> Scott Gardner wrote:
>
> > So Keith, how DID you compress the old springs? I removed the
> > springs on my '72 to replace the A-arms, and none of the spring
> > compressors I could find could be maneuvered into the available
> > space. I ended up putting a half-dozen jumbo radiator hose clamps on
> > each one and slowly tightened them in sequence until the spring was
> > short enough to remove.
>
> There's an easier way, according to Haynes! When I removed my springs
>from a
> '77 and a '74, I used this method with no ill effects. Simply place a floor
>jack
> under the spring pan and jack the car up slightly (of course, the car should
>be safely
> on stands now!) Remove the bolts that hold in the spring pan and stand out
>of the way
> as you slowly lower the jack. If done properly, the spring should run out of
> compression long before the jack is bottomed out, and it will fall harmlessly
>out of
> the inside of the crossmember. Hey, it worked for me, but be careful! The
>first two
> times caused me to fear a large spring shooting around my garage like a piece
>of
> zealous flubber. I have faith in the "good book of MG" - the Haynes. YMMV
> --
> Michael S. Lishego
> St. Andrews Presbyterian College
> Elementary Education Major,
> English Minor, Class of 1999
> R.A. of Winston-Salem Hall
>
Maybe it's a chrome bumper/rubber bumper thing, but I found that on
my '72, placing a jack under the spring pan does nothing but lift
that corner of the car off the ground. The spring hardly compresses
at all. To finish the job last time, I had to borrow a 235-pound man
from an adjacent stall and ask him to sit on my fender while I jacked
under the spring pan. Without the added weight, all of the parts of
the car just moved upwards atthe same time, with no relative motion
between them. Only with the added weight could I get the spring pan
to move up with the body staying still.
Scott
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