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Re: coil spring compressor

To: "Evangelos G. Makris" <egmakris@otenet.gr>, mgs@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: coil spring compressor
From: Barney Gaylord <barneymg@ntsource.com>
Date: Sun, 08 Jul 2001 11:06:34 -0500
At 01:49 PM 7/8/2001 +0300, Evangelos G. Makris wrote:
>....
>So, if I gently de-flate my 2-ton hydraulic jack supporting the pan (via
hefty woodblock of course) won't the spring wildly rejoice at its sudden
freedom to expand, or, won't the rest of the car jump upwards and probably
off the 4 axle stands it'll be sitting on?

Well, if the engine is not in the car you may need someone to sit on the
fender while you remove the big bolt from one outer links.  You need to
jack up the spring pan far enough to get the upper arm off of the rubber
bumper to unload the suspension joints.

Otherwise the answer is no, the spring won't pop out violently.  Both the
top and bottom of the coil spring are nicely nested in recessed cavities
such that the lower arm will drop far enough to totally unload the spring
force while it's still nicely nested, and no way for it to escape.  In fact
after the spring is unloaded you will have to step on the lower arm to push
it down far enough to lift the spring out by hand.

Now for another method, some folks occasionally suggest removing the four
small bolts to separate the spring pan from the lower arm without unbolting
the outer links, and then lowering the jack to let the pan come free of the
lower a-arm.  That seems like such a PITA way to do it that I don't suppose
I would ever try it, but if I ever did I would indeed be very cautious
about letting the spring force go suddenly.  Once the spring pan comes free
of the lower arm there is nothing to guide it, so it has the potential of a
sudden sidewise motion if the jack were to slip.  I suppose it would also
be a bit of a pain for reassembly in the reverse manner.

$.02,

Barney Gaylord
1958 MGA with an attitude
    http://www.ntsource.com/~barneymg

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