> Is there a website that details the removal of the front springs and how to
> makeup the threaded rod compressor?
Not that I know of, but I'll take a stab at describing what I did. Not the only
way, probably not even the best, but has worked well for me on several
occasions.
Hardest part of making one is finding something to use for the bottom plate ...
I used an old generator pulley half from a VW Bug that happened to be laying
around. Whatever you find, drill it to fit over the shock mount studs, and a
center hole around 3/4" (which the pulley half already had). On top of that,
you'll need :
about 15" of 3/4" threaded rod,
(2) 3/4" flat washers,
and
(3) 3/4" nuts
Remove the two nuts at the top of the shock, that hold it into the spring tower,
along with the metal & rubber washers.
Arrange the car so there is some upwards force on the A-arm, enough to lift it
off of the stop attached to the frame. If you have a wheel ramp, put the wheel
on it. I didn't, so I used a jack and a length of 2x4 under the A-arm just
inboard of the trunnion. Remove the two bolts that hold the stop to the frame,
plus the 4 nuts for the shock and the shock itself with the brackets still
attached.
Lock two of the nuts together at one end of the threaded rod, then put a flat
washer and your drilled bottom plate onto the rod. Insert the rod through the
spring pan, fitting the plate onto the studs & letting the rod protrude through
the shock hole in the tower. Put a flat washer & nut on the end of the rod.
Now turn the rod, using the two locked nuts, while holding the uppermost nut
with a wrench. Tighten until the spring pan is roughly parallel to the
frame/floor. Now you can remove the support under the A-arm.
Remove the nuts &/or bolts that hold the spring pan to the lower A-arms. Then
push the A-arms upwards so the pan slips off the studs, and loosen the threaded
rod (from the bottom again). Guide the spring pan outwards so it slips over the
frame rail, and continue to back off until all the spring pressure is gone.
Rest should be easy. And reassembly is, as they say, the reverse.
> Also how do I tell which of the upper wishbones is the front and which is the
> rear one.
The top is rounded; the welds (or open side if you have the older design) goes
on the bottom.
Randall
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