Please help! Front coil-spring replacement

In news:4027d808$0$15668$ snipped-for-privacy@lovejoy.zen.co.uk, simon decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

The Mercedes W123 series has a similar problem... and they snap springs like they're out of fashion... When I did the front coils on my 280 TE I ended up undoing the top balljoint.

HTH

Buy it, hire it, or make it. Plenty of vehicles have just this problem, so they _are_ available.

If you have access to a lathe, cut a nice big Acme thread. Failing that, take just one of the external compressors and weld (or simply place on the inside) a pair of wide arms inside the previous nuts. For a real bodge-job, get a length of 1/2" or 3/4" studding and use that. It's the wrong thread though, so it'll be an awkward struggle to wind it tight - however you will get there in the end.

BTW - a ratcheting ring wrench can be a useful investment here, if access stops you getting a ratchet & socket to it.

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Well, if you do find one for sale, let me know. My 1963 Bentley has coils which you can't get the external ones onto.

Alex

snip >

That would be the the way most people would do it

On GM front suspensions it can be a pig to get the front suspension spring back in place, the turret the spring sits in and the anlge of the lower wishbone don't make it easy also the springs are usually long with closely spaced coils of quite thick wire. Here is the method I used for Opels and Vauxhalls -- bear in mind your car is a a lot heavier so the forces involved are larger. compress the spring off car, then make a up a set of spring hooks of suitable length to hold the spring. We used four or five 6mm hooked roofing bolts with the thread end cut off and hot bent (quenched and tempered) to form a hook at each end. Because of the loads invovle on your car you may have to use 8mm or even 10mm bar stock. Fit the hooks so they don't compress the spring too much and the spring is held straight. Then as a safety measure fasten hooks to the spring using stout cable ties (you may also feel safer if you use more stout cable ties to help hold the coils closed) and remove the spring compressors. Refit to the car and using a trolley jack under the wisbone refit the outer ball joint and damper, when the weight is back on the wishbone and the tension is off the spring hooks cut through any of the spring hooks that don't come free

Looks similar to the sealey model

Those are crap. I have some that have one hook up against a stop end so all the thread projects from the other end. This means that I can put the fixed end close up to things and not have the thread try to bore a hole in the wheel arch or in your case an 'A' frame. Big and chunky 12mm thread, uses a 19mm spanner on either the fixed bolt head or moving nut or a 1/2inch drive ratchet / tommy bar in the fixed end.

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Actually they work fine for what they are designed for compressing springs on macpherson struts.

They look just the ticket... only thing I am wondering now is how the heck I am going to remove the two pairs of hooks after fitting the spring. I can see that the rod will just unscrew and pull out, but will I be able to push the hook pieces into the coil, or pull them out.

Only one way to find out I suppose...

thanks, Simon

Just did a Merc W126 500sec removed the spring - could not get any compressors to work so I made a plate to go inside across the spring with a large bolt down through the centre plate. Similar to the toolaid/62200.jpg but through the top hole in the chassis compressed the spring to the chassis

I should imagine that the spring tension would be similar on the Pontiac in fact any spring can be lethal in compression.