Hi Doug,
Yes, you're right.
You don't need to compress the springs to remove the shocks. But, you also
don't need to remove the spring pan to remove the shocks, only the 4 nuts in
the
center of the spring pan that secure the upper half of the bottom bump stop
and, above that, the bracket that mounts the "eye" of the shock. (In fact, it's
the opposite: you must remove the shock before you can remove the spring
pan.)
However, if the spring pan is to be removed for any further work on the
suspension, an internal spring compressor is practically mandatory. I've gotten
by
without one only when installing competition springs, which are much shorter,
roughly 9" long, and don't use a spring spacer. Still, it's safer to use one.
A spring compressor is especially mandatory with any of the earlier cars that
use an 11" long spring with an aluminum spring spacer at the top. The
combination puts quite a bit of tension on the spring and it would be very
dangerous
trying to remove the spring with a jack or external spring compressor.
It's easy to make a spring compressor for $15. Go to any decent hardware
store and get 3/4" threaded rod about 24" long with two nuts to fit it. Get a
couple large washers, preferably one regular size and one oversized, to use at
the
top shock mounting.
The only tricky part is at the bottom, where a strong plate is needed that's
large enough to span the larger gap. I found anchor plates at my local
hardware store, probably used in construction, 1/4" thick steel and roughly 3"
square. A Dremel was used to cut four half-round slots along the edge, to fit
around
the 4 studs in the bottom of the spring pan that mount the bracket, which
holds the bottom of the shock.
Another spring compressor I made uses other materials at the bottom. So there
are some options, such as a short length of 1/4"x1-1/2" steel, with a 3/4"
hole drilled in the center. Just use something strong to span that large
opening
and not slip.
Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif.
AMfoto1@aol.com
http://hometown.aol.com/amfoto1/amfoto1.htm
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2005 20:51:46 -0500
From: Doug Mathews <mathews@uga.edu>
Subject: Front Shocks Removal
Guys,
I looked in the TR2-TR3 Bentley manual and it lists 8 steps to remove the
shock and they do not use a spring compressor. I'm quoting from Bentley
page 236 or the section G page 8 item 10.(b).
Partially compress the front road spring by placing a small lifting jack
under the spring pan.
Its only if you remove the spring itself that they have an option of using
a spring compressor, although the first technique they list is to use a
small jack to compress the spring.
Doug
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