On Mon, 30 Jan 1995 I said:
> >There's an easier way. Make 4 long "bolts" from threaded stock, available
> >at hardware stores. Slip the springs through the holes in the lower A
> >arms, and put the spring pans under them. Use the sections of threaded
> >stock (together with nuts and washers to taste) to draw the pans up
> >against the A arms, compressing the springs. The, one at a time, remove
> >the threaded stock "bolts" and replace them with the originals.
And Mr. Chaffee replied:
> I must have missed something here... On Harvey, I just put a couple 2X4's
> under the spring seat, put a bottle jack on the 2X4's, ran it up until the
> spring was a bit compressed, unbolted, and eased the jack down. Putting the
> springs back in was the reverse of this procedure, though if I remember right
>
> it took a little more finesse and a few attempts. I think Midget spring
I now rebut:
How to do this depends in part on whether you have been through the
neurotic anal-compulsive twit phase and have all your suspension bits
painted with epoxy primer and two coats of enamel. You may not want to
wrap chains around this, or use bottle jacks under it. My way always
works, and the only paint that gets scratched (sometimes) is on the
spring, where it is difficult to avoid scraping a bit off. Easy brush
touch up when you're done.
A great deal also depends on your springs and on the weight of the car at
the time of assembly. If the engine is out, the jack will raise the car
before it will compress the spring. Also, old springs may have lost 1/2
inch or so in height, and are less of a problem than new ones. Of course,
you can put your jack under the pan, unbolt the pan, and hope it all
holds. It did for you. But if something lets loose, and the spring hits
you in the head, it can ruin your whole day. If it bounces out and hits
the side of your emergency back up sports car, the E-type, it also is a
bummer.
I once reclined my lazy boy chair fully to extend the mechanism, then
turned it over to fix a loose pivot. I pulled the release handle without
thinking that the base was under spring tension. It released, jumped up
several inches, bonked me in the head, and put quite a dent in my scalp.
If I can be injured by a lazy boy recliner, then I think it is a real good
idea to be cautious with car springs. My way is slow, dependable, works
every time, low risk. But it is true that the springs of spridgets are
under comparatively little tension if you jack the car up so that the
shock arm is resting on the rubber stop, so there is more than one way
to skin this particular cat.
Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8910
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