn't get sued when someone loses fingers.