Hi Victor:
I purchased the spring compressor from VB some time ago and it worked
fine. You just need to grab the second coil from the top and bottom then
tighten the nuts until you can get the spring as short as possible.
There is the tendency for the hooks to want to slide down the coil as
you tighten but if you work both sides evenly you can get it done
without any problem.
The last time I replaced one of these towers on my GT6 (the same part
number) I broke one of the bolts that go through the chassis frame. I
recommend a liberal spray of some type of liquid wrench. Since the four
bolts pass through the frame the ends get pretty crapped up as they pass
through the nuts on the engine side of the frame. A good cleaning with a
wire brush to clean up the bolt threads before removal is a good idea.
Also be sure to spray the three nuts that hold the shock/spring to the
top of the tower as these have a tendency to break off. Is this where
the upright bent?
It's not necessary to remove the engine mount on the side you are not
replacing. You really only need to get the engine weight off the tower
so just undo the bolts on the mounts and then jack the engine only
enough to remove the bolts. I think the easiest way to jack the engine
is to put a 2 by 6 board just behind the crank pulley just catching the
oil pan lip. Take a picture of the engine mount where it attaches to
tower. When you put it all back together try to get the mount in about
the same place so you will end up with the engine in a level position.
Repainting of the chassis rail is a good idea.
Hope this helps.
Jerry Judge
Jupiter, Florida
Victor B. Michael wrote:
>
> Hello all,
>
> I think my next project is going to be repairing a bent upright on the
> passenger side of the front-end.
> This is the piece that appears to be part of the chassis, but is in fact
> bolted onto the chassis.
> While I am replacing that part, I would like to finally install two new
> coil springs. I have been told though, that the spring compressor sold
> by Victoria British does not work. The hooks that are supposed to grab
> the spring do not fit in the space available to hook onto it.
>
> Q1: Have any of you purchased and successfully used the tool from VB?
> Q2: If this does not work, as I was told, where do I get one that does?
> Q3: I'm planning on unbolting the engine mounts and jacking up the
> engine out of the way. Any suggestions for this process?
> Q4: The upright I have is BRG, my car is carmin red. I will paint it
> before installing it. Should I prep and paint the chassis that I can get
> to while it's apart?
>
> Any other advice, pointers or caveats are (as always) most welcome!
>
> TIA,
>
> Vic
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