removing front springs

[John U]

Is there an easier method for removing the front springs? The manual talks about removing ball joints and other components...there has got to be a quicker way

thanks
John

[sean]

Personally, I:

Remove sway bar brackets from crumple tube, let sway bar hang.
Remove lower speedo cable from angle drive
Remove Shock
Support lower control arm with jack, might even compress things a little.
Remove long bolt holding upper control arm to frame.
Rotate hub assembly out of the way, Ill lean it/set it off to the side on a jackstand
Install spring compressor, compress and remove spring.

Im going on memory so I may have left a tidbit out but you should get the gist of it.

[Chris4099]

Attached below is the how-to I used. It was posted on the old .com site and thankfully I saved a local copy. No ball joint removal required and I used the spring compressors that were free to rent at Auto Zone.

9877

Credit and complaints go to the author, not me. :)

[WelmoedJ]

Attached below is the how-to I used. It was posted on the old .com site and thankfully I saved a local copy. No ball joint removal required and I used the spring compressors that were free to rent at Auto Zone.

9877

Credit and complaints go to the author, not me. :)

Nice instruction, my compliments.
However I didn't remove the upper control arms.
Just loosened the nut on the bolt, turned it upwards and locked it there with a piece of wood.
Also saves time.

Don't use compressors for McPherson systems.
They won't work.

[jawn101]

When we did mine we didn't remove the upper control arm and ended up REALLY wishing we had. The LCA can only move so far and if the spring compressors aren't perfectly spaced, it will be difficult to reinstall the spring. We didn't remove it on the driver's side and the spring replacement took twice as long as it did on the passenger's side, where we did. It's just one extra bolt and not a big deal to take off. No need to remove the ball joint or anything, just remove the carrier/hub/upper arm as one unit (Treat it carefully while it's out so as not to damage the upper ball joint) and you're good to go.

[John U]

Thanks for the tips everyone....hopefully I can get my Harbor Freight spring compressor to fit in there

John

[jmettee]

I tried a bunch last November. I could not get the "clamshell" type to work. I couldn't get the spring compressed far enough & also the clamping tabs hit the top spring cup.
http://www.harborfreight.com/single-action-strut-spring-compressor-43753.html


I found this to work the best & most secure on the springs: http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_Strut-Coil-Spring-Compressor-Autocraft_9020066-P_N3492_T%7CGRP2083_____