dmwracing42

iTrader: (3)

Hey guys, I know there tends to be alot of talk around here about changing front springs. People get a lot of conflicting information, so I figured I'd give my own personal experience on the matter, and people can decide for themselves. So here's kind of a step by step for what I did (glossing over obvious things), feel free to chime in:

1. Remove cotter pin from ball joint castle nut. Loosen castle nut until there are about 3 or 4 threads left holding it on. This is important. Don't take it all the way off or you may find yourself with a spring through your stomach. Also remove sway bar end links.

2. Take a pickle fork and insert it such that it angles downward (Mine is made so that the shaft makes a roughly 130 degree angle with the splitter, and so I had the shaft angled downward). I put it so that it was underneath the tie rod. I tried various other ways, but this seemed to be the only way to get it at the correct angle to fit between the spindle and a arm. Hit until you hear a pop and see that there is no longer space between the castle nut you loosened earlier and spindle.

3. (This step probably should be done first, but I did it at this point. Not a big deal, as long as its done before you start jacking). Run a chain around the BOTTOM COIL of the spring and through the hole in the a arm. If you try to chain it anywhere but the lower coil, when you release the compression on the spring, the chain will be in tension making it impossible to remove. The chain has to be slightly loose. Otherwise it will bind the spring in and you can't remove it.

4. Put jack under a arm near the ball joint and jack it up so you can remove the castle nut on the ball joint. Slowly lower the a arm, making sure to stay out of the way. The chain should prevent the spring from taking off, but still, safety first! In my experience, the a arm didn't actually go low enough on its own to get the spring out. I took a pry bar and pushed the a arm down until the spring popped out. Don't use your hand, the spring still might have some stored energy and can pretty easily break your hand.

5. These install instructions work for lowering springs. I can see it being a challenge if you're trying to install stock springs without a compressor, because I just barely got the lowering springs into the a arm pockets. So... Make sure you get the rubber spring isolator out from the upper pocket. It's easiest to tape this to the spring before install. Insert upper part of spring first, making sure that you have the spring rotated properly so that it will be indexed properly when it pops into the pocket in the a arm. (This means the end of the lower coil should be between the two holes in the back of the a arm spring pocket.) Be sure spring is actually in the upper pocket, and not sitting on top of the raised area. Once this is done, you should be able to pivot the spring such that the top stays in its pocket and the bottom part of the coil pops into its pocket. You'll need to push the a arm down to do this. Once it has popped into both pockets, you can jack up the a arm by the ball joint area, reattach the spindle to the ball joint, and put the sway bar bolts back on.

This is just my experience. I didn't need a spring compressor, and I don't really think it's necessary unless you are uninstalling springs that haven't sagged over the years (mine were almost 30 years old so they didn't have quite the stored energy new ones would), or installing stock springs. The chain isn't absolutely necessary, but it made me feel better that I wasn't going to destroy my new struts or myself with a flying spring.

antares57

iTrader: (8)

Thanks. I'll be doing my '91 Firebird front springs sometime soon and I'm sure your experience is going to help me.

87zjeff

iTrader: (4)

this works if you have a motor in the car. if there is no motor in the car, you have to compress the spring before it will go in.

dmwracing42

iTrader: (3)

I have heard you can also chain the car to the jack. I wouldn't advise it. I personally don't think I'd attempt to remove or install springs without an engine, but that's just me. I've heard bad things about spring compressors so I wanted to avoid them.

Spaceboy1980

iTrader: (6)

What drop springs did you put in? That may make a difference on if you need a compressor or not.

dmwracing42

iTrader: (3)

Mine were the pro-kits (1" Drop). If you don't need a compressor for those, you shouldn't for any of them.

myroc86

Just did this the other day on a bare shell. If you use the compressor properly you shouldnt have any issues.


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Rabble

I've been able to install front springs with out a compressor on all the springs, even stock moog replacements. Push the A Arm down and seat the top of the spring. Bring the A Arm up a little and use a pry bar from the inside to pry the spring into the A Arm perch. I'd recommend throwing a chain or ratchet strap on the spring at this point and tie it to the k member. Use a jack and slowly jack up the tip of the A Arm while prying on the inside of the coil to keep it in its seat. Make sure the spring in indexed before you move any further. Jack up the rest of the way.

Further Notice. THIS IS NOT THE SAFEST WAY TO INSTALL SPRINGS.
There really is no SAFE way to do it, every way is dangerous. This is just my method. If you do not feel comfortable installing springs or feel like it is too dangerous and will get you and/or someone else hurt/killed, DON'T DO IT. Take it to a shop.