Spring Compressors - Suitable for front suspension

[hermione149]

HI all,


Just been looking through a Sealey Tools catalogue,...they have " limited space" spring compressors on special offer at the moment for £22.00 a pair, they look like they could do the job, ...Model No AK3841

They are even cheaper on ebay, but having so deep claws is nice for safety, but would be a nightmare to pass through the coils. At least this was one of the problems last year when i struggled with normal spring compressors.

There seems to be quite a few diferent types of compressor,...I bought mine fron the Snap-On man years ago and i found them to be awkward to use in the space availible but they did manage to compress the spring sufficiently to be able to remove the sping once i'd removed the shock and jacked up the car

Here's what mine look like,...

 

[SteveD]

This issue caused me no end of grief when I did mine so thought I would throw in a couple of things. As already mentioned the Rover tool, if you could even find one, is not really up to the job. However, using their basic idea I got some suitable threaded steel rod that will pass through the holes in the cup. It then needs to be able to go through the slots at the bulkhead end of the spring. To do this I ground the sides of the rod flat so it would slot through and then built it up with copious welding i.e. you can build it up so it just slides through then it will require twisting to lock so at about the halfway point of my weld I then made an angle grind incision on opposing sides which I filed to be a snug and perfect fit when you twist the rod so it grips nicely to both sides of the slots. Make 3 of these and with the use of Vauxhall anti roll bar spacers, and a few nuts and washers for the other end you have a tool that can be used to hold a compressed spring whilst you clamp the top link back into place. Once all clamped in loosen nuts and remove spacers, twist threaded rods so they come through the slots and pull back through spring.
You will need to be doing a proper overhaul and have some new or good spare parts that can be used with the new springs in order to make your own rods i.e. what threads through where, how it fits, get the length of the rods correct etc.
Note: I clamped up the new springs with conventional clamps and then put the spring cups in and adjusted my 3 rods so they were in the correct position and evenly taking the pressure before undoing the spring clamps and fitting the compressed (by steel rods only now) spring to the car.
My old springs were so shot they did not put up much resistance so I just clamped them as best as I could with conventional clamps and undid the suspension to remove them.
The other suggestion I would make (I haven't tried this myself yet) for refitting would be to get some suitable wood with a slot cut to allow the top link to be wedged firmly into it, then using a bottle jack against another bit of wood wedged behind the front end of the inner wing, jack the whole lot back into the bulkhead and do up.

Regards,
Steve