[p0stal]

Well I decided I would take the time during spring break to redo my front suspension. I started today (break doesn't start until next week), and so far I have the shock removed, and that's about it. I borrowed a spring compressor from my school's auto shop, and it won't fit through my lower control arm, because the hole is too small. In my service manual, it talks about using a jack, and some kind of tool to support the control arm and relieve the springs tension, and never says anything about using a spring compressor. I still have the brakes on (drum brakes), because the manual doesn't say anything about removing them.

I have looked through a few of the other threads related to this, but I am still a little confused on what to do.

Any step-by-step instructions or advice would be helpful.

 

[DriveWFO]

Danno has some nice pics of his front suspension rebuild here: http://community.webshots.com/album/73612206MzqoSe



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[p0stal]

I'm confused...soo all he did was remove the tie rod, push the control arm up with the floor jack, then lowered the jack and it was magically free? Hahaha... I am really not understanding this.

Thanks for the help though.

 

[Jason628]

Greetings,

Put a floor jack underneath the control arm and jack it up until it supports the arm. Then pull out the cotter pin and take the nut off of your upper ball joint. relieve a little bit of pressure on the control arm and see if the ball joint stud will come through the spindle. Since it probably won't, take a pickle fork and sledgehammer and wail on the pickle fork until the 2 pop loose. Then lower the floor jack SLOWLY and the spring will fall out on the floor.

Jason

 

[DriveWFO]

Greetings,

Put a floor jack underneath the control arm and jack it up until it supports the arm. Then pull out the cotter pin and take the nut off of your upper ball joint. relieve a little bit of pressure on the control arm and see if the ball joint stud will come through the spindle. Since it probably won't, take a pickle fork and sledgehammer and wail on the pickle fork until the 2 pop loose. Then lower the floor jack SLOWLY and the spring will fall out on the floor.

Jason

Also note that Danno used a safety chain around the spring!!!



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[p0stal]

Yea I wasn't planning on doing it without the chain .

Thanks for the help.

 

[ratboy74]

iv'e had to open up the control arms on my 74 a few times and i did it pretty much how jason described. the only advice i can give is to be very carefull when lowering the jack. position it to where you are not in front of the coil spring when opening it . its never happened to me but i imagine it would suck to have the spring come flying at you under pressure!

 

[rxfish]

Since I plan on upgrading the front of my 70 Nova I watched the series of pictures by Danno but in frame 53 he shows the spring replaced without addressing placing the spring into the A arms and the subsiquent raising of the bottom A arm with the jack to meet the ball joint stud at the top. Couldn't there be an issue with the spring being under pressure at this point and no real protection if it were to slip out? Couldn't one replace the chain on the uncompressed spring until it was in place just for safety sake or am I over thinking this operation?

 

[gustav129]

Another option for Spring compressors, is lengths of rebar cut and bent into C's. So you jack the car up, and clip the rebar c's onto the spring, and then lower the jack. That would be something if you were using the springs again.

 

[smallbloknova]

I just put new front springs in a 72. I used the floor jack method. Fighting with the spring compressor is too much trouble. Like the other gentlemen suggested, just support the lower control arm with a floor jack and pop the ball joint loose. Ease the jack down and pull the spring out. Put the new spring in and jack the lower arm back up until the ball joint is in place. Put the car back together from there.