DIY spring compression

[Safety Guy]

Seems to me someone should be able to come up with a simple device to run a car up on to compress the spring so you can loosen the top nut. Then back the car off the device and let it all loose.

Reassemble in reverse order.

It would look kinda like a car ramp. It would have a stabilization hole for the bottom of the strut and a hole in the top for the top strut. Driving onto the ramp will compress the spring through two metal projections which go into the spring itself. There will be a limiter adjustment so the car won't push the top ramp down too far. Just enough to compress the spring for disassembly. Maybe this limiter could be a bottle jack?

That's what I'd do if I had strut jobs to do (now and in the future) and didn't want to go shopping with the old woman.

Oh, and "you're welcome."

Karl

[festivaWES]

Loosen all the nuts when the car is on the ground and jack it up slowly...

[freshtiva]

^ and miss the excitement of taking the nut off while they're loaded ???? booooring !

[hawkdoc60]

I have seen an OTC brand spring compressor break once and it wasn't pretty. No one was hurt but I'm sure they cleaned out their underwear. If the carriage bolts are Grade 8 or better, it might not be so bad. The threads on those carriage bolts look like they would be the weak link if there was any.

[freshtiva]

I actually had to cut an extra two inches of thread on the carriage bolts to get it to work.

[hawkdoc60]

Then you might have been playing with fire.

My ugly mishap involved a bearing press with a loose hydraulic jack installed. With several hundred pounds of force applied, it broke loose and right upside my head. I do not remember hitting the floor. The other guys in the shop said I looked like a rag doll when I hit the floor. The owner of the shop actually gave me crap when I had to go to the emergency room. This was 21 years ago while I was in high school.

[ejp2fast]

This DIY looks like something i'd do!!

[onebadkia]

Well,
The festy rear springs are not that tough, you all are right about that, I would hate to see anyone try this on another ford product, such as the fronts on a Contour or god forbid a Taurus with sport suspension. In my old shop, a friend was replacing a front spring off of a gen 3 SHO. We had a wall mount unit with a door. He loaded it wrong, compressed it most of the way and it let loose. It dented the door of the compressor which was thick enough steel that I couldn't damage it with a sledge...way too many kids I have worked with at various shops have ended up in the emergency room due to "I read this thing online and tried it at home...." My last 2 cents, I promise, you won't hear another peep out of me.

[ejp2fast]

if I were to make this, which i've thought about, i'd make it a little more beefier as far as the nut and welds... and also the hook... especially with the extreme pressures these devices see.... this is when DIY accidents happen. thats my 0.02

[festivaWES]

I'd just buy a decent spring compressor for 20-30 bucks. That way when it lets loose(which hopefully never happens) and injures a person at least you have someone to point a finger at

[ejp2fast]

autozone has them for $50 on loan... then you take them back and get your money back.. like rental... most McParts places have them for loan

[festivaWES]

why loan when you can own....so you'll always have it in the future. I have a set of autozone ones....never let me down yet.

[freshtiva]

I'd just buy a decent spring compressor for 20-30 bucks. That way when it lets loose(which hopefully never happens) and injures a person at least you have someone to point a finger at

What if it slices your finger off ???

[JPT]

what if it slices your finger off ???

^lol!!!

[Biglay5150]

What if it slices your finger off ???

You will still have 7 more to point.