Am I the only one who is worried about this scenario? Chris says that he's
removed the upper control arms and the trunnion (hence the vertical link is
detached), BUT THAT THE SPRING IS STILL IN THERE!. The only thing keeping
the spring from releasing (possibly violently) is the shock absorber, which
is limiting the movement of the lower control arm (and serves as a lower
bump stop). I'm not sure how much compression the spring is under at the
full extension of the shock, but I know it's not zero, and I have enormous
respect for the potential energy stored in compressed springs.
If you just want to remove the shock, re-install the upper arms, vertical
link & trunnion (this will prevent the spring from releasing fully, even if
the shock is not there to provide a stop). Then support the lower trunnion
on a block of wood (or jackstand) to load the spring. This will free the
shock from any spring loading, and you should be able to work the lower
mount off its studs (there were several good suggestions for doing this).
I suppose you could just support the outer end of the lower arm on the block
of wood to unload the shock, but I like the idea of the spring being
captive. People have been killed by springs like this you know. I had one
fly across the garage once, fortunately doing no more than denting the
drywall (and scaring me silly). I'm glad I wasn't in its way.
Maybe I've misinterpreted what Chris is saying, but I thought it best to
urge caution...
John
------Original Message-----
From: owner-6pack@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-6pack@autox.team.net] On
Behalf Of Chris & Melissa
Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2003 10:21 PM
To: 6pack@autox.team.net
Subject: TR6 Front Shock
Hello folks, I am having some trouble removing the front shock. The top
control arms and trunion is off but spring is intact. The 4 nuts are off the
bottom of the shock mount, but the brackets seem to be rusted in place.
Has anyone came across this and if I remove the spring will it release some
pressure on the lower shock mounts? As always ANY comments are welcome.
Thanks Chris
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